Talk:List of members of the House of Windsor

Latest comment: 1 year ago by 109.255.211.6 in topic Head of the house

Sourcing edit

I created this list by cut and paste from House of Windsor because it was clogging up that article. There were no sources for the list there, and that needs to be developed. DeCausa (talk) 15:59, 20 June 2012 (UTC)Reply

The Phillips, Armstrong-Jones etc. and other female-line descendants of George V and Elizabeth II are NOT members of the House of Windsor. edit

Both the 1917 Order in Council creating the House of Windsor: (which can be found here: http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/britstyles.htm#1917)

"...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..."

and the 1952 Order in Council (which can be found here: http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/prince_highness_docs.htm#Apr_9_1952) adopting the name of 'Windsor' as the House designation of the male-line descendants of Elizabeth II:


"I hereby declare My 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."

-People such as Zara Phillips, Viscount Linley and the Earl of Harewood should not be included on this list because they are not members of the House of Windsor, according to the two above Orders-in-Council.


So presently; the list should include:

in male-line descent from (and also including) Elizabeth II, per the 1952 Order-In-Council; if we exclude female descendants who marry and their descendants, according to the above Order-in-Council. This includes Princess Anne (as she has married) and her children and grandchildren.

  • Elizabeth II
  • Prince Charles,Prince of Wales
  • Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
  • Prince Henry of Wales
  • Prince Andrew, Duke of York
  • Princess Beatrice of York
  • Princess Eugenie of York
  • Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
  • Lady Louise Windsor
  • James, Viscount Severn

in male-line descent from Queen Victoria, per the 1917 Order-in-Council; if we exclude female descendants who marry and their descendants, according to the above Order-in-Council:

  • Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
  • Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
  • Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden
  • Lady Cosima Windsor
  • Prince Edward,Duke of Kent
  • George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews
  • Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick
  • Lady Marina Charlotte Windsor
  • Lady Amelia Windsor
  • Lord Nicholas Windsor
  • Albert Windsor
  • Leopold Windsor
  • Prince Michael of Kent
  • Lord Frederick Windsor
  • Lady Gabriella Windsor


Historically; if we look at the history of the House of Windsor; from its founding in 1917; it originally included, according to the order-in-council:

children of Queen Victoria:

  • Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught

grandchildren of Queen Victoria:

  • King George V
  • Princess Victoria (unmarried sister of King George V.)
  • Prince Arthur of Connaught (son of the Duke of Connaught.)

great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria:

  • Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII and subsequently Duke of Windsor)
  • Prince Albert (later Duke of York and subsequently George VI)
  • Princess Mary
  • Prince Henry (later Duke of Gloucester)
  • Prince George (later Duke of Kent)
  • Prince John
  • Alistair Windsor, Earl of Macduff(later 2nd Duke of Connaught.)
  • Princess Patricia of Connaught

Furthermore; if we look at who has historically been members of the House of Windsor since its foundation; we get the following (member in bold are those who have ceased to be members of the House of Windsor either through marriage (if female) or death):

  • King George V (died 1936)
  • Edward VIII (died 1972)
  • George VI (died 1952)
  • Elizabeth II (debatably left the House in 1947 on her marriage, later adopted the House designation of 'Windsor' for herself and her descendants in 1952.)
  • Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
  • Princess Anne (left the House on her marriage in 1974)
  • Prince Andrew, Duke of York
  • Princess Eugenie
  • Princess Beatrice
  • Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
  • Lady Louise Windsor
  • James, Viscount Severn
  • Princess Margaret (left house on her marriage in 1961.)
  • Princess Mary, Princess Royal (left the house on her marriage in 1922.)
  • Prince William of Gloucester (died 1972)
  • Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
  • Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
  • Lady Davina Lewis (left the House on her marriage in 2004)
  • Lady Rose Gilman (left the House on her marriage in 2008)
  • Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden
  • Lady Cosima Windsor
  • Prince George, Duke of Kent (died 1942)
  • Prince Edward,Duke of Kent
  • George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews
  • Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick
  • Lady Marina Charlotte Windsor
  • Lady Amelia Windsor
  • Lady Helen Taylor (left the House on her marriage in 1992)
  • Lord Nicholas Windsor
  • Albert Windsor
  • Leopold Windsor
  • Princess Alexandra of Kent (left the House on her marriage in 1963)
  • Prince Michael of Kent
  • Lord Frederick Windsor
  • Lady Gabriella Windsor
  • Prince John (died 1919)
  • Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (died 1942)
  • Prince Arthur of Connaught (died 1938)
  • Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught (died 1943)
  • Princess Patricia of Connaught (left the House on her marriage in 1919)

