House of Hanover

Dukes and Electors of Brunswick-Lüneburg

George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is considered the first member of the House of Hanover. When the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was divided in 1635, George inherited the Principality of Calenberg and moved his residence to Hanover. His son, Christian Louis inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from George's brother. Calenberg and Lüneburg were then shared between George's sons until united in 1705 under his grandson, also called George, who subsequently became George I of Great Britain. All held the title Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. George died in 1641 and was succeeded by:

Monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom and Electors and Kings of Hanover

George Louis became the first British monarch of the House of Hanover as George I in 1714. The dynasty provided six British monarchs:

Of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland:

Of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland:

George I, George II, and George III also served as electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally, Electors of Hanover (cf. personal union). From 1814, when Hanover became a kingdom, the British monarch was also King of Hanover.

In 1837, however, the personal union of the thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended. Succession to the Hanoverian throne was regulated by semi-Salic law (agnatic-cognatic), which gave priority to all male lines before female lines, so that it passed not to Queen Victoria but to her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland. In 1901, when Queen Victoria died, her son and heir Edward VII became the first British Monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward taking his family name from that of his father, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Kings of Hanover after the breakup of the personal union

After the death of William IV in 1837, the following kings of Hanover continued the dynasty:

The Kingdom of Hanover came to an end in 1866 when it was annexed by Prussia. The 1866 rift between the House of Hanover and the House of Hohenzollern was settled only by the 1913 marriage of Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia to Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick.

Prince-bishops of Osnabrück

At the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia (1648) awarded the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück alternately to a Catholic bishop and to a cadet branch of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Since the treaty gave cadets priority over heirs and reigning princes, Osnabrück became a form of appanage (in alternation) of the House of Hanover.

Osnabrück was mediatized to Hanover in 1803.

Dukes of Brunswick

In 1884, the senior branch of the House of Welf became extinct. By semi-Salic law, the House of Hanover would have acceded to the Duchy of Brunswick, but there had been strong Prussian pressure against having George V of Hanover or his son, the Duke of Cumberland, succeed to a member state of the German Empire, at least without strong conditions, including swearing to the German constitution. By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a temporary council of regency to take over at the Duke's death, and if necessary appoint a regent.

The Duke of Cumberland proclaimed himself Duke of Brunswick at the Duke's death, and lengthy negotiations ensued, but were never resolved. Prince Albert of Prussia was appointed regent; after his death in 1906, Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg succeeded him. The Duke of Cumberland's eldest son died in a car accident in 1912; the father renounced Brunswick in favor of his youngest son Ernest Augustus, who married the Kaiser's daughter, swore allegiance to the German Empire, and was allowed to ascend the throne of the Duchy in November 1913. He was a major-general during the First World War; but he was overthrown as Duke of Brunswick in 1918. His father was also deprived of his British titles in 1919, for "bearing arms against Great Britain".

Claimants

The later heads of the House of Hanover have been:

see Line of succession to the Hanoverian Throne

The family has been resident in Austria since 1866; it has held courtesy titles since 1919.

Patrilineal descent

1. Oberto I, 912–975
2. Oberto Obizzo, 940–1017
3. Albert Azzo I, Margrave of Milan, 970–1029
4. Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan, d.
5. Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, 1037–1101
6. Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, 1074–1126
7. Henry X, Duke of Bavaria, 1108–1139
8. Henry the Lion, 1129–1195
9. William of Winchester, Lord of Lunenburg, 1184–1213
10. Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1204–1252
11. Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1236–1279
12. Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1268–1318
13. Magnus the Pious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1304–1369
14. Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1328–1373
15. Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1362–1434
16. Frederick II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1408–1478
17. Otto V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1439–1471
18. Heinrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1468–1532
19. Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1497–1546
20. William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1535–1592
21. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1582–1641
22. Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, 1629–1698
23. George I of Great Britain, 1660–1727
24. George II of Great Britain, 1683–1760
25. Frederick, Prince of Wales, 1707–1751
26. George III of the United Kingdom, 1738–1820
27. Ernest Augustus I of Hanover, 1771–1851
28. George V of Hanover, 1819–1878
29. Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 1845–1923
30. Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, 1887–1953
31. Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover, 1914–1987
32. Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover, b. 1954
33. Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, b. 1983