Michael L Nash continues the story of the birth of the House of Windsor
On 18 July 1917, by royal proclamation from King George V—Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor—the House of Windsor came into being (see ‘What’s in a name?’ Pt 1, NLJ, 28 April 207, p 22). Queen Mary his own wife, lost her original title of Her Serene Highness Princess May of Teck and her two brothers lost their quasi-royal titles of ‘Serene Highnesses’, becoming instead Most Honourable and Right Honourable. Those titles had been granted in Austria, not Germany, and could have remained unrevoked, but that is not what happened. It was definitely a comedown.
Was it really necessary? The veteran observer Sir Charles Petrie, looking back, commented: ‘It is difficult to resist the conclusion that the change in the name of the reigning dynasty was an unworthy concession to popular hysteria, and it gave rise to a number of unhappy comparisons, even if it is untrue that, on hearing of it, the Kaiser ordered a special
