2007-02-28 05:07:27 · 14 answers · asked by Love Is 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Royalty
I'm sure some limey will answer this, but yes, they have last names. About 20 of them. They are of Germanic descent, but changed the name from the House of Hanover to the House of Windsor to sound more British (when Britain was at war with Germany)
As for you Brits that don't like my answer, tough, I don't like any broad that only got her job because of her relatives
2007-02-28 05:11:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
Well, Queen Elizabeth II, her last name was Windsor. So, I do believe that the whole family goes by that name.
Queen Elizabeth's full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor.
The names of dynasties tended to change when the line of succession was taken by a rival faction within the family (for example, Henry IV and the Lancastrians, Edward IV and the Yorkists, Henry VII and the Tudors), or when succession passed to a different family branch through females (for example, Henry II and the Angevins, James I and the Stuarts, George I and the Hanoverians).
Just as children can take their surnames from their father, so sovereigns normally take the name of their 'House' from their father. For this reason, Queen Victoria's eldest son Edward VII belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (the family name of his father Prince Albert). Edward VII's son George V became the second king of that dynasty when he succeeded to the throne in 1910.
In 1917, there was a radical change, when George V specifically adopted Windsor, not only as the name of the 'House' or dynasty, but also as the surname of his family. The family name was changed as a result of anti-German feeling during the First World War, and the name Windsor was adopted after the Castle of the same name.
At a meeting of the Privy Council on 17 July 1917, George V declared that 'all descendants in the male line of Queen Victoria, who are subjects of these realms, other than female descendants who marry or who have married, shall bear the name of Windsor'.
The Royal Family name of Windsor was confirmed by The Queen after her accession in 1952. However, in 1960, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the Royal Family (without changing the name of the Royal House), as Windsor is the surname used by all the male and unmarried female descendants of George V.
It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that The Queen's descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.
2007-02-28 05:37:54 · answer #2 · answered by Marmylade 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Her last name is techically Windsor, but the royal family is not bound to use it; the princes in their military titles use 'Wales' as a surname.
They don't worry about last names like we do because it doesn't mean the same thing as ours. It is much more important that bear their titles, then the House they descend from. Last names are for the commoners.
2007-02-28 20:14:18 · answer #3 · answered by eschampion 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Her last name is Windsor; it was Mountbatten between her marriage in 1947 and her accession to the throne in 1952. Legally her children are also Windsor; the name Mountbatten-Windsor will only apply to their future descendants who are not HRHs. Their name was not Hanover, either; theirs was the House of Hanover until 1837 and the surname was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha until 1917 - before the Queen was even born.
2007-02-28 06:12:07 · answer #4 · answered by Dunrobin 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Actually, officially she does not have a last name (surname). Neither do the immediate royal family. But sometimes for easy in today's society some members do have to have one, for instance Prince Harry in his military role uses Windsor as a last name.
2007-02-28 07:40:59 · answer #5 · answered by Aine 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well, Elizabeth's last name is Mountbatten-Windsor. She is a descendant from the Windsors and her husband, Prince Philip, last name is Mountbatten
2007-02-28 09:13:45 · answer #6 · answered by katlvr125 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Royal families have family names but were not used. They are better known by their first names.
The british royals have Windsor.
Sweden has Bernadotte
and Brunei has Bolkiah...
2007-02-28 18:29:08 · answer #7 · answered by tachabei 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Windsor
2007-02-28 05:14:55 · answer #8 · answered by whymewhynow 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Windsor is the respected last name of Her Majesty.
2007-03-01 19:15:02 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Windsor the rest are known as Mountbatten-Windsor
2007-02-28 05:10:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