The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

that has included many German and British

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

s from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Moselle area was closely related to the imperial family of the

Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

Origins

The (Younger) House of Welf is the older branch of the

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

, a dynasty whose earliest known members lived in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

and

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

in the late 9th/early 10th century, sometimes called Welf-Este. The first member was

Welf I, Duke of Bavaria Welf I (c. 1035/10406 November 1101) was Duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the genealogy of the Elder House of Welf, he is counted as Welf IV. Bio ...

, also known as Welf IV. He inherited the property of the

Elder House of Welf An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and ...

when his maternal uncle Welf III, Duke of Carinthia and Verona, the last male Welf of the Elder House, died in 1055. Welf IV was the son of Welf III's sister

Kunigunde of Altdorf Kunigunde of Altdorf (also known as ''Cunegonde'' or ''Chuniza''; – 31 August 1054) was a member of the Swabian line of the Elder House of Welf. She was also the ancestress of the younger House of Guelph, a cadet branch of the House of Este ...

and her husband

Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan Alberto Azzo II (997 or July 10, 1009, in Modena – August 20, 1097, in Modena), Margrave of Milan, and Liguria, Count of Gavello, Padua, Rovigo, Lunigiana, Monselice, and Montagnana, was a powerful nobleman in the Holy Roman Empire. He is con ...

. In 1070, Welf IV became Duke of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Welf II, Duke of Bavaria Welf II (1072 – 24 September 1120, Kaufering), or Welfhard, called Welf the Fat (''pinguis''), was Duke of Bavaria from 1101 until his death. In the Welf genealogy, he is counted as Welf V. Life Welf was the oldest son of Welf I, Duke ...

married Countess

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as ...

, who died childless and left him her possessions, including

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat o ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, and Reggio, which played a role in the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

. Since the Welf dynasty sided with the Pope in this controversy, partisans of the Pope came to be known in Italy as Guelphs (''Guelfi''). The first genealogy of the Welfs is the ''

Genealogia Welforum The ''Genealogia Welforum'' ("Genealogy of the Welfs") is the earliest history of the Welf dynasty. It is an anonymous work in Latin, composed at Weingarten Abbey in the early 1120s. It was commissioned by Henry the Black, the Welf duke of Bava ...

'', composed shortly before 1126. A much more detailed history of the dynasty, the '' Historia Welforum'', was composed around 1170. It is the earliest history of a noble house in Germany. File:Kunigunda Azzo.jpg,

, sister of Welf III, wife of Albert Azzo II of Este, Margrave of Milan, parents of Welf IV File:Wgt Stifterbüchlein 25v.jpg,

( 1030/1040 – 1101) File:WElf.jpg,

(1073–1120)

Bavaria and Saxony

Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria Henry IX (107513 December 1126), called the Black, a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria from 1120 to 1126. Life and reign Henry was the second son of Duke Welf I of Bavaria (died 1101) from his marriage with Judith, daughter of Co ...

, from 1120–1126, was the first of the three dukes of the Welf dynasty called Henry. His wife Wulfhild was the heiress of the house of

Billung The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudol ...

, possessing the territory around

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

in Lower Saxony. Their son,

Henry the Proud Henry the Proud (german: Heinrich der Stolze) (20 October 1139), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria (as Henry X) from 1126 to 1138 and Duke of Saxony (as Henry II) as well as Margrave of Tuscany and Duke of Spoleto fro ...

, was the son-in-law and heir of

Lothair II, Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before ...

and became also

Duke of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

on Lothair's death. Lothair left his territory around Brunswick, inherited from his mother of the

Brunonids The Brunonids (or Brunonians, german: Brunonen, la, Brunones, i.e. "Brunos") were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries, who owned property in Eastphalia (around Brunswick) and Frisia. The Brunonids are assumed to be descendants o ...

, to his daughter Gertrud. Her husband Henry the Proud became then the favoured candidate in the imperial election against

Conrad III Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 ...

of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynas ...

. Henry lost the election, as the other princes feared his power and temperament, and was dispossessed of his duchies by Conrad III. Henry's brother

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf. Biography Welf inherited the familial po ...

