A Broken Link

By the death from an apoplectic stroke of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lueneburg and Duke of Cumberland until 1917 (when King George canceled the British titles of German Princes who supported the Triple Entente against the British Empire in the War), a single link in the chain of the history of the British Royal Family has been severed.

When Queen Victoria ascended the British Throne in 1837 the throne of Hanover became separated from the United Kingdom. As women were not eligible to rule in Hanover, Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, fifth and most unpopular son of George III, became King of Hanover, but retained his British title.

In 1851, he was succeeded by his son as George V of Hanover. In 1866, as one of the consequences of the Austro-Prussian War, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and King George was deposed. Twelve years later he died and was succeeded by his son, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lueneburg, who, however, still claimed and was generally known by the British title of Duke of Cumberland. This man, a great-grandson of George III of Britain, second cousin once removed of King George V and second cousin of Queen Mary, is the gentleman who was proud to hold a British title but " too proud " to fight for it. Thus by depriving him of his title did the head of the House of Windsor (formerly the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha) completely repudiate its German connections.