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September 14

Hanoverian succession

Sophia of Hanover reigned over Hanover in the early 18th century, and the heirs male of her body remained Kings of Hanover while also Kings of Great Britain and Kings of the United Kingdom. However, the accession of Victoria of the United Kingdom in 1837 ended the personal union, and some cousin or other male relative of Victoria (with lesser priority under UK succession rules) took the throne of Hanover due to its prohibition of female succession. How could Sophia be Electress if Victoria couldn't be Queen? Did the laws change during the 120 years of personal union, or were the circumstances different? Nyttend backup (talk) 17:30, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

She was Electress consort rather than Electress regnant. The ruling Elector of Hanover was her husband Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Brunswick-Luneburg being the official name of what we call "Hanover"). So she was heir to the throne of Great Britain while her husband was heir to the throne of Hanover. Her son was heir to both due to succession laws differing in the two states. In summary, she had no claim to Hanover, it wasn't her throne, it was her husband's. --Jayron 32 17:41, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) As I understand it, Sophia was only the electress consort, the wife of the reigning prince-elector, Ernest Augustus. She never reigned over Hanover herself, but because she was the daughter of Elizabeth Stuart and a Protestant, she went to the front of the British line of succession after the Act of Settlement 1701 had stricken out all the Catholics, and might have become our queen regnant had she outlived Queen Anne. Alansplodge (talk) 17:51, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, it was Victoria's uncle, another Ernest Augustus, who succeeded to the throne of Hanover (or Hannover as the Germans insist on calling it) and was followed in 1851 by his blind son, George who was indeed Victoria's first cousin. George messed-up badly by supporting the wrong side in the Austro-Prussian War (against the advice of his parliament) and Hanover was annexed by the Prussians who were quite good at that sort of thing. Alansplodge (talk) 18:05, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Oops, sorry; I should have read more than the introduction to Sophia's article. Sorry about that. Nyttend backup (talk) 18:52, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Don't mention it; I hadn't realised what an unpleasant crew the later Hanoverians were; see Queen Victoria's Creepy Uncle for an amusing if unscholarly read. Alansplodge (talk) 20:05, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Strange btw. that the old and common german first name "Ernst" sometimes gets converted to "Ernest" in translation to english (see identical person: Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg, de:Ernst August (Hannover)). His successor however, the current Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954), obviously has not been converted. Is this simply an error in the englisch wikipedia? --Kharon (talk) 06:22, 16 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't say it's an error. See WP:COMMONNAME. For example, our article on the husband of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter is "Frederick III". 92.8.216.51 (talk) 14:44, 16 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed see: Ernest Augustus: Duke of Cumberland & King of Hanover: A Brief Survey of the Man and His Times (1936). Alansplodge (talk) 23:53, 16 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Russian hat

Does anyone know the proper name for the type of cap that was/is often worn in former Soviet industrial facilities (even in offices)? Image: [1] Thanks --194.118.198.73 (talk) 18:00, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It's not unique to Russia. One can find them all over the world. Their called scrub caps and they are common in many clean environments, from operating theaters to clean rooms. You can see many examples here. --Jayron 32 18:08, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Russian doctors wear an even taller one, almost like a chef. Google isn't telling me the answer though. Alansplodge (talk) 18:10, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

That Russian doctor is wearing a toque, commonly worn in food service (see here. More commonly part of the Chef's uniform, it is worn for the same reason as a scrub cap, so I don't see why a doctor wouldn't wear it. It serves much the same purpose. --Jayron 32 18:13, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure I'd be happy if my doctor dressed as a chef, but it takes all sorts I suppose. Was the OP looking for a Russian name? Alansplodge (talk) 18:25, 14 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Especially troubling if they cover the operating table in butcher paper. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:37, 16 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]