Why did the English kings 100 years ago take the pseudonym of Windsor

It turns out that the Windsor is not the real name of the British monarchs, but just a pseudonym that appeared about a century ago. The name of the English city in which the palace of the British rulers was located was considered very suitable in order to become the name of the royal dynasty. But why did their own surname not please the monarchs so much that they decided to change it by taking the name of a small town?

When the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, George V, proclaimed a new dynastic name on July 17, 1917, his subjects took it with great enthusiasm. After all, in fact, the king came from the Saxe-Coburg-Goth dynasty, which during the era of the military conflict between Great Britain and Germany was very unpatriotic. In the wake of the anti-German sentiment that swept the country, the king was forced to change his name and take a purely English pseudonym for himself and his heirs.

The emergence of Germanophobia in the minds of the British began in the second half of the XIX century, and with the growth of the military power of Germany, these feelings only intensified. It should be noted that a sufficient number of Germans lived in London and other cities of the country. They owned bakeries and small shops, often got jobs as workers. With the outbreak of World War I, the discontent of the Germans began to increase, and attacks and pogroms became more frequent, during which the anger of the British fell upon the heads of innocent German immigrants. In such an environment, and taking into account the general precarious situation of monarchies in Europe, King George V decided to become a true Englishman and get rid of everything that reminded him of his German roots.

It should be noted that the true British have long been away from the British throne, and dynastic marriages between many of the ruling houses of Europe have led to the fact that almost all the monarchs were closely related to each other. And the famous Queen Victoria was not English by blood, as she came from the Hanoverian dynasty, originating from an ancient Germanic family. She married Albert Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, whose surname was inherited by numerous descendants, including King Edward VII and his successor George V.

Given the difficult situation that prevailed in the country and throughout Europe during the war, the king considered it good to forget about all his German titles and choose a new name for the ruling dynasty. It is noteworthy that since then the heirs of the British throne often chose representatives of German dynasties as their spouses, and the current Queen Elizabeth II is married to a representative of the Glucksburg clan. But this does not matter anymore, since all representatives of the British crown are Windsor. After the far-sighted Elizabeth II signed the corresponding decree, all heirs to the throne (regardless of gender and surname of the parents) will be called the Windsor.

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