This St Valentine’s week is appropriately enough the 175th anniversary of the formalising of one of the most successful Anglo-German unions ever: the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Cobourg and Gotha. It was a marriage that produced nine children, launched several V&A institutions, and brought some subtle German influences into British life, most notably in our Christmas traditions.

That Victoria found a spouse amongst German nobility is of no surprise to historians: despite the fact that these days the German aristocracy is so understated as to be almost invisible, up until as recently as 100 years ago German nobles were pretty much rent-a-nob, particularly because the German nation was such a fragmented collection of electorates, principalities and duchys that there were a lot of them around. Usually, whilst the first son was in line to inherit the title and the property, the second, third etc had to go off and get married to someone of suitable status elsewhere.

Albert did particularly well in linking up with Victoria, because Saxe-Cobourg and Gotha was a fairly paltry place, about the size of Sussex. Previously, of course, the Hanoverian family had done well, too, with George of Hanover, whose home turf wasn’t much bigger than Saxe-Cobourg. George succeeded to the British throne in 1714 despite being a distant 52nd in line: crucially, he was a protestant.

The British have, however, missed out on plumbing into a couple of other Euro-crat dynasties, which could really have changed our historical trajectory: the Habsburgs, who have been more than occupied with the Austro-Hungarian empire and spread their wings into Spain, and the Hohenzollerns.

The latter, a princely family which rose to prominence in Swabia, was eventually the bloodline of the German kings, ending with Kaiser Wilhelm, who abdicated at the end of World War I. Meanwhile a subsidiary branch of the Hohenzollern family was asked to take over the stewardship of the newly-formed nation of Romania, back in 1866. That monarchy was abolished by the Communists at the end of World War II, although Hohenzollern-descended Prince Michael of Romania is still around.

So Germany, despite its modern image of a social democracy free of class-based hierarchies, is actually posher than us.

Hanover’s rather bland modern appearance is a result of a lethal makeover by the RAF during World War II. The redesign gurus at Bomber Command barely gave a passing thought to the fact that this north German city shares some of our history, thanks to the House of Hanover. And despite the fact that they were specifically requested by the British Royal Family to try to avoid targeting the Castle at Herrenhausen, it was almost totally destroyed. Happily, it has since been rebuilt, and its reopening ceremony in early 2013 was attended by Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.

There’s a fair bit of Hanover in Britain, but there’s not a lot of Britain in Hanover

The aristocratic Brit-Hanover connection started with the King we know as George I, who was born here back in 1660 and ruled both Britain and Saxony simultaneously. He was the initiator of a bloodline which was to become Britain’s monarchy for 200 years. Although he didn’t become the English king until he was over 50, and his English was limited, he took the job seriously, and spent most of his time in England. Posh Brits thought he was uncouth and wooden in public, but he came to the throne at a time when the British parliament was flexing its muscles, so he didn’t have an easy ride.

But while there’s a fair bit of Hanover in Britain, there’s not a lot of Britain in Hanover. The city’s main street is Georgstrasse, named after George I himself. Locals call it Schorsenbummel, with Schorse the rather tipsysicated local pronunciation of George, and Bummel meaning stroll.

Otherwise the most English landscapes in the city are the glorious gardens of the former castle at Herrenhausen. Covering 50 acres, they were created by George’s mother, the Electress Sophia, who actually died here at the age of 83 rushing to shelter from a shower of rain. Key features are a giant fountain, baroque gardens, a hedge theatre, a maze, and quantities of formal flowerbeds and tree-lined pathways. There are lakes, temples, follies, close-mown lawns and statuary, and the gardens host a variety of concerts, firework displays and cultural festivals. More impressive than the gardens at Versailles, they simply don’t have the palace to go with them any more.

In fact the House of Hanover itself came to crunching halt with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. It was then succeeded by the House of Windsor as we know it today, except back then Messrs Edward and George were Saxe-Coburgs, with George only making the name change to ‘Windsor’ in 1917, fearing backlash from anti-German feeling during the First World War. The present Queen Elizabeth II is George’s grand-daughter, so the Germans still win on penalties.

Getting There: International airports are at Hanover, Bremen and Paderborn. International rail connections are via Cologne from Brussels (Thalys), which connect with the Eurostar from London. See our Travel page for airlines, rail and tour operators.

Staying There: our recommended hotels are here for Niedersachsen.

More on Herrenhausen.