The Entire History of the House of Windsor in 32 Minutes

The House of Windsor sounds ancient, but it was invented by royal proclamation in 1917, in the middle of a war against the King's own German cousins. This documentary tells the whole story of Britain's royal family under the Windsor name, from George V to Charles III. It is built from archive film, archive photographs and period documents. Until 1917 the family name was Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. On 17 July 1917, with the First World War raging, George V proclaimed that his house and family would be known as Windsor. His private secretary, Arthur Bigge, Baron Stamfordham, had suggested the name. The Battenbergs became Mountbattens, Kaiser Wilhelm II made a joke of it, and a year later the Romanovs met their fate. The film follows four monarchs and the crises that shaped them. George V reigned through the first Labour government, the Balfour Declaration and the first royal Christmas broadcast in 1932. Edward VIII gave up the throne on 10 December 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson. His shy, stammering brother Albert became George VI and led the country through the Blitz. Elizabeth II then reigned for seventy years. Thread by thread, the story follows the surname itself through the proclamations of 1917, 1952 and 1960, Prince Philip's protest, the Mountbatten-Windsor compromise, and the withdrawal of Prince Andrew's styles in 2025. CHAPTERS 00:00 Invented in 1917 00:48 George V Is Born, 1865 01:56 The Unexpected Heir 03:13 War With Germany, 1914 04:37 Choosing the Name Windsor 05:43 Why the King Renamed His Family 06:55 The Fate of the Romanovs 08:06 Balfour Declaration and Empire 09:20 The First Christmas Broadcast 10:23 Death of George V 11:22 Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson 12:39 Baldwin's Warning 13:31 The Press Silence Breaks 14:54 Duke of Windsor 15:48 George VI, the Reluctant King 16:49 The Royal Family in the Blitz 18:06 Elizabeth's Vow at 21 19:08 Death of George VI 20:07 The Mountbatten Question 20:56 Prince Philip's Protest 21:44 Edward Iwi and the Surname Quarrel 22:51 Mountbatten-Windsor, 1960 24:04 The End of Wallis and the Duke 25:01 The Queen Mother 26:05 Covid Broadcast and Philip's Death 27:22 The Platinum Jubilee 28:30 Charles III 29:47 What Windsor Means Now 31:03 Closing Key facts: 17 July 1917: Saxe-Coburg and Gotha becomes Windsor 10 December 1936: Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication 12 May 1937: coronation of George VI 1960: the name Mountbatten-Windsor is created September 2022: Elizabeth II dies at Balmoral Subscribe for more of The Entire History of Britain, told from start to finish. #HouseOfWindsor #BritishHistory #RoyalFamily #ElizabethII #Documentary