(1115–1191), Margrave of Tuscany, later left his Swabian territories around Ravensburg, the original possessions of the

, to his nephew Emperor

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

, and thus to the House of Hohenstaufen. File:Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria.jpg, Henry the Black, duke of Bavaria (1075–1126) and his wife Wulfhild of

File:Lev rodice dvojice.jpg,

(1102–1139), Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, and his wife Gertrud of Saxony, daughter of

, Duke of Saxony File:Vad-0321 125 Welf VI.jpg,

(1115–1191), Margrave of Tuscany File:Steingaden GO-1.jpg,

Steingaden Abbey Steingaden Abbey (German: ''Kloster Steingaden'') was a Premonstratensian monastery in Steingaden in Bavaria, Germany. History Dedicated to John the Baptist, the abbey was founded in 1147 as a Premonstratensian house by Welf VI, third son of ...

, Swabia, place of burial of its founder Welf VI (d. 1191) The next duke of the Welf dynasty

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

(1129/1131–1195) recovered his father's two duchies, Saxony in 1142, Bavaria in 1156 and thus ruled vast parts of Germany. In 1168 he married

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

(1156–1189), the daughter of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...

and

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of Henry II of England, King Henry I ...

, and sister of

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Co ...

, gaining ever more influence. His first cousin,

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, tried to get along with him, but when Henry refused to assist him once more in an Italian war campaign, conflict became inevitable. Dispossessed of his duchies after the

Battle of Legnano The Battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on May 29, 1176, near the town of Legnano in present-day Lombardy, in Italy. Although the presence of the enemy nearby w ...

in 1176 by Emperor Frederick I and the other princes of the German Empire eager to claim parts of his vast territories, he was exiled to the court of his father-in-law Henry II in Normandy in 1180. He returned to Germany three years later. Henry made his peace with the Hohenstaufen Emperor in 1185 and returned to his much diminished lands around Brunswick without recovering his two duchies. Bavaria had been given to Otto I, Duke of Bavaria, and the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...

was divided between the Archbishop of Cologne, the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlos ...

and others. Diminished lands did not prevent him from imprisoning Richard I on his return from the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity ( Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

, and demanding a huge ransom in 1193. Henry died at Brunswick in 1195. File:Lev Jindrich.jpg,

(1130–1195), Duke of Bavaria and Saxony File:Matylda.jpg, Matilda Plantagenet (1156–1189), wife of Henry the Lion, sister of

File:Burg Dankwarderode am Burgplatz in Braunschweig IMG 2756.jpg, Henry's

Dankwarderode Castle Dankwarderode Castle (german: Burg Dankwarderode) on the ''Burgplatz'' ("castle square") in Braunschweig (Brunswick) is a Saxon lowland castle. It was the residence of the Brunswick dukes for centuries and, today, is part of the Herzog Anton Ulric ...

in Brunswick File:Braunschweiger Loewe Original Brunswick Lion.jpg, Henry's

Brunswick Lion The ''Brunswick Lion'' (german: Braunschweiger Löwe) is a medieval sculpture, created in bronze between 1164 and 1176, and the best-known landmark in the German city of Brunswick. The ''Brunswick Lion'' was originally located on the Burgplatz ...

File:Ottta4Brunsvicky.jpg,

Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 11 ...

, son of Henry the Lion and Matilda of England

Brunswick and Hanover

Henry the Lion's son, Otto of Brunswick, was elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German k ...

and crowned Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV after years of further conflicts with the Hohenstaufen emperors. He incurred the wrath of

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

and was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

in 1215. Otto was forced to abdicate the imperial throne by the Hohenstaufen Frederick II.Canduci, pg. 294 He was the only Welf to become Holy Roman Emperor. Brunswijk wapen

Henry the Lion's grandson

Otto the Child Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

became duke of a part of Saxony in 1235, the new

Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig und Lüneburg), or more properly the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was a historical duchy that existed from the late Middle Ages to the Late Modern era within the Holy Roma ...

, and died there in 1252. The duchy was divided several times during the High Middle Ages amongst various lines of the House of Welf. The subordinate states had the legal status of principalities within the duchy, which remained as an undivided imperial

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

. Each state was generally named after the ruler's residence, e.g., the rulers of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel originally lived in Wolfenbüttel. Whenever a branch of the family died out in the male line, the territory was given to another line, as the duchy remained enfeoffed to the family as a whole rather than its individual members. All members of the House of Welf, male or female, bore the title ''Duke/Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg'' in addition to the style of the subordinate principality. By 1705, the subordinate principalities had taken their final form as the

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

and the

Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (german: Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 ...

