by Johan

Dynasty: Guelph
Capital: Hanover (city)
Last Ruler: King George V (1819-1866), ruled 1851-1866
Official residences: Leineschloss, Welfenschloss, Marienburg Castle, Herrenhausen Castle

From 1714 till 1837 Hanover (modern-day Northwest Germany) was in personal union with Great Britain and Ireland. The reason for this was that Queen Anne of Great Britain died without any children to succeed her. Her successor was therefore chosen as George I of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover). After the Act of Settlement George, as the nearest Protestant relative, was chosen. His mother Sophia of the Rhineland-Palatine was the granddaughter of King James I of England. George’s wife, Sophia of Celle, did not accompany him to England. She had a romance with Phillip von Konigsmark and was thereafter kept under supervision in her native Celle without any contact with her children.

At the Vienna Congress following the defeat of Napoleon, Hanover was turned into a Kingdom. The King of England normally ruled in Hanover through a Viceroy. In 1837 after the death of King William IV, the personal union between the United Kingdom and Hanover came to an end. The United Kingdom succession laws were semi-Salic (allowing the succession of women after men) whereas Hanover followed Salic law (where only men can succeed). Therefore Victoria became Queen of the United Kingdom, while her uncle Ernst August (Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale) became King of Hanover. There was a scheme to marry Victoria to her cousin George (son of Ernst August) and therefore keep the House united but this failed to materialize.

Ernst August I (1771-1851) only visited England once during his time as King of Hanover. He caused some irritation to Queen Victoria by insisting on keeping his apartments at St James Palace (which the Queen wanted to give to her mother), by refusing to give precedence to her spouse Prince Albert, and by requesting Queen Charlotte’s jewels. His son ultimately got the jewels after arbitration in 1858.

His son George V (1819-1878) became blind after first losing sight in his one eye in 1828, and then later in the other eye in 1833. There were doubts as to whether George should succeed his father (due to his blindness), but his father decided that he should do so.

In 1866 after siding with Austria in the German diet (parliament), Hanover refused neutrality and was occupied by the Prussian army during the Austro-Prussian war. George and his family fled to Austria in exile and had Schloss Cumberland built in Gmunden, Austria. They lost the Welfenschloss and the Leineschloss but kept possession of Marienburg Castle, Herrenhausen, Blanckenburg Castle and Callenberg Castle which has since been sold.

In 1884 their distant cousin the Duke of Brunswick died. George was his heir, but Bismarck disallowed the inheritance. George V’s only son, Ernest August II (1845-1923) married Princess Thyra of Denmark. Thyra was sister to Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and Empress Marie of Russia. Their 3rd and only surviving son, Ernest III (1887-1953) married Princess Viktoria Luise (1892-1982), the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1913. This wedding was the last time that King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II were together.

This marriage was seen as a partial reconciliation with the Hohenzollerns of Prussia. George renounced his claim to the ducal Brunswick title and his son became the reigning Duke of Brunswick. Unfortunately the loss in World War I not only cost them their newly gained throne, but they also lost their British titles, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Earl of Armagh, under the Titles Deprivation Act of 1917 for “bearing arms against Great Britain”. However, in 1931 the family decided to continue using the British Princely title.

After World War I, The family lost the Brunswick state properties, but were still able to keep Marienburg Castle, Herrenhausen Castle & Callenberg Castle etc.

Between the end of World War I and World War II, the family mainly resided in their Blankenburg Castle where Princess Frederica (later Queen Frederica of Greece) was born. Frederica is the mother of Queen Sophia of Spain and the last King of Greece, King Constantine II.

After the death of Ernest August III in 1953 his widow, Victoria, famously took her children to court to demand a greater allowance. Her eldest son also named Ernest August IV (1914-1987) was married twice, and in 1957 successfully claimed British nationality under the “Sophia Naturalization Act of 1705”. The act was repealed in 1948, but since he was already born by that time and was Protestant, he was able to keep his British nationality. His brother Prince George William (1915-2006) was married in 1946 to Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark (sister of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh). Sophia was the widow of Prince Cristopher of Hesse-Kassel who died in a plane crash. Prince George helped his family remove some of their possessions from Eastern Germany before the arrival of the Soviet troops.

Ernst August IV’s (1914-1987) second son Ludwig (1955-1988) committed suicide after discovering his wife’s dead body. She died of a drug overdose, and they were the parents of a 9-month-old son (Otto1988- ).

The next and current head of the family is Ernst August V (1954-). He is the son from his father’s 1st marriage to Princess Otrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg (1925-1980). Ernst V is mostly known as the 3rd husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco with whom he has a daughter Alexandra (born 1999). The couple is reportedly currently living apart. Ernst has had a few brushes with the law including being convicted of aggravated assault. Shortly before his father-in-law Prince Rainier of Monaco died in 2005, Ernst was admitted to the hospital for acute pancreatitis. He was in a coma for a few days.

Before his marriage to Princess Caroline, Ernst was married to Chantal Hochuli. With her, he has two sons including his heir Ernst August (born 1983). The young Ernst August has taken control of part of the family fortune and resides at the Fürstenhaus (Princely Palace) in Herrenhausen Gardens.

A few years ago the family had an auction where they sold some of the contents of Marienburg Castle. This caused a public dispute where Ernst August V’s younger brother Heinrich did not approve of the sale. According to some estimates, Prince Ernst August is worth about £5 billion.