Wettin (dynasty)

The Wettin dynasty of German counts, dukes, Prince Electors (Kurfürsten) and kings ruled the area of today's German state of Saxony for more than 800 years as well as holding for a time the kingship of Poland. More recently, a descendant of the Wettin dynasty acquired the British throne, although the name is no longer used.

The House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

The senior Ernestine branch lost the electorship to the Albertine in 1547, but retained its holdings in Thuringia, dividing the area into a number of smaller states. One of the resulting Ernestine houses, that of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, went on to contribute kings of Belgium (from 1831) and Bulgaria (1908 - 1946), as well as furnishing consorts to queens of Portugal and the United Kingdom (Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria). As such, the British throne became a possession of the Wettin family.

Related Topics:
1547 - Saxe-Coburg-Gotha - Kings of Belgium - 1831 - Bulgaria - 1908 - 1946 - Portugal - United Kingdom - Prince Albert - Victoria

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Although the British Royal Family's Royal House name was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the descendants of Victoria and Albert had the personal surname of Wettin until 1917, when both the Royal House name and the personal family surname was changed to Windsor by an Order-in-Council by King George V. As a result of Queen Elizabeth's marriage to Prince Philip of Greece, the throne will pass to his family, the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, although they will probably continue using the name Windsor as a house name and Mountbatten-Windsor (Mountbatten being an Anglicisation of Battenberg, from the title of Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg) as a personal surname, as prescribed by Queen Elizabeth's 1960 Order-in-Council.

Related Topics:
Royal House - Windsor - Order-in-Council - King George V - Queen Elizabeth - Prince Philip of Greece - Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg - Mountbatten-Windsor - Anglicisation - Princess Alice of Battenberg

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