Prince William and Prince Harry are the most famous members of a family that goes back 100 years — see the British monarchy's full family tree

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August 17, 2018 7:56 AM

The royal family tree of the British monarchy is sprawling and chaotic. Business Insider broke down the different descendants of King George V, who established the UK's House of Windsor in 1917.

The royal family tree of Britain's monarchy is enormous and complicated.
The more famous royals, like
But there's a whole host of distant cousins that are part of the British royal family tree chart.
Here's a look at some of the other families that are descended from King George V — the UK's first Windsor king.

The royal family tree of Britain's monarchy is quite a thing to behold.

King George V, the first monarch from Britain's House of Windsor, and his wife Mary of Teck had six children. Four of those offspring proceeded to have kids of their own.

As a result, well-known royals like 4-year-old Prince George of Cambridge and his younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have tons and tons of less-famous cousins.

The House of Windsor is a relatively young dynasty — it will turn 101 years old on July 17. King George V, a grandson of Queen Victoria, inherited the throne in 1910. Like his father King Edward VII, he was a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The German dynasty was injected into the British monarchy by Albert, Prince Consort, the husband of Queen Victoria.

But by 1917, English attitudes towards Germany had soured considerably, thanks to the First World War.

In response to rising anti-German sentiments, George V decided to make a considerable PR move. He swapped out Saxe-Coburg and Gotha for the far more English-sounding name of Windsor. The royal family's website said the new name was inspired by Windsor Castle — where George V's granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II still resides on weekends.

Here's an in-depth look at the British royal family tree, beginning with the family that started it all:

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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