The Arms of the House of Hanover after 1837.

Heraldry of the German speaking countries
Jonathan Webster
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The Arms of the House of Hanover after 1837.

Postby Jonathan Webster » 04 Jun 2020, 11:55

Ernest Augustus, the fifth son of King George III of Britain (and Hanover), was granted the following arms as a British Prince when he was created Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh in 1799 (altered in 1800 along with the arms of his father the King and his siblings):

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-that is, the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, without the inescutcheon Gules with the Crown of Charlemagne and without the Crown above the other inescutcheon, and with a label of three points Argent, the outer two points each charged with a cross Gules, and the inner a fleur-de-lys Azure.

In 1837, Ernest Augustus succeeded his brother William IV in the Kingdom of Hanover, becoming King Ernst August I. As token of the fact he was heir presumptive to the British throne he apparently adopted a plain label of three points Argent and moved the Crown of Hanover from the inescutcheon in the arms to become the crest on the helmet, and charged the central inescutcheon with the further inescutcheon Gules charged with the Crown of Charlemagne, as heir male of George III. His motto was also changed to 'suscipere et finire' meaning '
to undertake and accomplish':

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After 1848, the plain label Argent was no longer used in Hanover, the King's Hanoverian arms becoming thus:

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King Ernst August I had founded in 1839 the Order of St. George, and it is this order and the Royal Guelphic Order which feature in these arms. The motto of the Order of St. George was 'nunquam retrorsum' meaning 'never backwards'.

The King continued to use his British arms as Duke of Cumberland.

Note that after 1837, there actually was a physical crown that was used by the Kings of Hanover, although it was not actually worn.
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Last edited by Jonathan Webster on 04 Jun 2020, 15:13, edited 2 times in total.

Jonathan Webster
Posts: 304
Joined: 11 Jul 2012, 21:47
Location: United Kingdom

Re: The Arms of the House of Hanover after 1837.

Postby Jonathan Webster » 04 Jun 2020, 14:20

King Ernst August's son (and only child), later King Georg V of Hanover (AKA the 2nd Duke of Cumberland in Britain) bore in Britain during the lifetime of his father, a second label Gules charged on the middle point with a horse courant Argent below the other label in his father's British arms. On his father's death, he removed the second label.

This difference was also used in turn by his son, also named Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover, AKA the 3rd Duke of Cumberland in Britain (who for convenience I will refer to as Ernst August II, although he was never actually styled as such), during the lifetime of his father in Britain. Like his father, he removed the second label from his British arms on his father's death

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Both men used the undifferenced Hanover arms as Princes of Hanover, German heraldry generally not using marks of difference.
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Jonathan Webster
Posts: 304
Joined: 11 Jul 2012, 21:47
Location: United Kingdom

Re: The Arms of the House of Hanover after 1837.

Postby Jonathan Webster » 04 Jun 2020, 14:55

Georg V was deposed as King of Hanover in 1866, Hanover being annexed as a province by Prussia. He died in 1878. Neither he nor his son Ernst August II recognised this conquest, and when their distant kinsman Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick, died in 1884, Ernst August II was barred from succeeding to the throne of Brunswick, of which he had been heir presumptive. The Duchy of Brunswick was ruled by a series of regents, and needless to say relations between the House of Hanover and the House of Hohenzollern were frosty.

Ernst August II married Princess Thyra of Denmark (daughter of King Christian IX), and in addition to other issue they had three sons:

*Georg Wilhelm (1880-1912)
* Christian (1885-1901)-died of perionitis.
* Ernst August (1887-1953)-who for convenience's sake we will refer to as 'Ernst August III', though he was never actually titled as such.

Prince Georg Wilhelm sadly died in an automobile accident, which prompted the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, to send his family a message of sympathy.
The family was so touched by this message that they sent their younger son Ernst August III to send his father's thanks to the Emperor, where Ernst August III met and fell in love with the Emperor's only daughter, Princess Viktoria Luise. This contributed to a thawing in the relations between the Imperial court and the Hanovers and, when Ernst August III and Viktoria Luise married in 1913, the Emperor allowed the groom to succeed to the throne of the Duchy of Brunswick.

Very interestingly, I found out very recently that the new Duke of Brunswick adopted new arms as ruler of Brunswick that reflected his British heritage: there was a 'greater' version, including helms, crests and pavilion:

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And a 'lesser' version as well:
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The German arms (is, the Royal Hanoverian arms) of the family were used as the 'middle' achievement.
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Jonathan Webster
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Re: The Arms of the House of Hanover after 1837.

Postby Jonathan Webster » 04 Jun 2020, 15:06

Neither Ernst August III, nor his children-who were recognised as Princes of Great Britain and Ireland by the British court, were ever granted arms in right of the UK. After the deposition of Ernst August III in 1918 and the declaration of a German republic, the family continued to bear the style 'Prinz(essin) Von Gross Brittanien und Irland' as part of their surname. The family continued to use the Royal Arms of Hanover as their family arms.

Ernst August II died in 1923, Ernst August III becoming head of the house until 1953, his daughter Frederica marrying Prince Pavlos of Greece and eventually becoming Queen Consort of the Hellenes (their marital achievement):

Image

Jonathan Webster
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Joined: 11 Jul 2012, 21:47
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Re: The Arms of the House of Hanover after 1837.

Postby Jonathan Webster » 04 Jun 2020, 15:11

Ernst August III was succeeded as head of the House of Hanover in turn by his son, also called Ernst August (I shall refer to him as IV to reduce confusion), and Ernst August IV in turn was succeeded by his son, likewise called Ernst August (who I shall refer to as Ernst August V for the same reason).

Ernst August V married as his second wife, Princess Caroline of Monaco. Below is their marital achievement:

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All members of the family now bear the same arms without difference, in line with the traditions of German heraldry, which does not generally use marks of difference on the shield.


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