This is why the Royal Family changed their surname to Windsor 100 years ago today

TODAY marks 100 years since the Royal Family changed their surname to Windsor.

King George V made an official announced and permanently altered his family name on July 17, 1917, but what led to the decision?

Until this date, at the height of World War I, the Royals were known as the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas.

But then the slaughter of 18 children in London, at the hands of German bombers, prompted George to adopt Windsor instead.

In June 1917, German pilots in a warplane - named the 'Gotha' - conducted daylight raids over East End.

They hit the Upper North Primary School, in Poplar, and killed 18 pupils.

This event, coupled with the fact that Brits were feeling very patriotic at the time, made it sensible for the Royals to reject their German roots.

A number of new names were suggested, including Tudor-Stuart, but Windsor was eventually settled upon.

King George V made a royal proclamation to announce the move, which has been hailed as a "clever piece of branding" by historians.

He famously said the family would, in future, "be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor" and that they would "relinquish and discontinue the use of all German titles and dignities".

Monarchs King Edward VIII, King George VIII and Queen Elizabeth II have all ruled under this surname.