Hanover Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, colloquially known as the Electorate of Hanover after Calenberg's capital (see also: House of Hanover). Its Electors later become monarchs of Great Britain (and from 1801, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). The first of these was George I Louis, who acceded to the British throne in 1714. The last British monarch who reigned in Hanover was William IV. Semi-Salic law, which required succession by the male line if possible, forbade the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover. As a male-line descendant of George I, Queen Victoria was herself a member of the House
Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954) nobility were abolished in 1919; thereafter for legal purposes, hereditary titles form part of the name only. In his British passport however, the prince is styled "His Royal Highness". While descendants of non-dynastic marriages may bear "Prinz/Prinzessin von Hannover Herzog/Herzogin zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg Königlicher Prinz/Prinzessin von Großbritannien und Irland" as surnames, they are not recognised as bearing titles or membership in the House of Hanover according to its house rules. Patrilineal descent, reckoned from father to son, was the principle of membership in Europe's dynasties, including that of Hanover. Monarchs of the House of Hanover belong patrilineally to the