The House of Welfen

Welf, Graf in Swabia, +ca 824/5; m.Heilwig, later Abbess of Chelles; They had issue: NOTE: This will be a genealogical account of the family known as Welf (Guelph)/d'Este. The original house of Welf descended from one Gf Welf, and ended in 1055, whereupon the heiress of the house married Azzo II d'Este, an Italian lord. From their marriage descended Dukes of Bavaria and Saxony, and the later Dukes of Braunschweig and Kings of Hanover and Great Britain. It also included one short-term tsar of Russia: Ivan VI. From Azzo's second marriage descended the family known as d'Este, which ruled Modena and Ferrara in Italy. Interestingly, when Pr Augustus, Duke of Sussex, had morganatic children in the 19th century, they took the surname of d'Este. The finaly name took on political significance during the battles between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Those who generally opposed the Hohenstaufen emperors were known as Guelphs, since that family usually led them, and the Hohenstaufen supporters were known as Ghibellines, from the Italian name of the Hohenstaufen castle, Waibling.
Rulers of
Burgundy
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Last updated 13th October 2003