Kingdom of Hanover
Name Lifespan Reign began Reign ended Succession Notes
George III German : Georg III 4 June 1738 - 29 January 1820 ( aged 81 ) 12 October 1814 29 January 1820 Previously Prince Elector of Hanover from 1760 to 1806 George III was mentally incapacitated during these years , and his constitutional powers were exercised by his eldest son , George Augustus Frederick ( the future George IV ) , as Regent . In Hanover , his youngest son , Prince Adolphus , Duke of Cambridge , officiated as Viceroy from 1816
George IV German : Georg IV 12 August 1762 - 26 June 1830 ( aged 67 ) 29 January 1820 26 June 1830 Son of George III Prince Regent 1811-1820 , represented in Hanover by his brother , the Duke of Cambridge , as Viceroy
William IV German : Wilhelm IV 21 August 1765 - 20 June 1837 ( aged 71 ) 26 June 1830 20 June 1837 Son of George III • Younger brother of George IV Last monarch to rule both Hanover and the United Kingdom , represented in Hanover by his brother , the Duke of Cambridge , as Viceroy
Ernest Augustus German : Ernst August 5 June 1771 - 18 November 1851 ( aged 80 ) 20 June 1837 18 November 1851 Son of George III • Younger brother of George IV and William IV The accession of Queen Victoria separated the crowns of the United Kingdom and Hanover , and the latter passed to her uncle
George V German : Georg V 27 May 1819 - 12 June 1878 ( aged 59 ) 18 November 1851 20 September 1866 Son of Ernest Augustus Hanover was annexed by Prussia in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War
Kings of Hanover
See also : King of Hanover and House of Hanover In 1813 , George III was restored to his Hanoverian territories , and in October 1814 they were constituted as the independent Kingdom of Hanover at the Congress of Vienna . The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws in Hanover , based on Salic law , prevented a female inheriting the title if there was any surviving male heir ( in the United Kingdom , a male took precedence only over his own sisters ) . In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 , Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became the Province of Hanover .
The Kingdom of Hanover (German: Königreich Hannover) 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 Hanover (known formally as the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg), and joined 38 other sovereign states in the German Confederation in June 1815. The kingdom was ruled by the House of Hanover, a cadet branch of the House of Welf, in personal union with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland since 1714. Since its monarch resided in London, a viceroy (usually a younger member of the British Royal Family) handled the administration of the Kingdom of Hanover. The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 upon the accession of Queen Victoria because females could not inherit the Hanoverian throne, so her uncle became the ruler of Hanover. Hanover backed the losing side in the Austro-Prussian War and was conquered by Prussia in 1866, subsequently becoming a Prussian province. Along with the rest of Prussia, Hanover became part of the German Empire upon unification in January 1871. 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 in West Germany, later Germany.