, and these would become the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

and the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna ...

after the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

in 1815.

Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

In 1269 the Principality of Brunswick was formed following the first division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1432, as a result of increasing tensions with the townsfolk of Brunswick, the Brunswick Line moved their residence to

Wolfenbüttel Castle Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog Augu ...

, thus the name ''Wolfenbüttel'' became the unofficial name of this principality. With Ivan VI of Russia the Brunswick line even had a short intermezzo on the Russian imperial throne in 1740. Not until 1754 was the residence moved back to Brunswick, into the new Brunswick Palace. In 1814 the principality became the

, ruled by the senior branch of the House of Welf.

Principality of Calenberg – later Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg

In 1432 the estates gained by the ''Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel'' between the

Deister The Deister is a chain of hills in the German state of Lower Saxony, about 15 mi (25 km) southwest of the city of Hanover. It runs in a north-westerly direction from Springe in the south to Rodenberg in the north. The next in the chai ...

and

Leine The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriv ...

split away as the ''Principality of Calenberg''. In 1495 it was expanded around

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

and in 1584 went back to the Wolfenbüttel Line. In 1634, as a result of inheritance distributions, it went to the House of Luneburg residing at

Celle Castle Celle Castle (german: Schloss Celle) or, less commonly, Celle Palace, in the German town of Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tr ...

. In 1635 it was given to George, younger brother of Prince Ernest II of Lüneburg, who chose

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

as his residence. New territory was added in 1665, and in 1705 the Principality of Luneburg was taken over by the Hanoverians. In 1692 Duke Ernest Augustus from the Calenberg-Hanover Line acquired the right to be a

prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the princ ...

of the Holy Roman Empire as the Prince-Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Colloquially the Electorate was known as the

. In 1814 it was succeeded by the

British succession

Religion-driven politics placed Ernest Augustus's wife

Sophia of the Palatinate Sophia of Hanover (born Princess Sophia of the Palatinate; 14 October 1630 – 8 June 1714) was the Electress of Hanover by marriage to Elector Ernest Augustus and later the heiress presumptive to the thrones of England and Scotland (later Gre ...

in the line of succession to the British crown by the

Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, be ...

, written to ensure a Protestant succession to the thrones of Scotland and England at a time when anti-Catholic sentiment ran high in much of Northern Europe and Great Britain. Sophia died shortly before her first cousin once removed,

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as ...

, the last sovereign of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

. Sophia's son

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

succeeded Queen Anne and formed a

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interli ...

from 1714 between the British crown and the Electorate of Hanover, which lasted until well after the end of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

more than a century later, through the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the rise of a new successor kingdom. The British royal family became known as the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house or ...

. File:Coat of arms of Great Britain (1714–1801).svg, Coat of arms of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain (1714–1801) File:Bernard Lens King George I 1718 VA.jpg,

(1714–1727) File:George II 1755-1767.jpg, George II (1727–1760) File:Frederick, Prince of Wales 1754 by Liotard.jpg,

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fa ...

(b. 1707 d. 1751) File:George III (by Sir William Beechey).jpg,

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

(1760–1820) File:King George IV when Prince Regent (1762-1830), by Henry Bone.jpg,

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

(1820–1830) File:WilliamIVbyLonsdale.jpg,

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

(1830–1837) File:Dronning victoria.jpg,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

(1837–1901)

Kingdom of Hanover

The "Electorate of Hanover" (the core duchy) was enlarged with the addition of other lands and became the

in 1814 at the

. During the first half of the nineteenth century, the Kingdom was ruled as

by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

crown from its creation under

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, the last

elector of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

until the death of

in 1837. At that point, the crown of Hanover went to William's younger brother, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale under the

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old D ...

requiring the next male heir to inherit, whereas the British throne was inherited by an elder brother's only daughter,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. Her offspring belong to the

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (; german: Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) is a European royal house. It takes its name from its oldest domain, the Ernestine duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, its members later sat on the thrones of Belgium, Bu ...

: in 1917 the name was changed to the

House of Windsor The House of Windsor is the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. In 1901, a line of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (itself a cadet branch of the House of Wettin) succeeded the House of Hanover to th ...

. The Kingdom of Hanover was lost in 1866 by Ernest Augustus's son

George V of Hanover en, George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover , mother = Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , birth_date = 27 May 1819 , ...

