This overview of the British monarchy, from the accession of the unpopular George I in 1714, through the apparently halcyon Victorian era to the present, argues that the House of Windsor, often beset by sloth and lack of self-restraint, has frequently been saved not by its own actions, but by dedicated servants and spouses; and that the seeds of the collapse of its mystique were sown back in the 1970s, when the Royal Family tried to transform its image and became active figures in the publicity game.