House of Hanover: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The House of Hanover (the Hanoverians) were a British royal dynasty which succeeded the House of Stuart, in 1714. It is sometimes referred to as the House of Brunswick, Hanover line. The first Hanoverian rulers, George I and George II, were from Hanover, in what is now Germany. The Hanoverians were descended from Heinrich der Löwe.

Holders of the British Crown also served as Electors of Hanover (see Personal union). Beginning in 1814, when Hanover was made into a kingdom, the British monarch also served jointly as King of Hanover. The thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover diverged in 1837 as the throne of Hanover, unlike that of the U.K., was under the Salic law, and so did not pass to Queen Victoria and instead passed to her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland. (See: Rulers of Hanover)

The dynasty provided six monarchs:

Of the Kingdom of Great Britain:

• George I (r. 1714-1727)
• George II (r. 1727-1760)
• George III (r. 1760-1820)¹

Of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland:

• George III (r. 1760-1820)
• George IV (r. 1820-1830)
• William IV (r. 1830-1837)
• Victoria (r. 1837-1901).

Victoria changed the name of the dynasty to the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, after her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. However, the current British monarch is a direct descendant of George I, and the Act of Settlement requires the monarch to be a Protestant descendant of Sophia, Electress of Hanover.

The current head of the House is Ernst August of Hanover.

See also: List of British monarchs