Windsor, House Of

Royal house of Britain, which succeeded the house of Hanover on the death of its last monarch, Queen Victoria.

The dynastic name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was that of Victoria's German-born husband, Prince Albert. The dynasty has included Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI, and Elizabeth II. In view of the anti-German atmosphere of World War I, George V proclaimed in 1917 that all British male descendants of Queen Victoria would adopt the surname of Windsor.