"A Good Riddance"; cartoon fromPunch, Vol. 152, 27 June 1917, commenting on the King's order to relinquish all German titles held by members of his family
Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor....[5]
George V also restricted the use ofBritish princely titles to his nearest relations,[8] and in 1919, he stripped three of his German relations of their British titles and styles under theTitles Deprivation Act 1917.[9]
The children and male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip also genealogically belong to theHouse of Oldenburg[10] since Philip was by birth a member of theGlücksburg branch of that house.[2]
The 1917 proclamation stated that the name of the Royal House and all British descendants of Victoria and Albert in the male line were to bear the name of Windsor, except for women who married into other families.
Soon after Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, Lord Mountbatten observed that because it was the standard practice for the wife in a marriage to adopt her husband's surname, theHouse of Mountbatten now reigned. When Elizabeth's grandmother,Queen Mary, heard of this comment, she informed British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill and he later advised the Queen to issue a royal proclamation declaring that the royal house was to remain known as the House of Windsor.This she did on 9 April 1952, officially declaring it her "Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that My descendants, other than female descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor."[11] Philip privately complained, "I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."[12]
On 8 February 1960, some years after both the death of Queen Mary and the resignation of Churchill, the Queen confirmed that she and her children would continue to be known as the "House and Family of Windsor", as would any agnatic descendants (through the male line of succession, orpatrilineality) who enjoy thestyle ofRoyal Highness and the title of prince or princess.[11] Still, Elizabeth also decreed that her agnatic descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surnameMountbatten-Windsor.[11]
This came after some months of correspondence between thePrime MinisterHarold Macmillan and the constitutional expertEdward Iwi. Iwi had raised the prospect that the royal child due to be born in February 1960 would bear "the Badge of Bastardy" if it were given its mother's maiden name (Windsor) rather than its father's name (Mountbatten). Macmillan had attempted to rebuff Iwi, until the Queen advisedRab Butler in January 1960 that for some time she had her heart set on a change that would recognise the name, Mountbatten. She wished to make this change before the birth of her child. The issue did not affect Prince Charles or Princess Anne, as they had been born Mountbatten before the Queen's accession to the throne.[13]Prince Andrew was born 11 days later, on 19 February 1960.
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