In 1917, George V declared that he was changing the surname of the royal family from the Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the more British 'Windsor'. Upon hearing the news, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany (his cousin and nemesis) remarked that he would look forward with considerable pleasure to the next performance of Shakespeare's... "The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha."

[In 1714, a German prince from Hanover succeeded Queen Anne to the English throne. Though he was king from 1714 to 1727, George I had no interest in things English and could neither speak nor write the language. Even Queen Victoria (whose mother, the daughter of a German duke, spoke German in the home) could not speak perfect English -- after ruling England for 64 years.]