, Austria's ally during the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, when it was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

after Austria's defeat and became the Prussian province of Hanover. The Welfs went into exile at

Gmunden Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydrop ...

, Austria, where they built ''Cumberland Castle''. File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hanover.svg, Coat of arms of the

kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

1837 File:Ernest Augustus I of Hanover.PNG,

Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover Ernest Augustus (german: Ernst August; 5 June 177118 November 1851) was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death in 1851. As the fifth son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Hanover, he initially seemed unlikely to become a ...

File:GeorgeVHannover.jpg, King

Brunswick succession

The senior line of the dynasty had ruled the much smaller principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, created the sovereign

in 1814. This line became extinct in 1884. Although the Duchy should have been inherited by the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...

, son of the last king of Hanover, Prussian suspicions of his loyalty led the duchy's throne to remain vacant until 1913, when the Duke of Cumberland's son, Ernst August, married the daughter of Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

and was allowed to inherit it. His rule there was short-lived, as the monarchy came to an end following the First World War in 1918. The Welf dynasty continues to exist. The last member sitting on a European throne was

Frederica of Hanover Frederica of Hanover (''Friederike Luise''; ; 18 April 1917 – 6 February 1981) was Queen consort of Greece from 1947 until 1964 as the wife of King Paul, thereafter Queen mother during the reign of her son, King Constantine II. Early life Bo ...

, Queen of Greece († 1981), mother of

Queen Sofia of Spain Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

and King

Constantine II of Greece Constantine II ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Βʹ, ''Konstantínos II''; 2 June 1940) reigned as the last King of Greece, from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Monarchy of Greece, Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine is the only ...

. Frederica's brother

Prince George William of Hanover Prince George William of Hanover (''Georg Wilhelm Ernst August Friedrich Axel Prinz von Hannover''; 25 March 1915 – 8 January 2006) was the second-eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, and his wife Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, ...

married

Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark ( el, Σοφία, translit=Sofía; 26 June 1914 – 24 November 2001) was by birth a Greek and Danish princess, as well as Princess of Hesse-Kassel and Princess of Hanover through her successive marriages ...

, sister of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

. The House's head is Queen Frederica's nephew Ernst August, the third and present husband of

Princess Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August, the Princess of Hanover. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister ...

. File:Leineschloss Leine.jpg, The Leine Palace in Hanover File:Unbekannt, Maison de Plaisir d'Herrenhausen, c1708..jpg,

Herrenhausen Palace Herrenhausen Palace (German: ''Schloss Herrenhausen'') is a former royal summer residence of the House of Hanover in the Herrenhausen district of the German city of Hanover. It is the centerpiece of Herrenhausen Gardens. The original palace ...

and

Herrenhausen Gardens The Herrenhausen Gardens (german: Herrenhäuser Gärten, ) of Herrenhausen Palace, located in Herrenhausen, an urban district of Lower Saxony's capital of Hanover are made up of the Great Garden (), the Berggarten, the Georgengarten and th ...

in Hanover File:Das Schloss in Celle.jpg,

File:Braunschweiger Schloss.jpg, Brunswick Palace File:Wolfenbuettel Schloss (2006).jpg,

File:Pattensen Marienburg Castle.jpg,

Marienburg Castle (Hanover) Marienburg Castle is a Gothic revival castle in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north-west of Hildesheim, and around south of Hannover, in the municipality of Pattensen, Hannover. It was also a summer residence of the House of Welf whose ...

, present seat of the Princes of Hanover

Rulers of the House of Welf

House of Welf

Partitions under Welf rule

Table of rulers

Family trees

Welf family tree 12th century

Welf family tree 18th century to present

Some direct ancestors (fathers and sons) of the present generation are: *

(1771–1851) *

(1819-1878) *

Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover en, Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick , house = Hanover , father = George V of Hanover , mother = Marie of Saxe-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover , death_date = , death_place = Gmunde ...

(1845-1923) *

Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick Ernest Augustus (Ernest Augustus Christian George; german: Ernst August Christian Georg; 17 November 1887 – 30 January 1953) was the reigning Duchy of Brunswick, Duke of Brunswick from 2 November 1913 to 8 November 1918. He was a grandson of Geor ...

(1887-1953) * Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1914-1987) * Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1954-)

References

External links

Die Welfen. Official site

{{Authority control *

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...