When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Germany

Germany Claims Royal Baby As Its Own, Literally

Prost to our Prince!
Prost to our Prince!
Claudia Becker

BERLIN - It wouldn’t have to be a real monarchy. But a little royal glamor, just a taste of that feeling that we too had a special family with grand historic traditions: that would be nice. And how great it would be if we had something like a due date that stirred commotion nationwide, and a birth that caused collective tears of joy to flow!

Well, we don’t. And maybe that’s a good thing. After all, history did teach us that a king isn’t always good for Germany – and mass hysteria even less so.

But a baby Prince? A little fellow who belongs to the nation, whose first steps, heart-warming antics and adolescent capers we watch as if the child were our very own?

Truth be told, there's actually no reason for us Germans to be envious of the Brits and their joy at the newest addition to the royal family. Because even if they wouldn't like to admit it, we’re entitled to rejoice as well: William and Kate’s newborn is -- genealogically, at least -- also one of ours.

The British royal family is so German that until World War I, it even had a German name: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha. On July 17, 1917, King George V changed that to Windsor, after Windsor Castle, the royal family residence in Berkshire. But the name change couldn’t undo the German roots.

Albert von Sachsen-Coburg (Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in English) was the one who gave the British Royals their name. This was back in 1840, when the German prince married Queen Victoria. He was the love of her life, and her subjects loved his free spirit. He had significant influence on both architectural reforms and the administration of the kingdom.

House of Hanover

The couple had nine children. Their son Edward was the first British king of the Sachsen-Coburg line. Their eldest daughter, also named Victoria, married Friedrich III -- thus becoming German Empress and Queen of Prussia. Queen Victoria could hardly have imagined that one day, on August 4, 1914, her country would declare war on Germany led by her grandson Emperor Wilhelm II.

But there’s more. Victoria, ruler of the British Empire for 64 years, was herself German, daughter of Prince Edward, the fourth son of King George III, and Princess Victoria von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha. When in 1837, aged only 18, she acceded to the British throne, ties with the House of Hanover ended: Kings George I, George II, George III, George IV and William IV had been both Electors of Hanover (Germany) and Kings of Great Britain and Ireland.

Another German ancestor of the new British prince is Maria von Teck. This granddaughter of Duke Alexander von Württemberg married the prince who would later become British King George V. Britain’s present Queen, Elisabeth II, is her granddaughter, which makes Kate’s firstborn her great-great-great-grandson.

The as-yet-unnamed boy also has a great-grandfather with German roots -- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen’s husband, who is a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. His mother was born a Battenberg.

The name Battenberg was anglicized as well – and Mountbatten-Windsor is today the official name of the British royal family. They may have changed Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor and Battenberg to Mountbatten, but never mind: the kid's still ein little bisschen German.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

Should Christians Be Scared Of Horror Movies?

Horror films have a complicated and rich history with christian themes and influences, but how healthy is it for audiences watching?

Should Christians Be Scared Of Horror Movies?

"The Nun II" was released on Sept. 2023.

Joseph Holmes

“The Nun II” has little to show for itself except for its repetitive jump scares — but could it also be a danger to your soul?

Christians have a complicated relationship with the horror genre. On the one hand, horror movies are one of the few types of Hollywood films that unapologetically treat Christianity (particularly Catholicism) as good.

“The Exorcist” remains one of the most successful and acclaimed movies of all time. More recently, “The Conjuring” franchise — about a wholesome husband and wife duo who fight demons for the Catholic Church in the 1970s and related spinoffs about the monsters they’ve fought — has more reverent references to Jesus than almost any movie I can think of in recent memory (even more than many faith-based films).

The Catholic film critic Deacon Steven Greydanus once mentioned that one of the few places where you can find substantial positive Catholic representation was inhorror films.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest