Windsor, << WIHN zuhr, >> is the name of the present royal family of the United Kingdom. The name Windsor, adopted in 1917, was taken from Windsor Castle, a royal residence. It was chosen to replace the name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was abandoned during World War I (1914-1918) because of its German origin.
The Windsors are descended from the royal family known as the House of Hanover. George Louis—Georg Ludwig in German—became the elector (ruler) of Hanover, a territory in Germany, in the late 1600’s. He became King George I of Britain (now also called the United Kingdom) in 1714. He was the second cousin and closest Protestant relative of Britain’s Queen Anne, who died that year. British law prohibited a Roman Catholic from being the nation’s monarch. George’s descendants ruled both Hanover and Britain. The last Hanoverian king, William IV, died in 1837. His niece Victoria became queen of the United Kingdom. But the rule of Hanover passed from the British royal family to Ernest Augustus, brother of William IV, because the laws of Hanover did not permit a woman ruler.
Victoria was the only child of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III, and of Victoria Maria Louisa, daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfeld. Ernest, son of Francis, exchanged Saalfeld for Gotha in 1826 and founded the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
In 1840, Victoria married Albert, son of Ernest. Victoria’s children took Albert’s name. Edward VII, her son, was the first English king to bear the name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His son George V was the first to use the name Windsor. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II announced that future generations, except for princes and princesses, would bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor in honor of her husband, Philip Mountbatten.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had four children. In order of birth, the children are King Charles III; Anne, Princess Royal; Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward. When Elizabeth died in 2022, her eldest child, Charles, became King Charles III. Charles’s elder son, Prince William, became the heir to the throne. 
