MONARCHS WHO CHANGED THEIR NAMES

QUEEN VICTORIA (1837–1901)

Charles’ great-great-grandmother was christened Alexandrina Victoria, but, having always preferred the name Victoria, she took it as her regnal name.

KING EDWARD VII (1841-1910)

Victoria’s eldest son was born Albert Edward and named after his father, Prince Albert.

The queen and her son had a fraught relationship and she and his father regarded him as a disappointment.

A few weeks after visiting his thenadult son, Prince Albert died and for years Victoria blamed her son for his death.

“I never can or shall look at him without a shudder,” she wrote.

KING GEORGE VI (1895-1952)

Queen Elizabeth’s father was born Albert Frederick Arthur George and grew up being called “Bertie”.

When his older brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936, Bertie chose to use one of his middle names to provide the country with a sense of stability.

George was the name he shared with his father, King George V, who was remembered as a popular and unifying monarch.

‘THAT PROMISE OF LIFELONG SERVICE I RENEW TO ALL OF YOU TODAY’