Quick Facts
Biography
Prince George William of Hanover (Georg Wilhelm Ernst August Friedrich Axel Prinz von Hannover; 25 March 1915 – 8 January 2006) was the second eldest son of Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick and his wife Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein.
He was the brother-in-law of Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Life
George William was christened on 10 May 1915 in Brunswick. The prince's godparents included Maria Christina of Austria, Prince Axel of Denmark, and Princess Olga of Hanover and Cumberland who held the infant prince over the baptismal font.
From 1930 through 1934, Prince George William attended the elite boarding school Schule Schloss Salem in Überlingen on Lake Constance. Schule Schloss Salem was co-founded by the prince's uncle, the last Chancellor of the German Empire, Prince Maximilian of Baden, and educator Kurt Hahn in 1920. Prince George William was a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and of the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB). From 1948 to 1959, the prince headed the Schule Schloss Salem.
Prince George William of Hanover lived in Schliersee, near Munich, and died in Munich in 2006. His wife, Sophie, sister of Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, died in 2001.
Marriage and issue
On 23 April 1946 in Salem, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Prince George William married Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, and the widow of Prince Christoph of Hesse. After consultations with the Foreign Office, Home Office and King George VI's private secretary, Sir Alan Lascelles, a ciphered telegram dated 18 April 1946 and crafted by Sir Albert Napier, permanent secretary to the Lord Chancellor, had been transmitted from the British Foreign Office to the Foreign Adviser to the British Commander in Chief at Berlin: "The Duke of Brunswick has formally applied to The King by letter of March 22nd for the consent of His Majesty under the Act 12 Geo. III, cap. 11 to the marriage of his son Prince George William with Princess Sophia Dowager Princess of Hesse. The marriage is understood to be taking place on April 23rd. Please convey to the Duke an informal intimation that in view of the fact that a state of war still exists between Great Britain and Germany, His Majesty is advised that the case is not one in which it is practicable for His consent to be given in the manner contemplated by the Act."
Prince and Princess George William had three children.
| Name | Birth | Death | Marriage | Their children | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Spouse | ||||
| Prince Welf Ernst of Hanover | 25 January 1947 | 10 January 1981 | 23 May 1969 | Wibke van Gunsteren | Princess Saskia, Mrs. Hooper |
| Prince Georg of Hanover | 9 December 1949 | 15 September 1973 | Victoria Anne Bee | Princess Vera, Mrs. Dmoch Princess Nora, Mrs. Falk | |
| Princess Friederike of Hanover | 15 October 1954 | 17 August 1979 | Jerry William Cyr | Julia Emma Cyr Jean-Paul Welf Cyr | |
Ancestry
George William was a descendant of Victoria of the United Kingdom and Albert, Prince Consort through their eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal, the wife of Frederick III, German Emperor. His sister, Princess Friederike of Hanover married Paul I, King of the Hellenes.
He was born a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
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| Patrilineal descent |
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Patrilineal descent, descent from father to son, is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that the historically accurate royal house of monarchs of the House of Hanover was the House of Lucca (or Este, or Welf). This is the descent of the primary male heir. For the complete expanded family tree, see List of members of the House of Hanover.
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