Surname of the
royal family?
The House of Windsor, formerly
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, succeeded the House of Hanover on the death
of its last monarch, Queen Victoria. The original dynastic name
of Victoria's German-born husband, Albert, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
was changed to Windsor during the anti-German atmosphere of World
War I by their grandson King George V.
On 17 July 1917, King George V issued a Proclamation which stated
that the male line descendants of the royal family would bear
the surname Windsor:
from the date of this Our
Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known
as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants
in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are
subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may
marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor
A few months later, King George V issued Letters Patent on 30
October 1917 which limited the title 'Prince' and the style 'Royal
Highness' to the children of a sovereign, the children of sons
of a sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of
the Prince of Wales. HH Prince Alastair of Connaught (1914-1943),
grandson of HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (Queen Victoria's
fourth son), became the first member of the royal family to use
the surname Windsor in lieu of his princely title. It has been
suggested that it was a misinterpretation of these latest Letters
Patent which led to HH Prince Alastair (for such he was based
on practise going back to the time of King George I's accession
in 1714 and which practise was confirmed in Queen Victoria's Letters
Patent of 30 January 1864; source: "The Princes of Great
Britain" article in Burke's Peerage 1963 edition, pp xxvii-xxxii)
being denied his princely title. However, as he was the son and
heir of a peeress (Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife), he was
allowed the courtesy use of his mother's subsidiary title and
became Alastair Windsor, styled Earl of Macduff.
On 11 December 1917, it was
further decided by Letters Patent that:
the grandchildren of the sons
of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest
living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have
the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes.
In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II confirmed her grandfather's decision
that the royal family's surname would continue to be Windsor.
Her Majesty declared on 9 April 1952 that it was:
her Will and Pleasure that
She and Her Children shall be styled and known as the House and
Family of Windsor, and that Her descendants other than female
descendants who marry and their descendants shall bear the name
of Windsor.
A few years later, HM The Queen modified this statement by issuing
Letters Patent in February 1960 which stated in part:
while I and my children will
continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor,
my descendants, other than descendants enjoying the style, title
or attributes of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince
or Princess, and female descendants who marry and their descendants,
shall bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
Did this mean that the name of some members of the royal family
changed from "Windsor" to "Mountbatten-Windsor"?
Some people contend that the goal of this declaration was meant
to not only change the surname of the children of HM The Queen
but those of her male-line descendants as well. At Princess Anne's
wedding in November 1974, Anne signed the marriage register 'Anne',
without a surname. It was the registrar who filled in her names
as 'Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor'. According
to a Buckingham Palace statement issued in October 1975, the specific
addition of the surname 'Mountbatten-Windsor' was "the Queen's
decision that this should be done". Further, HM The Queen
consulted with the acting Prime Minister to confirm whether all
her children would have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. She received
the following reply:
"The effect of Your Majesty's
Declaration is that all the children of Your Majesty who may at
any time need a surname have the surnames of Mountbatten-Windsor."
(Prince Philip: A Biography, by Denis Judd, London: Michael John,
1980, page 196)
It would seem that the surname of HM The Queen's children is whatever
HM wishes. Legally and constitutionally, however, the Queen cannot
do as she wishes. The surname of the Queen's children is Mountbatten-Windsor
in practise and has appeared three times: at Princess Anne's first
marriage in 1974, on Prince Andrew's marriage register in 1986,
and when the banns were read prior to Princess Anne's second marriage
to Commander Laurence in 1992. (When the Prince of Wales married
in 1982, he signed the register as "Charles P" and the
registrar filled in his name as "His Royal Highness Prince
Charles Philip Arthur George The Prince of Wales".) Nonetheless,
the family name remains legally Windsor because there hasn't been
any modification or clarification to the Letters Patent of 1960.
For further information on
the British Royal Family : http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/britfaq.html
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