# UK Constitution and Government/Houses of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Windsor


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`<big>`{=html}`<big>`{=html}The Houses of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Windsor
(1901---)`</big>`{=html}`</big>`{=html}

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## Edward VII

Edward VII was the oldest person in British history to become King,
beginning his reign at the age of fifty-nine. He participated actively
in foreign affairs, visiting France in 1903. The visit led to the
*Entente Cordiale* (Friendly Understanding), an informal agreement
between France and the United Kingdom marking the end of centuries of
Anglo-French rivalry. In the case of Germany, however, Edward VII
exacerbated rivalry through his bad relations with his nephew, Kaiser
Wilhelm II.

Towards the end of his life, Edward was faced with a constitutional
crisis when the Liberal Government, led by Herbert Henry Asquith,
proposed the *People\'s Budget*. The Budget reformed the tax system by
creating a land tax, which would adversely affect the aristocratic
class. The Conservative landowning majority in the House of Lords broke
convention by rejecting the budget. They argued that the Commons
themselves had broken a convention by attacking the wealth of the Lords.
Before the problem could be resolved, Edward VII died in 1910, allowing
his son, George, to ascend to the throne.

## George V

After George became King, the constitutional crisis was resolved after
the Liberal Government resigned and Parliament was dissolved. The
Liberals were reelected, in part due to the unpopularity of the House of
Lords, and used the election as a mandate to force their Budget through,
almost too late to save the nation\'s financial system from ruin.

The Lords paid a price for their opposition to the Liberals, who in the
commons passed the Parliament Bill, which provided that a bill could be
submitted for the King\'s Assent if the Commons passed it in three
consecutive sessions, even if the Lords rejected it. The time would
later be reduced to two sessions in 1949. When the House of Lords
refused to pass the Parliament Bill, Prime Minister Asquith asked George
V to create 250 new Liberal peers to erase the Conservative majority.
George agreed, but the Lords acquiesced and passed the bill quickly.

World War I occurred during George\'s reign. Due to the family\'s German
connections, the Royalty began to become unpopular; George\'s cousin,
Wilhelm II, was especially despised. In 1917, to appease the public,
George changed the Royal House\'s name from the German-sounding
*Saxe-Coburg-Gotha* to the more English *Windsor*.

In 1922, most of Ireland left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free
State following the Irish Civil War. The Irish Free State retained the
British monarch as a Sovereign, but functioned as a Dominion of the
Crown, with its own Government and Legislature. Six counties in the
Irish province of Ulster remained in the United Kingdom as Northern
Ireland. In 1927, the name of the country was changed from *the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland* to *the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland*.

George V died in 1936 and was succeeded by his son, who ruled as Edward
VIII.

## Edward VIII

Edward VIII became King in January of 1936 and abdicated in December.
His reign was controversial because of his desire to marry the American
Wallis Simpson. Simpson was already divorced once; she divorced her
second husband so she could marry King Edward. A problem, however,
existed because Edward was the Supreme Governor of the Church of
England, which prohibited remarriage after divorce. The Government
advised him that he could not marry while he was King, so he indicated a
desire to abdicate and marry Simpson. The abdication was not unilateral,
as the Act of Settlement provided that the Crown go to the heir of
Sophia, Electress of Hanover, regardless of that person\'s willingness
to rule. Therefore, Parliament had to pass a special Act in order to
permit Edward to abdicate, which he did.

Edward\'s brother, Albert Frederick Arthur George, became King. He chose
to rule as George VI to create a link in the public\'s mind between him
and the previous Kings of the same name during a time of crisis. Edward,
meanwhile, was made Duke of Windsor and the issue of his marriage to
Simpson were excluded from the line of succession.

## George VI

When George took power in 1936, the popularity of the Royal Family had
been damaged by the abdication crisis. It was, however, restored when
George and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, led the nation and boosted morale
during World War II. During the war, Britain was led by one of its most
famous Prime Ministers, Sir Winston Churchill.

Following the War, the United Kingdom began to lose several of its
overseas possessions. In 1947, India became independent and George lost
the title of Emperor of India. Until 1950, however, he remained King of
India while a constitution was being written. George was also the last
King of Ireland; the Irish established a republic in 1949.

George died in 1952 from lung cancer. His daughter Elizabeth succeeded
him.

## Elizabeth II

During Elizabeth\'s reign, there have been several important
constitutional developments. A notable one occurred in 1963, when
Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan resigned. There was no
clear leader of the Conservative Party, but many favoured Richard Austen
Butler, the Deputy Prime Minister. Harold Macmillan advised the Queen,
however, that senior politicians in the party preferred Alec
Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home. Elizabeth accepted the advice and
appointed the Earl of Home to the office of Prime Minister, marking the
last time a member of the House of Lords would be so appointed. Home,
taking advantage of the Peerage Act passed in 1963, \"disclaimed\" his
peerage. A Conservative member of the House of Commons vacated his seat,
allowing Home to contest the by-election for that constituency and
become a member of the House of Commons.

There have also been many recent constitutional developments in the
nation. The office of Prime Minister increased greatly in power under
the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (the \"Iron Lady\")
and the Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair. Under Blair, many of
Parliament\'s lawmaking functions were devolved to local administrations
in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 1999, the House of Lords Act
was passed, removing the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in
the House.

Elizabeth II continues to reign; her heir is Charles, Prince of Wales.

