House of Hanover but to her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland. In 1901, when Queen Victoria, the last British monarch provided by the House of Hanover, died, her son and heir Edward VII became the first British Monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward taking his family name from that of his father, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. After the death of William IV in 1837, the following kings of Hanover continued the dynasty: The Kingdom of Hanover came to an end in 1866 when it was annexed by Kingdom of Prussia and the king of Hanover (and duke of Cumberland) forced
House of Hanover Gotha. The last reigning members of the House lost the Duchy of Brunswick in 1918 when Germany became a republic. The formal name of the house was the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line. The senior line of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, became extinct in 1884. The House of Hanover is now the only surviving branch of the House of Welf, which is the senior branch of the House of Este. The current head of the House of Hanover is Ernst August, Prince of Hanover. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is considered the first member of the House of Hanover. When the