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house of Hanover ruling dynasty of Hanover (see Hanover, province), which was descended from the Guelphs and which in 1714 acceded to the British throne in the person of George I. George was the grandson of James I's daughter Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia, and the son of Sophia, electress of Hanover, and his succession to the throne was based on the Act of Settlement (1701). His successors were George II, George III, George IV, and William IV. The Salic law barred women from the succession in Hanover, and when William IV's niece, Victoria, succeeded (1837) to the British throne, the crowns of Hanover and Great Britain were separated. Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, so her descendants belonged to the house of Wettin. Ernest Augustus, son of George III, became (1837) king of Hanover and was succeeded by George V, who lost the crown in 1866.
See A. Redman, The House of Hanover (1960, repr. 1968).
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