It really does rile me when people harp on about the Royal Family being from German origins.

George I of Hanover, from whom our Queen is descended, had two parents, one of which – his mother – was Sophia, the youngest daughter of Elizabeth, the Winter Queen of Bohemia, who in turn was the daughter of James VI of Scotland and I of England, the successor to Elizabeth I.

This makes George I the direct great-grandson of a British monarch, and our Queen a direct descendant of a British monarch, and therefore our Royal Family is also British in origin.

The other contenders for the throne after Queen Anne died in 1714 that Mr Williams alludes to were Catholics, and Catholics were not allowed to become British monarchs after the Act of Settlement of 1701.

That Act made the decision to pass on the crown to the first available Protestant heir, who although German-born, was also British by descent.

As for the Royal Family’s wealth, when the Queen’s father, George VI, acceded to the throne he inherited a monarchy that was almost bankrupt.

Most of the royal homes we hear about today, such as Buckingham Palace, were owned by the state.

George VI eventually rebuilt the family wealth through a mixture of state grants and commercial enterprise, and careful expenditure, until he was able to buy back most of their homes which the state no longer has to pay for.

Today, our Royal Family has only a state grant that covers the immediate line of succession members of the family.

Angela Parkes

Aqueduct