The House of Windsor is the royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of the British Royal Family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (a branch of the House of Wettin) to the English Windsor, due primarily to the anti-German sentiment in the British Empire during World War I. The most prominent member of the House of Windsor at any given time is its head, currently Queen Elizabeth II.