The absurd " Ryves Case," an account of which we
give else- where, has aroused the old question as to the surname of the Royal .family. People are deceived by the false analogy of "Louis Capet," and will have it that the Queen's surname is Guelph, a belief upon which Mrs. Serres clearly acted. Now "Louis Capet" was all wrong, except as an insult, as the true name of the King, if deprived of his title, would have been Louis de Bourbon, and the English Royal House, according to our usage, would have none at all,—the family being older than surnames not derived from territory, or, according to German usage, of Hanover, or of Bruns- wick, or, in the young Princes' case, of Saxe. All their relations to English Royal families with surnames are through females, or they would be simply Stuarts, and only one of them has, we believe, ever used a eurname at all. The Duke of Sussex called his wife Lady Mary d'Este, apparently for -no better reason than that, among the ancestors of his House, D'Este was the prettiest name.
Previous page
