Pictures: (1)George I, King of Great Britain, first king from House of Hanover;(2) his mother Sophie Dorothea, granddaughter of James I, King of England;(3) Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover (Germany), father of George I;(4)Elizabeth Stuart, grandmother of George I, daughter of James I; (5) Anne Oldenburg, Queen, wife of James I and daughter of Frederick II Oldenburg, King of Denmark. (Oldenburg a duchy in Germany.) Most Royals, and I aim to take examples from some of these who still rule or reign, have their origins in a "foreign country," and not in the country they are the royal family of. This may not come as a surprise to most royal watchers and those interested in the royals of their own country.
This comes across as very negative on the score card, as far as their relevance in a modern world is concerned.
This is because the perceptions of nationalism that now hold the minds of most people preclude that leaders, and monarchs are in that genre, should have their roots in the country they belong to. British royalty is by and large of German origin, with a network of German ancestry, so intricate and German in origin, in almost every generation, that one is left to wonder if they are British at all.
Nevertheless it stands to their credit, their adaptability to the country they are Monarchs of, how well they identify with the country is, in most cases, very commendable!
There is a very very interesting site...........link...........from where I gather my data.......and very fascinating! The site is th
ePeerage.com (above link.)The British royal family changed the name of the House (their surname), to Windsor, from Saxe Coburg Gotha, and Hanover/ Wettin (all German in origin) during the First Great War, WW I, to severe their German links.............but it proves the point I make above.
It is for this reason, a 'foreign' ancestry, that some of the royals were pushed out from the countries they were monarchs of...........the Greek monarchy was abolished because the royal family (to which Prince Phillip of the United Kingdom belongs, originally) was of Dutch/German origin!
And, this is a pure coincidence, but has some relevance in that royal families have some strong warrior origin, the royal families of India are mainly Rajput in origin, and those of Europe are German in origin!
The present House of Windsor, of Britain and some 16 Commonwealth realms, (previously the House of Hanover) starts with George the Ist, George I Louis Hanover (born 28th May, 1660) who belonged to the House of Hanover;
he becomes King George I of Great Britain in 1714 , found to be in line to the throne because his mother, Sophie Dorothea Prinzessin von der Pfalz is daughter of
Elizabeth Stuart, Princess of England, who is daughter of King James I Stuart, of England! (James I's direct line of descent has no heirs after Charles II, James II, his sons, and William III and Mary, and then Anne, all James I's grandchildren-hence the throne is passed on to George I, a great grandson from the female side.)
George I's father (husband of Sophie) is Ernest Augustus, Elector Kurfurst of Hanover. (in Germany)
and Ernest's father is Georg Herzog, Duke of Brunswik Luneberg .(in Germany.)
This royal ducal line continues back in time to the Dukes of Brunswik and Luneberg, and finally to a grandee by the name of Azo II Este, Marquis d'Este (died 1097.)
Azo II's mother descends from an older line of the Herzogs of Bayern and of Altdorf...........right there in the midst of medieval, early middle ages, German kingdoms!
Just for the record, George I's grandmother and daughter of James I of England, Elizabeth Stuart, Princess of England, had Danish-German lineage on her mother's side-her mother, the wife of James I, was Anne Oldenburg, daughter of Frederik II Oldenburg, King of Denmark. The Oldenburg House name signifies descent from the Dukes of Oldenburg, a very old ducal line from Oldenburg, Germany. This ducal line goes back to Christian I Graf of Oldenburg (d.1167)
The House of Oldenburg, founded by Egilmar I (d.1108) has the distinction of family members who bacame the royals, kings and emperors, of Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greece and Dukes of another ducal line, that of Schleswig-Holstien-and its cadet lines.
Peter II, Czar of Russia, grandson of Peter I, the Great, is grandson on his mother's side of Ludwig Rudolf, Herzog of Brunswik (1671-1735), whose maternal grandfather is Fredirich, Herzog/Duke of Schesleswig -Holstien. Fredirich's paternal grandfather is King Christian III Oldenburg, King of Denmark, who is descended from the Counts of Oldenburg, the House of Oldenburg cited in the previous paragraph. Hence Peter II, George I, Christian III are all related to one another.
