house of Hanover

 

ruling dynasty of Hanover (see Hanover, province), which was descended from the Guelphs and which in 1714 acceded to the British throne in the person of George I. George was the grandson of James I's daughter Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia, and the son of Sophia, electress of Hanover, and his succession to the throne was based on the Act of Settlement (1701). His successors were George II, George III, George IV, and William IV. The Salic law barred women from the succession in Hanover, and when William IV's niece, Victoria, succeeded (1837) to the British throne, the crowns of Hanover and Great Britain were separated. Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, so her descendants belonged to the house of Wettin. Ernest Augustus, son of George III, became (1837) king of Hanover and was succeeded by George V, who lost the crown in 1866.

Bibliography

See A. Redman, The House of Hanover (1960, repr. 1968).

House of Hanover Hanover and Great Britain
Country:	Hanover
Parent House:	House of Welf, cadet branch of the House of Este
Titles:	Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Elector of Hanover, King of Hanover, King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick
Founder:	George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Final Ruler:	George V of Hanover
Current Head:	Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover, titular King of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick
Founding Year:	1635
Dissolution:	1866
Ethnicity:	German

The House of Hanover (the Hanoverians) is a Germanic royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, the Kingdom of Hanover and the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It succeeded the House of Stuart as monarchs of Great Britain in 1714. They are sometimes referred to as the House of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Hanover line. The House of Hanover is a younger branch of the House of Welf, which in turn is a branch of the House of Este.

History

George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is considered the first member of the House of Hanover. When the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was divided in 1635, George inherited the principalities of Calenberg and Göttingen, and in 1636 he moved his residence to Hanover. His son, Duke Ernest Augustus, was elevated to prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1692. Ernest Augustus's wife, Sophia of the Palatinate, was declared heiress of the throne of Great Britain (then England and Scotland) by the Act of Settlement of 1701, which decreed Roman Catholics could not accede to the throne. Sophia was at that time the nearest Protestant relative to King William III. William himself was actually of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau, but both his wife and mother were Stuart princesses.

Hanovererian kings of Great Britain and the United Kingdom

British Royalty
House of Hanover
George I
George II
Sophia, Queen in Prussia
George II
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Anne, Princess of Orange
Princess Amelia Sophia
Princess Caroline Elizabeth
William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel
Louise, Queen of Denmark
Grandchildren
Augusta Charlotte, Duchess of Brunswick
George III
Edward Augustus, Duke of York
Princess Elizabeth Caroline
William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland
Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark
Great-grandchildren
Princess Sophia of Gloucester
William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester
George III
George IV
Frederick, Duke of York
William IV
Charlotte, Queen of Württemberg
Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent
Princess Augusta Sophia
Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex
Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
Mary, Duchess of Gloucester
Princess Sophia
Princess Amelia
Grandchildren
Charlotte, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield
Princess Elizabeth of Clarence
Victoria
George V, King of Hanover
George, Duke of Cambridge
Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck
George IV
Charlotte, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield
William IV
Princess Charlotte of Clarence
Princess Elizabeth of Clarence
Victoria

Their son, George I — who would otherwise have been the 52nd in line to the throne of Great Britain — became the first British monarch of the House of Hanover. ^[1]

The dynasty provided six British monarchs:

Of the Kingdom of Great Britain:

• George I (r. 1714-1727) (Georg Ludwig = George Louis)
• George II (r. 1727-1760)(Georg August = George Augustus)
• George III (r. 1760-1820)^[2]

Of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland:

• George III (r. 1760-1820)
• George IV (r. 1820-1830)
• William IV (r. 1830-1837)
• Victoria (r. 1837-1901).

George I, George II, and George III also served as electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally called electors of Hanover (see an account of that personal union). Beginning in 1814, when Hanover was made into a kingdom, the British monarch served jointly as king of Hanover.

The thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover diverged in 1837 as the throne of Hanover, unlike that of the UK, was under the Salic law, and so did not pass to Queen Victoria but instead passed to her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland. ^[3] When Victoria died in 1901, the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ascended to the UK throne as her son and heir, Edward VII, as son of her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, genealogically belonged to that House - whereby it was asserted that the name of the UK Royal House changed because the surname of his father was Edward VII's surname too. ^[4]

Kings of Hanover after the break up of the personal union

After the death of William IV in 1837, the following kings of Hanover continued the dynasty:

• Ernest Augustus I (r. 1837-1851)
• George V (r. 1851-1866, deposed)

The Kingdom of Hanover came to an end in 1866 when it was annexed by Prussia.

Duchy of Brunswick

In 1884, the senior branch of the House of Welf became extinct. By House Law, the House of Hanover would have acceded to the Duchy of Brunswick, but there had been strong Prussian pressure against having George V of Hanover or his son, the Duke of Cumberland, succeed to a member state of the German Empire, at least without strong conditions, including swearing to the German constitution. By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a temporary council of regency to take over at the Duke's death, and if necessary appoint a regent.

The Duke of Cumberland proclaimed himself Duke of Brunswick at the Duke's death, and lengthy negotiations ensued, but were never resolved. Prince Albert of Prussia was appointed regent; after his death in 1906, Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg succeeded him. The Duke of Cumberland's eldest son died of a car accident in 1912; the father renounced Brunswick in favor of his youngest son, who married the Kaiser's daughter, swore allegiance to the German Empire, and was allowed to ascend the throne of the Duchy in November 1913. He was a major-general during the First World War; but he was overthrown as Duke of Brunswick in 1918. His father was also deprived of his British titles in 1919, for "bearing arms against Great Britain".

Claimants

The later heads of the House of Hanover have been:

• George V (1866-1878)
• Ernest Augustus II, 3rd Duke of Cumberland (1878-1923)
• Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick (1923-1953), son of the previous
• Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover (1953-1987)
• Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover (1987-present)
  • Prince Ernst August of Hanover (heir apparent)

see Line of succession to the Hanoverian Throne

The family has been resident in Austria since 1866; it has held titles of only courtesy since 1919.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The streets of Brisbane's Central Business District are named after members of the House of Hanover. Streets running parallel with Queen Street are named for female members, with streets running perpendicular named after male members.

Hanover Square in downtown New York City is also named for the family, as is the province of New Brunswick in Canada, and several other towns in the eastern United States and Canada.

The city of Adelaide in Australia is named after Adelaide, the queen consort of William IV, thus after a member of the House of Guelph.

Notes

Further reading

• Fraser, Flora. Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. Knopf, 2005.
• Plumb, J. H. The First Four Georges. Revised ed. Hamlyn, 1974.
• Redman, Alvin. The House of Hanover. Coward-McCann, 1960.
• Van der Kiste, John. George III’s Children. Sutton Publishing, 1992.

See also

• Hanover
• List of British monarchs

External links

• Royal Family of Great Britain including the Houses of Hanover, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Windsor.
• Chronology of the House of Hanover
• Genealogy
• Die Welfen (de) official homepage of the House of Welf
• Succession laws in the House of Welf

Royal House House of Hanover Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Preceded by New Creation	Ruling House of the Electorate of Hanover 1692 – 1803	Electorate Abolished Hanover occupied by France
Preceded by Electorate of Hanover	Ruling House of the Kingdom of Hanover 1814 – 1866	Kingdom Abolished Annexed by Prussia
Preceded by House of Stuart	Ruling House of the Kingdom of Great Britain 1714 – 1800	Succeeded by United Kingdom See Act of Union 1800
Preceded by Kingdom of Great Britain	Ruling House of the United Kingdom 1801 – 1901	Succeeded by House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

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