Kingdom of Hanover

The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (known informally as the Electorate of Hanover), and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German Confederation. The Kingdom was ruled by the House of Hanover, in personal union with the United Kingdom until 1837, before being conquered by Prussia in 1866. Briefly revived as the State of Hanover in 1946, the state was subsequently merged with some smaller states to form the current state of Lower Saxony.

Coat of arms

After the personal union with Britain ended in 1837, Hanover kept the British Royal Arms and Standards, only introducing a new Crown (after the British model).

History

The territory of Hanover had earlier been a Principality within the Holy Roman Empire; before being elevated into an electorate in 1708. Hanover was formed by the union of several dynastic divisions of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, with the sole exception of the principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Between 1714 and 1837 it was joined in a personal union, first with the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland, and then, from 1801, with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1803 the electorate was occupied by French and Prussian troops, and following the Treaties of Tilsit in 1807, its territories together with territories...
Read More