How German are British Royals?

About 300 years ago, on August 1, 1714, Queen Anne of England died. As a result, the German Elector George Louis of Hanover was proclaimed King of Great Britain in absentia. He was the only possible heir to the throne and the first German to ascend the English throne.

manners please

At first, his British subjects were not amused. The German king did not set foot on English soil until two months after his proclamation and was crowned King George I on 20 October 1714.

A divorced man, he publicly flirted with two mistresses. It has been claimed that George spoke almost no English – although some historians have disputed this, suspecting it was a ploy used in some ministerial meetings – and he lacked good manners. In fact, legend has it that an instruction in banquet protocol asked people not to throw pieces of meat at the servants.

However, the British people soon realized that George I had done a lot for the kingdom. By focusing on peace, stability and prosperity for his two states – Great Britain and Hanover – he contributed to establishing “a new European balance of power that ended decades of war”, according to the Encyclopedia Virginia.

George II and George III

His son George II left the British national anthem, “God Save The King”, which later became “God Save The Queen”.

His grandson George III was the first in the line of German kings to be born in England, English being his first language. He married the German Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The couple had 15 children.

George III suffered from a metabolic disorder, his health deteriorated and he became mentally ill. This popularized the monarch, who was supportive of the arts and sciences, increasingly unable to rule. He is best remembered as “Mad King George”.

George IV, a low point for the royal family’s reputation

His eldest son, the arrogant Georg August Friedrich, took over during his father’s lifetime as Prince Regent in 1811 and was crowned King George IV in 1820 – the next king with a predominantly German lineage.

George IV’s extravagant lifestyle did not endear him to his subjects, and the obese monarch was not much mourned when he died. His eccentricity managed to severely damage the reputation of the royal house. He left no particular political legacy, but a cultural legacy: Buckingham House was expanded into a palace and a building was erected in the seaside resort of Brighton that is still unique in Europe for its opulence – the Royal Pavilion.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

In 1837, George IV’s niece Victoria, who also had a partly German lineage, was crowned. She married her cousin, the German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Initially, the British wondered why their queen would choose a provincial German prince, but they soon changed their minds.

Albert supposedly started the German custom of putting up Christmas trees in England. He established the first World’s Fair, in London in 1851, while also reforming administration and building throughout the kingdom.

Thanks to the Queen’s consort, the British royal family has regained its reputation. A magnificent statue of Albert stands in central London and Albert Bridge in London is named after him, as is the famous concert hall Royal Albert Hall.

‘Grandmother of Europe’

Meanwhile, Queen Victoria performed representative functions in addition to her role as the mother of nine children. Her influence in foreign policy was mainly based on her kinship relationships with the main ruling houses of Europe.

She ensured that her children married other European royal courts – it’s no wonder that today her descendants sit on the throne in many European royal houses, including Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Kings Harald V of Norway and Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden , the former Spanish royal couple Juan Carlos I and Sophia – to Elizabeth II, the former British queen.

Victoria was nicknamed “Europe’s Grandmother” and at the time, 64 years on the throne, she was Britain’s longest-serving monarch. The Victorian era, named after her, saw the growth of the British Empire into a global industrial powerhouse, as well as advances in the arts and sciences, along with social changes.

About 120 years later, his reign was surpassed by his great-great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth II.

Saxe-Coburg renamed Windsor

Queen Victoria died in 1901, being succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII, the first English king of the German dynasty of Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha. To make the name easier for the English to pronounce, the house was renamed Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Just a few years later, in 1910, his son George V became king. He was married to Maria von Teck, who also had German blood and who became known as Queen Mary.

George V’s reign coincided with World War I, fought against his cousin, German Emperor Wilhelm II. In England, attitudes towards all things German changed – after all, the German Empire was seen as the main aggressor.

In 1917, George V decided to change the German surname to Windsor. George also renounced all German titles, as did his cousin Ludwig von Battenberg, who renamed his family Mountbatten. Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, came from this family.

British royalty and the Nazis

George’s son, Edward VIII, became king in 1936. Less than a year later, he abdicated for love and married Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée. His brother Albert ascended the British throne as George VI.

At the time, the Nazis and Adolf Hitler had already gained firm control over Germany, with the world watching the Third Reich with interest and skepticism. Edward and Albert’s mother, Queen Mary, insisted that her children not forget their German roots – after all, they also had many relatives in Hitler’s Germany.

For his part, Edward openly showed sympathy for the Nazis. A photo taken in 1937 shows the Duke and his wife smiling and shaking hands with Hitler.

Just a few years ago, a video surfaced showing Edward and his sister-in-law practicing the Hitler salute with two girls – Margaret and Elizabeth, with the latter becoming the Queen of England. The clip was filmed by Elizabeth’s father, King George VI.

To this day, Britons do not like to be reminded of the British aristocracy’s sometimes cordial relations with the German Nazis, trying as much as possible to keep evidence of such connections secret.

How German is King Charles III?

Queen Elizabeth II’s mother was British, so she was only partially of German descent – even if she demonstrated some stereotypical German virtues throughout her life, including discipline and a sense of duty.

Her husband Philip, however, was of predominantly German ancestry and spoke fluent German. In 1947, he became a British citizen, and shortly before his marriage to Elizabeth, he renounced his German peerage and styled himself simply “Mountbatten”.

His eldest son, the new King Charles III, has a lineage made up of approximately half of German ancestors.

He and his first wife, the British Diana Spencer, had two children: William and Harry. Prince William’s wife, Catherine, has no German ancestry; Harry’s wife, Meghan, is the daughter of an American with Irish roots and is said to have German ancestry.

The person who is last in line to the throne is actually a German. Hospital therapist Karin Vogel, who lives in Rostock, is a descendant of Sophia of Hanover, mother of King George I, the first British King of Germany.

But it’s extremely unlikely that she will ever become Queen of England: nearly 5,000 people in the royal line would need to die before that could happen.

This article was originally written in German and was first published in October 2022.