Question: where does the english royal family come from

title: Monarchy of the United Kingdom
text: From 1811 to 1820 , George III suffered a severe bout of what is now believed to be porphyria , an illness rendering him incapable of ruling . His son , the future George IV , ruled in his stead as Prince Regent . During the Regency and his own reign , the power of the monarchy declined , and by the time of his successor , William IV , the monarch was no longer able to effectively interfere with parliamentary power . In 1834 , William dismissed the Whig Prime Minister , William Lamb , 2nd Viscount Melbourne , and appointed a Tory , Sir Robert Peel . In the ensuing elections , however , Peel lost . The king had no choice but to recall Lord Melbourne . During William IV 's reign , the Reform Act 1832 , which reformed parliamentary representation , was passed . Together with others passed later in the century , the Act led to an expansion of the electoral franchise and the rise of the House of Commons as the most important branch of Parliament .