Since the 18th century, German royal houses ruled in England. Initially, it was the House of Hanover, from which Queen Victoria was descended on her father's side. Through her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha eventually established itself at the British court. Until Albert's early death, the royal couple jointly guided the fate of the country. These twenty years were crucial for the development of the English parliamentary system into a constitutional monarchy. Victoria herself became a widely recognized symbol of her empire; her reign is known as the Victorian era in history. Edgar Feuchtwanger describes the wise and strategic marriage policy of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which created an extensive network of dynastic connections to nearly all European courts. This gained particular significance.