Which Royal House reigned over England before the House of Windsor?

Question

If the House of Windsor was just established in 1917, it's a pretty recent Royal House then.

I've heard of the former Royal House called "Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" from which King George (the current Queen Elizabeth's father) originated, but to the best of my knowledge these were German duchies in Bavaria, and a German speaking House.

Was there a latter Kingdom of England of some sort within the United Kingdom before the House of Windsor? After all, the United Kingdom was formed sometime in the 1700's, right, right after the dissolution of the former Kingdom of England? If so, what was the reigning royal house called, and who were its prominent monarchs? Why and how did it get replaced with the House of Windsor?

Also, how about the other countries in the UK? Did a unified Royal House obliterate the other distinct national monarchs within Great Britain and (Northern) Ireland, or do they still exist? If they do, or did coexist with the modern United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island at some point, how come they're not mentioned as much in the international world?

And if the countries that constitute the UK all have such strong national identities, why did they unite to form one sovereign state? I understand that the House of Windsor reigns all over the UK... but does the Royal Family consider themselves to be English at all, or do they always refer to themselves as the broader term "British"? Also, what's the background on the switch from the Anglo-Saxon German speaking "Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" to the English-speaking British House of Windsor?

Answer 1

The House of Windsor was "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" before George V change it.



Yes the England and Scotland united in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain after Scotland went bankrupt and England did not want to risk a catholic King ascending a neighbouring country if Scotland chose not to recognise the same heir as England. England pretty much told Scotland we will bail you out and in exchange we will unite OR we will persuade you with a stick instead of a carrot.



Ireland never had a proper national monarch they were spilt into petty realms with a high King ruling over some of them. However in the medieval period the pope made the Kings of England also Lords of Ireland. In the 1500s Henry VIII made the Irish parliament create him King of Ireland. Later in 1800 the Irish parliament passed the act of union and the United Kingdom was born. Much of Ireland left the union in 1922.



Wales too was made up of petty kingdoms or principalities and was slowly annexed by England over time.



The Royal family considers itself British. The change was made in 1917 to Windsor because Britain was at war with German and it was not seen as British enough.



English Houses:



-House of Wessex

-House of Denmark

-House of Normandy

-House of Plantagenet

*Argevin

*Lancaster

*York

-House of Tudor



Scottish Houses:



-House of Alpin

-House of Dunkeld

-House of Balliol

-House of Bruce

-House of Stewart/Stuart



British houses (Pre-union personal union of the Crowns):



-House of Stewart/Stuart (Scottish King inherits English throne).



British houses (post union: Great Britain):



-House of Stewart/Stuart

-House of Hanover



British Houses (post union: United Kingdom):



-House of Hanover

-House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

-House of Windsor (much of Ireland leaves the union)

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

Which Royal House reigned over England before the House of Windsor?

If the House of Windsor was just established in 1917, it's a pretty recent Royal House then.



I've heard of the former Royal House called "Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" from which King George (the current Queen Elizabeth's father) originated, but to the best of my knowledge these...

Answer 3

Royal Houses Of England

Answer 4

Norman (1066-), Plantaganet (1154-), Lancaster (1399-), York (1461-), Tudor (1485-), Stuart (1603-), Hanover (1714-1901), Windsor (1901/1917-present)



Be aware however that the immediate list only covers dynasties. Like many sources, it omits the Houses of Blois (1135-54) as no dynasty was created, Anjou (where land held until 1209) as pseudo-Plantagenet (1154-1399), Orange (1689-1702) as no dynasty and ruled jointly with Mary Stuart, and Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (1901-1917) because it was later renamed Windsor during the Great War.

Answer 5

England and Scotland ceased to be kingdoms in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne, creating a single kingdom covering the entire island of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).



Prior to 1917 it was still the Windsors who had the UK throne, it's just that they used the name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. They just changed their name because Germans were unpopular during World War 1.

Answer 6

You are correct that Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (SCG) are minor German duchies (but they are not in Bavaria). Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria, was a second son of that Duke.



Queen Victoria knew that there would be a problem with naming the Royal House led by her descendants having the name of a minor German territory. She tried to get people to adopt the name "Wettin". Wettin is the larger German/Saxon dynasty that went back 1000 years of which SCG was a small branch. The name SCG didn't stick.



The SCG was nicknamed the "stud farm of Europe", because their sons married into several royal houses besides Britain.



George V felt that the name SCG was not a problem since so many European royals were intermarried. However as it became apparent that the royal monarchies on the continent (Notably Germany, Russia, and Austria) were being deposed he began to worry. A particularly nasty bombing campaign was started on civilian areas of London by an airplane nicknamed "The Gotha" after the city where it was built. At the time there were a number of British Princes who lived in Germany or Austria. Finally George V consented to a name change. Although "Wettin" was considered, he opted for a complete break with the past by adopting the name Windsor, after the castle that had long been associated with the dynasty.



The German relatives who were British princes were denied their British titles after WWI. As none of them had actively fought against Britain, they were very upset about losing their titles. The Duke of Brunswick in particular was very close to his relatives in Britain. When he became the head of the House of Hanover he restored the title of British to prince to him and his male descendants. Queen Victoria was still a member of the House of Hanover, and now he was the senior male. Even today his descendants claim the title of Prince of the UK. The senior male is married to Princess Caroline of Monaco. He asked permission of Queen Elizabeth II to marry Caroline, just as any other British prince. She answered formally in writing.



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The royal family certainly considers themselves to be British, although the Irish, Welsh and Scottish roots are all more distant. Having the ruler be the same ethnicity as the citizens of a country in Europe has only become important since mid 20th century. Before that it was fairly common for them to rather different. The Kings of Greece, for instance, had no Greek blood in them. The Romanov family of Russia was mostly German and Danish.

Answer 7

The first German speaking House was that of Hanover, directly descended from King James I Stuart, whose House had replaced that of the Tudors (from whom he himself was directly descended). The Stuart monarchs were James I, Charles I, Charles II, James II (who was booted out in the Glorious Revolution of 1688), William and Mary (she was a Stuart; he was her husband, the Prince of Orange in the Netherlands and half a Stuart via his mother), and Anne.



Anne died with no surviving children. The British, anxious to avoid a Catholic monarch, the reason that James II and his son had been booted out, decided that the succession should go to the Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover, a granddaughter of James I via his daughter. Her son George was the King of Hanover, and he became George I of Great Britain and Ireland. The House of Hanover was a branch of the House of Welf.



When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. it was determined that his family name was Wettin, but he was called Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, so this was the House name used until George V changed it to Windsor; they didn't bother with Wettin.



See the sites below:

Answer 8

Everyone knows that the house of Windsor and the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha are the same thing! George V changed the name in 1917 because of anti-German sentiment. If that hadn't happened, they would still be known by the old name. And the Mountbattens (that's Philip's line in case you didn't know) were originally Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderberg-Glucksburg. Now you know.

Answer 9

the House of Windsor is the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.



Before them was the House of Hanover.



Before them Stuart, Tudor, York, Plantagenet.



This is readily available on google.

Answer 10

Hanover.

Answer 11

I think it was the house of Hanover or the house of Spencer

Answer 12

Reigned over England or the UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN ? There is a difference !