House of Windsor

The House of Windsor is the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. King Charles III has been head of the House since 2022.

History

The Windsor name was adopted on 17 July 1917 by King George V of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha due to anti-German sentiment during the First World War. The royal proclamation issued by George V stated:

Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as 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....

After the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, who was married in 1947 to Philip Mountbatten (born Prince Philip of Greece of Denmark of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg), she decreed that her children would continue to be known as the house and family of Windsor. Following a further declaration in 1960 that the surname was to be changed to Mountbatten-Windsor for her descendants who required one, in lieu of the name Windsor. The House name remained Windsor however.

Now therefore I declare My Will and Pleasure that, while I and My children shall continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, My descendants other than descendants enjoying the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess and female descendants who marry and their descendants shall bear the name of Mountbatten-Windsor

The male line descendants of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II carry the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. The male line descendants of King George V carry the name Windsor, the only other branch of the family to use the Windsor surname was the Duke of Connaught branch of the family which went extinct in the male line in 1943 upon the death of Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.

Windsor’s (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)

George V branch

• King George V (1865–1936)
  • King Edward VIII (1894–1972)
  • King George VI (1895–1952)
    • Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)
    • Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930–2002)
  • Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900–1974)
    • Prince William of Gloucester (1941–1972)
    • Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1944)
      • Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster (b. 1974)
        • Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden (b. 2007)
        • Lady Cosima Windsor (b. 2010)
      • Lady Davina Windsor (b. 1977)
      • Lady Rose Gilman (née Windsor; b. 1980)
  • Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902–1942)
    • Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (b. 1935)
      • George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (b. 1962)
        • Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (b. 1988)
        • Lady Marina Windsor (b. 1992)
        • Lady Amelia Windsor (b. 1995)
      • Lord Nicholas Windsor (b. 1970)
        • Albert Windsor (b. 2007)
        • Leopold Windsor (b. 2009)
        • Louis Windsor (b. 2014)
      • Lady Helen Taylor (née Windsor; b. 1964)
    • Prince Michael of Kent (b. 1942)
      • Lord Frederick Windsor (b. 1979)
        • Maud Windsor (b. 2013)
        • Isabella Windsor (b. 2016)
      • Lady Gabriella Kingston (née Windsor; b. 1981)
    • Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (b. 1936)

Connaught branch (extinct)

• Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850-1942)
  • Princess Margaret of Connaught (1882-1920)
  • Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883-1938)
    • Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1914-1943)
  • Princess Patricia of Connaught (1886-1974)

Mountbatten-Windsor’s (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg)

• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021) ∞ Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)
  • King Charles III (b. 1948)
    • William, Prince of Wales (b. 1982)
      • Prince George of Wales (b. 2013)
      • Princess Charlotte of Wales (b. 2015)
      • Prince Louis of Wales (b. 2018)
    • Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (b. 1984)
      • Archie Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2019)
      • Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2021)
  • Anne, Princess Royal (b. 1950)
  • Prince Andrew, Duke of York (b. 1960)
    • Princess Beatrice, Countess Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (b. 1988)
    • Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank (b. 1990)
  • Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (b. 1964)
    • Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2003)
    • James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn (b. 2007)