House of Hanover (British royal dynasty)

Origin and succession

Succession to the British throne passed to the Hanoverian line because of the Act of Settlement 1701, which aimed to secure a Protestant monarch. When Queen Anne died the Elector of Hanover, George Louis, claimed the crown and became George I. The new dynasty brought rulers who were native German princes but who quickly adapted to British political life and institutions.

Monarchs in Britain and the United Kingdom

Key Hanoverian monarchs reigned during a period of major change in Britain: the rise of constitutional government, the expansion of empire, and the early Industrial Revolution. The principal British sovereigns of the house were:

• George I (r. 1714–1727)
• George II (r. 1727–1760)
• George III (r. 1760–1820)
• George IV (r. 1820–1830)
• William IV (r. 1830–1837)
• Victoria (r. 1837–1901)

Hanover in Germany and the end of the personal union

While these monarchs wore the British crown, they were also Electors, and after 1814 Kings, of Hanover. The crowns of Britain and Hanover were held together by the same monarch until 1837; when Victoria became queen, Hanoverian succession laws prevented a female succession, so a different branch of the family became King of Hanover. The Kingdom of Hanover itself survived until 1866 when it was annexed by Prussia.

Legacy and notable facts

The Hanoverian era is associated with the consolidation of parliamentary government in Britain, the Georgian cultural period, and significant colonial and economic growth. Although the British royal family later took other dynastic names (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and from 1917 Windsor), historians still often use "Hanoverian" to describe the political and cultural features of 18th- and early 19th-century Britain. For further context on the United Kingdom's constitutional changes and monarchy, see United Kingdom.