This year celebrates the 70th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and the 105th anniversary of the House of Windsor. At the heart of the Windsor dynasty is a story of change and of the monarchy’s response to the needs and wishes of the nation.

Tudor scholar Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger explores the history of the House of Windsor, from its beginnings in the midst of World War I when the people of Britain were unhappy with the idea of a royal family of German descent in Buckingham Palace. She analyzes the selection of the name Windsor and how it has come to represent both stability and change in 20th- and 21st-century notions of monarchy.

Lloyd-Stanger traces the reigns of the four Windsor monarchs: George V, George VI, Edward VIII, and Elizabeth II. She considers the impact of the royal family’s German heritage and how Queen Victoria’s descendants occupied many of Europe’s leading families at the turn of the 20th century. She examines changes within the family caused by the waning power of the aristocracy as modern values prevailed. Finally, she looks at the image of the royal family today.

Lloyd-Stanger is former manager of visitor education at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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