The Hanoverian line officially ended with the death of Queen Victoria. Her son, Edward VII, was the first sovereign of the short-lived royal House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, as the son of the Prince Consort. At the turn of the 20th century, the British royal family was enjoying its greatest pinnacle of prestige, with the British Empire – which had vastly expanded during the reign of Victoria – covering much of the globe. The Monarchy now had imperial status, and Victoria herself embodied all its highest ideals.

This state of affairs could not last. The 20th century has seen the most sweeping changes in our history, as well as two world wars. The great Empire did not long survive the Second World War, and became the British Commonwealth of Nations, although many have since become independent.

It was one of the supreme ironies of history that the monarchy which led Britain and the Empire through two wars against Germany should itself be of German origin, and its members closely intermarried with high-ranking supporters of Kaiser William II or Adolf Hitler. Queen Victoria herself spoke English with a strong German accent, and German at home with Albert. The royal family of Hanover and that of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha were British by birth, closely related to the British royal house. Yet so strong was the monarchy’s identification with its people, and so anti-German was the popular feeling of its subjects, that in 1917 King George V decided to expunge all German names and titles from his House and family. Thus the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became the House of Windsor; their Serene Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Teck became transformed by the surname Cambridge; and Battenberg – the name of one of the most illustrious families of 19th- and 20th-century Europe – became Mountbatten.

Thirty years later, Mountbatten and Windsor were to become linked by marriage, when the present Queen married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, formerly Prince Philip of Greece. Since Elizabeth II’s accession, it has become clear that, while the Queen’s House and family are still known as Windsor, her children are surnamed Mountbatten-Windsor. George V decreed also that the title Prince or Princess might be borne, not only by the sons and daughters of the monarch, but also by the children of sons of the sovereign. Great-grandchildren in the male line are styled Lord (name) or Lady (name) Windsor. Primogeniture, as practised by the Plantagenets centuries ago, is still used to determine the order of succession to the throne.

Of course, the monarchy has adapted to change, and also to an age in which media intrusion has – rather dangerously, on occasions – sometimes reduced it to the level of a soap opera. This is perhaps the greatest threat it has faced since 1936, when Edward VIII abdicated for love, to marry a twice-divorced woman. That event shook the throne, and it was only the dedication and devotion to duty of King George VI and the late Queen Mother that restored its prestige. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has maintained that tradition; as a sovereign reigning in an age that has seen great changes in the moral and social climate, she continues to embody all the domestic, and now sometimes unfashionable, virtues that made Queen Victoria so successful a monarch; yet, unlike Victoria in her later years, Elizabeth II is a very visible monarch, seen to be performing her duties with sincerity and dedication, in full glare of the media. She is a constitutional monarch par excellence,whose long experience in politics and public life has earned her the respect of political leaders worldwide.

For all the rumours, it is unthinkable that the Queen will abdicate. The memory of Edward VIII is too fresh in the public mind. The succession is assured well into the 21st century, and we may confidently hope that the traditions of a thousand years of British monarchy will continue long into the future.

Edward VII

FATHER: Albert, Prince Consort(

MOTHER: Queen Victoria(

SIBLINGS: (

EDWARD VII

Baptised Albert Edward, he was born on 9 November, 1841, at Buckingham Palace, and was Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of the Isles and Baron Renfrew from birth. He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 8 December, 1841, and Earl of Dublin on 17 January, 1850. He was made a Knight of the Garter on 9 November, 1858. In 1863, he renounced his courtesy title, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, inherited from his father. He was made a Knight of the Thistle of 24 May, 1867. He succeeded his mother as King of Great Britain and Emperor of India on 22 January, 1901, and was crowned on 9 August, 1902, at Westminster Abbey.

Edward VII married, on 10 March, 1863, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor:

Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julie

She was the daughter of Christian IX, King of Denmark, by Louise Wilhelmina Frederica Caroline Augusta Julie, daughter of William X, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and she was born on 1 December, 1844, at the Amalienborg or ‘Gule’ (Yellow) Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark. She was made a Lady of the Garter in 1901. She was crowned Queen on 9 August, 1902, at Westminster Abbey. She died on 20 November, 1925, at Sandringham House, Norfolk, and was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Issue of marriage:

1   Albert Victor Christian Edward

He was born on 8 January, 1864, at Frogmore House, Windsor. He was made a Knight of the Garter on 3 September, 1883, and was created Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Earl of Athlone on 24 May, 1890. He died on 14 January, 1892, at Sandringham House, Norfolk, of pneumonia, and was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

The Duke of Clarence is said to have married one Annie Crook of Cleveland Street, London ( d.1920), during the 1880s, and is said to have had issue:

1  Alice Margaret Crook; she is said to have had a liaison with the painter Walter Sickert, and to have had a son, Joseph Sickert, who is the source of this information, which should, however, be treated with extreme caution.

Historically, the Duke of Clarence was betrothed to Mary of Teck, who later married George V.

2   George V(

3   Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar

She was born on 20 February, 1867, at Marlborough House, London. She married Alexander William George Duff, Marquess of MacDuff, afterwards 1st Duke of Fife (1849–1912), on 27 July, 1889, in the Private Chapel, Buckingham Palace, and had issue:

1  Alastair (stillborn 1890).

2  Alexandra, Duchess of Fife (1891–1959); she married Prince Arthur of Connaught, grandson of Queen Victoria, and had issue.

3  Maud Alexandra Victoria Georgina Bertha (1893–1945); she married Charles Alexander Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk ( b.1893), and had issue.

Louise was designated Princess Royal on 9 November, 1905. She died on 4 January, 1931, at her house in Portman Square, London, and was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Her remains were later removed to the Private Chapel, Mar Lodge Mausoleum, Braemar, Aberdeenshire.

4   Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary

She was born on 6 July, 1868, at Marlborough House, London. She died on 3 December, 1935, at Coppins, Iver, Bucks., and was buried at Frogmore, Windsor.