George Louis, son of Duke Ernest Augustus and Sophia, became Elector and Prince of Calenberg in 1698 and Prince of Lüneburg when his uncle George William died in 1705.Sophia was at that time the senior eligible Protestant descendant of James I of England. Ernest Augustus's wife, Sophia of the Palatinate, was declared heiress of the throne of England by the Act of Settlement of 1701, which decreed Roman Catholics could not accede to the throne. He was elevated to prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1692. He became Prince of Calenberg on the death of his brother John Frederick. Ernest Augustus, 4th son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1679–1698).
John Frederick, 3rd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1665–1679).He relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg on the death of his brother, Christian Louis. George William, 2nd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1648–1665) and Prince of Lüneburg (1665–1705).He relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg. Christian Louis, 1st son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1641–1648) and Prince of Lüneburg (1648–1665).George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, first member of the House of Hanover.
All members held the title of Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Calenberg and Lüneburg were then shared between George's sons until united in 1705 under his grandson, also called George, who subsequently became George I of Great Britain. His son, Christian Louis, inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from George's brother. When the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was divided in 1635, George inherited the Principality of Calenberg and moved his residence to Hanover. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the first member of the House of Hanover. History Dukes and Electors of Brunswick-Lüneburg The current head of the House of Hanover is Ernst August, Prince of Hanover. The House of Hanover is now the only surviving branch of the House of Welf, which is the senior branch of the House of Este. The senior line of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, became extinct in 1884. The formal name of the house was the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line. The last reigning members of the House of Hanover lost the Duchy of Brunswick in 1918 when Germany became a republic. At the end of his line, Queen Victoria's death in 1901, the throne of the United Kingdom passed to her eldest son Edward VII, a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, through his father Albert, Prince Consort.
In 1714 George I, prince-elector of Hanover and a descendant of King James VI and I, assumed the throne of Great Britain and Ireland, marking the beginning of Hanoverian rule over the British Empire. Originating as a cadet branch of the House of Welf in 1635, also known then as the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the Hanoverians ascended to prominence with Hanover's elevation to an Electorate in 1692. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The House of Hanover ( German: Haus Hannover) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Brunswick: 1918 – Ernest Augustus of Brunswick forced to abdicate after German defeat in World War I.Hanover: 1866 – George V of Hanover lost the territory to Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War.