Why King Charles is more German than British

If there is one thing the British monarchy excels at, it is the illusion of eternal Britishness. The crowns stay polished, the speeches stay gentle, and the castles stay photogenic. But the royal family itself? That’s a different story. Because the Windsors — the quintessentially British Windsors — used to be so German that Oktoberfest might as well have been a royal family reunion. And nothing makes this irony sharper than the modern Britain–Germany camaraderie you see at state banquets, where chandeliers glow, orchestras play, and royal conversation politely avoids mentioning that the family tree once spoke flawless High German. So let’s dive in. Once upon a time, they were the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha The Windsors weren’t always Windsors. Their original name was the