Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Monday 17 July 2017

The House of Windsor


Today is the centenary of the Proclamation by King George V in 1917 of the change of name of the British Royal family from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.

This was, of course, a consequence of the Great War and a decision to remove dynastic links with Germany.

There is an article about the change at The House of Windsor – A Proclamation 1917 


The background to this decision is set out in an article from the Daily Mail in July 2014

Why are the royals STILL hiding their German past?,which has some interesting tales about

 King George V at this period of his reign.


Another article about the name change from The Guardian can be 

read at at British royal family change their name to Windsor  

In addition this has a very interesting link at the side to a longer article about the 

adoption of the  Mountbatten-Windsor surname for non-titled descendants of The Queen in 1960 

shortly before the birth of Prince Andrew.


The reaction to this new name taken by his cousins of Kaiser Wilhelm II was his joke that he was looking forward to a production of "The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha"

One contemporary - French I think - observed that the old Europe died when the British King changed his name because of a mere war. There is something in that.

Image result for House of Windsor badge


Badge of the House of Windsor as approved by King George VI in 1938

Image: Wikipedia



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