Princess Alice edit

What about Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone? She was from the line of Prince Leopold but she was definitely a Windsor not like her younger brother, Carl Eduard, who became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Kowalmistrz (talk) 20:05, 18 June 2013 (UTC)Reply

She was married to Prince Alexander of Teck (later Sir Alexander Cambridge, Earl of Athlone) in 1906, so never bore the name of Windsor. Opera hat (talk) 23:51, 23 July 2013 (UTC)Reply

She certainly never lost her rank of British Princess (but then to be fair, neither did Carl Eduard); but more to the point; it was not the issue of Leopold that were excluded from membership of the House of Windsor-the 1917 Order-in Council included all male-line descendants of Queen Victoria-but only those domiciled in the UK as British subjects. So, this would have included Princess Alice had she not married in 1906 (the 1917 Order-in-Council stated that it excludes 'females who marry and their descendents', although the table on this article includes them for some reason), but not Carl Eduard, as not only was he not domiciled in the United Kingdom, he was the Head of State and sovereign of a sovereign foreign country (the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.) as well.JWULTRABLIZZARD (talk) 00:43, 24 July 2013 (UTC)Reply

Royal Baby edit

HRH Prince N. of Cambridge? Why Prince N.? Zalunardo8 (talk) 14:59, 23 July 2013 (UTC)Reply

"N." is a traditional place holder for an unknown name. Once the name is announced, "N" goes away and the name is put in. NDomer09 (talk) 15:14, 23 July 2013 (UTC)Reply

Current or all members of the House of Windsor? edit

Why the article list only current living members of the House of Windsor? In this case, the article could be named List of members of the British Royal Family. Kowalmistrz (talk) 22:25, 23 July 2013 (UTC)Reply

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Head of the house edit

who is the current head, King Charles III or Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (who is the most senior in male line). should include clarifications with more sources Chamika1990 (talk) 05:12, 15 September 2022 (UTC)Reply

It's not a formal position as it is in many German aristocratic families. There's not the same detailed House law as they have which defines that sort of thing. The most that could be said, i think, is that X is commonly treated as the Head. The X is probably the reigning monarch - but it would require a review to see what the sources customarily say and what the quality of the sources are. I suspect doing so wouldn't uncover much that could be said definitively. I'm sure Charles has/will be described by journalists and coffee-table book authors as Head of the House of Windsor (see for example this LA Times article), but how authoritative that is is a different question. DeCausa (talk) 07:54, 15 September 2022 (UTC)Reply
Presumably by "German reckoning" the head is Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and by British reckoning it's whoever the monarch is. As DeCausa says, there's no set of rules to say otherwise (or indeed, to definitively say either of those). In order to end up with Richard, you'd have to mix and match the two: taking the British "branch" as a new founding, but using the rules of the parent house. And more importantly, I don't think any source will do this. 109.255.211.6 (talk) 16:22, 9 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Succession numbers edit

Now seem to be mostly incorrect. May just be the obvious out-by-one error, but I'm not going to assume that without checking. Do we really even need these here? Maintenance nightmare, and redundant with other articles providing the same info. Only hopefully more correctly. 109.255.211.6 (talk) 15:49, 9 October 2022 (UTC)Reply