Elizabeth II

QUEEN ELIZABETH II, England's current monarch's last name is Windsor, though the original family name was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The Royal Family chose to change this German surname to Windsor in 1917 because of intense anti-German sentiment in England during World War I.

At birth, Queen Elizabeth II (born April 21, 1926) was given the names Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, and she is of the royal House of Windsor.

However, her father, King George VI, at his birth in 1895, was, by descent, of the royal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

On July 17, 1917, Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V, declared by Royal Proclamation that he and his descendants would be of the House of Windsor (not Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), and that members of this family without a title would have the personal surname Windsor.

Thereafter, all royals of his line, and this would include Elizabeth, would be known as being 'of the House of Windsor'. Elizabeth had a title, so she did did not have or need any 'personal surname'.

Royal House names are not the personal 'surnames' of the royal family, because the 'surname' custom of the common people was not and is not necessary for titled monarchs of the ruling dynasty, and never has been.

IF WE TRACED BACK ELIZABETH'S PATERNAL ANCESTRY, WHAT FAMILY SURNAME MIGHT WE FIND?

Elizabeth's paternal grandfathers' ancestry can be traced back to Germanic roots, to Frederick and Dedo I, of Saxony, who came to be of the House of Wettin in the 900's.

They adopted the name Wettin as their family name after they inherited Wettin Castle, near the town of Wettin in Saxony, Germany. 'Family name' ancestry before this time is very difficult to verify, especially as the custom of perpetuating the father's 'surname' as the family's 'surname' was a relatively new practice at that time. Until this period in history people were commonly known by just their first or given names, with 'of (place name)', or 'son of (father's first name), or some other identifier, only being added if it helped to identify the individual person.

[For example the Italian painter Leonardo, son of Piero from the town of Vinci in Italy, had the birth name "Leonardo di Ser Piero." Later the painter was called Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (which means: Leonardo, son of Mister Piero from Vinci). In time Leonardo's 'full' name became shortened to Leonardo da Vinci.]

If Elizabeth's ancestors had followed the custom of retaining the 'personal surname' of one's father and his paternal ancestors as the 'family name', her surname at birth would have been Wettin.

DID ELIZABETH's MARRIAGE TO PRINCE PHILIP GIVE HER A SURNAME?

On November 20, 1947 HRH The Princess Elizabeth, of the House of Windsor (formerly known as the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, whose personal patrilineal ancestral family name would have been Wettin), got married.

She married her third cousin, Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg/House ofOldenburg. However, before their marriage, Philippos renounced his titles and adopted as his 'surname', not his father's 'surname', but that of his mother's father, Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854-1924).

[In 1917, the Battenberg family changed their name to the more English sounding name Mountbatten, and Louis Alexander Battenberg, Philip's grandfather on his mother's side, became Louis Alexander Mountbatten.]

So, after renouncing his titles, Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark etc. was simply Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, assuming his mother's father's personal surname, Mountbatten, as his own.

If HRH Princesses of the blood royal adopted the current commoners' custom of taking their fiancé's surname, which they don't and she didn't, HRH The Princess Elizabeth would have acquired rights to use Philip's personal surname Mountbatten as her own on her marriage to him in 1947.

However, on April 9, 1952 she clearly confirmed and decreed "that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that my descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor."

At this point it is worth reminding ourselves that royals entitled to be called HRH Queen, King, Prince or Princess do not need a surname. They are just known by their first name, or by their title(s) and first name. If a 'surname' is required (for marriage legalities, for example), Elizabeth's sons use surnames such as Windsor or Mountbatten-Windsor.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

So what is Queen Elizabeth's last name? Her parents named her "Elizabeth Alexandra Mary". These are her names as shown on her birth certificate. So her last name is Mary.

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SURNAME? ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Queen Elizabeth's surname, if it were to be used, is indeed Windsor. However, there is no surname on the Queen's Marriage certificate for either her or Prince Phillip. He is listed simply as Phillip RN.

The original of King George V's Royal Proclamation, dated 17th July 1917, changing the royal surname to Windsor and creating the House of Windsor, indeed did have a surname within the text as well as the House name of Sax-Coburg. The surname was Guelph - they did not use the German version of the name which was Die Welfin meaning "the Wolf".

Guelph is the oldest dynasty in Europe being some 800 years old and still survives to this day. The Queen's forebears acquired this name through George 1 who was of the House of Hanover and later via Queen Victoria and Edward V11.

It should be noted that, if looking up the Proclamation on the internet, the version that is published on the internet is the version released in December 1958 and it does not have the name Guelph within the text. However, the original version did have the surname . It was Guelph.

(For more information, see Related links below this box.)
Windsor her full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor

Before 1917, the members of the British Royal Family did not have a surname; but, they were members of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI, was born in 1895 as a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

On July 17, 1917, Queen Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V, announced that he and his family would become the House of Windsor and that Windsor would become the surname of his family. He did this because England had major feelings of discontent against Germany due to World War I.

The current Canadian monarch is Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.

Previous monarchs of Canada have been:

• Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
• His Majesty Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
• His Majesty George V, King of Canada (title change due to Royal Style and Titles Act passed by Canada)
• His Majesty Edward VIII, King of Canada
• His Majesty George VI, King of Canada

Her Majesty the Queen is the titular head of the Church of England as she is the reigning monarch (the spiritual head being the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the ultimate head Jesus Christ). As a result she is expected to attend Church of England functions and services, and national state religious occasions.

However, she and her husband Prince Philip are also a regular attender at church in her own right, and she has a strong Christian faith, attending frequently the private chapels at her holiday retreats in Balmoral, Scotland, and in Sandringham, Norfolk, and her chapel at Winsor.

I was fortunate to meet Her Majesty last year (and shake her hand!) when she visited my own church on a visit to my home town in the UK. When we spoke, I was aware of a lovely, friendly lady, but one who still, even in her 80s, has her finger very much on the pulse judging by the searching questions she asked. She is certainly a remarkable lady, and 'religious' in the right, Christian, sense of the word.