British royal house of German origin.
It was descended from George Louis, elector of Hanover, who succeeded to the British crown as George I in 1714. The dynasty also provided the monarchs George II , George III , George IV , William IV , and Victoria . By the Act of Settlement (1701) the crown was to go to Anne (of the house of Stuart ) and then, if she lacked issue, to Sophia (16651714), electress of Hanover (granddaughter of James I ) and her descendants. The house of Hanover was succeeded in 1901 by the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, renamed in 1917 the house of Windsor .