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List of English monarchs

Background Information

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Coat of arms of England

This list of English monarchs begins with Æthelstan. Wessex was the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the ninth century, and Alfred the Great adopted the title King of the Anglo-Saxons. By the early tenth century his son Edward the Elder controlled southern England, but Northumbria was independent until it was conquered by Æthelstan in 927, and he is regarded by modern historians as the first king of England.

The Principality of Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and in 1301 Edward I invested his eldest son, the future Edward II, as Prince of Wales. Since that time, with the exception of Edward III, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Elizabeth I without issue, in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were joined in personal union under James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. By royal proclamation James titled himself "King of Great Britain", but no such kingdom was created until 1707, when England underwent legislative union with Scotland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain, during the reign of Queen Anne.

House of Wessex

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Æthelstan
(Æþelstan)
927–939
King of the Anglo-Saxons from 925
King Athelstan from All Souls College Chapel 895
Son of Edward the Elder and Ecgwynn
Unmarried 27 October 939
Aged about 44
Edmund the Magnificent
(Eadmund)
28 October
939–946
Edmund I.jpg c. 921
Son of Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent
(1) Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
two children
(2) Æthelflæd of Damerham
944
no children
26 May 946
Pucklechurch
Aged about 25
(Murdered)
Eadred
(Eadred)
27 May
946–955
Imaginary line engraving of Edred made by un unknown engraver after an unknown artist c. 923
Son of Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent
Unmarried 23 November 955
Frome
Aged about 32
Eadwig
(Eadwig)
24 November
955–959
Line engraving of Edwy made by an unknown engraver after an unknown artist c. 940
Son of Edmund the Magnificent and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Ælfgifu 1 October 959
Aged about 19
Edgar the Peaceful
(Eadgar)
2 October
959–975
King Edgar of England c. 943
Wessex
Son of Edmund the Magnificent and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
(1) Æthelflæd
c. 960
1 son
(2) Ælfthryth
c. 964
2 sons
8 July 975
Winchester
Aged about 32
Edward the Martyr
(Eadweard)
9 July
975–978
St. Edward the Martyr c. 962
Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Æthelflæd
Unmarried 18 March 978
Corfe Castle
Aged about 16
(Assassinated)
Æthelred the Unready
(Æþelræd Unræd)
19 March
978–1013 (first reign)
Image of Æthelred II with an oversize sword from the illuminated manuscript c. 968
Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth
(1) Ælfgifu of York
991
nine children
(2) Emma of Normandy
1002
three children
23 April 1016
London
Aged about 48

House of Knýtlinga

England came under the rule of Danish kings during and following the reign of Æthelred the Unready.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Sweyn Forkbeard
(Svend Tveskæg)
25 December
1013–1014
Sweyn Forkbeard, from an architectural element in the Swansea Guildhall, Swansea, Wales c. 960
Denmark
Son of Harald Bluetooth and Gyrid Olafsdottir
(1) Gunhild of Wenden
c. 990
seven children
(2) Sigrid the Haughty
c. 1000
1 daughter
3 February 1014
Gainsborough
Aged about 54

House of Wessex (restored, first time)

Following the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Æthelred the Unready returned from exile and was again proclaimed king on 3 February 1014. His son succeeded him after being chosen king by the citizens of London and a part of the Witan, despite ongoing Danish efforts in wresting the crown from the West Saxons.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Æthelred the Unready
(Æþelræd Unræd)
3 February
1014–1016 (second reign)
Image of Æthelred II with an oversize sword from the illuminated manuscript c. 968
Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth
(1) Aelgifu
991
nine children
(2) Emma of Normandy
1002
three children
23 April 1016
London
Aged about 48
Edmund Ironside
(Eadmund)
24 April –
30 November 1016
Edmund Ironside c. 993
Son of Æthelred the Unready and Ælfgifu of York
Edith of East Anglia
two children
30 November 1016
Glastonbury
Aged about 23

House of Knýtlinga (restored)

Following the decisive Battle of Ashingdon on 18 October 1016, King Edmund signed a treaty with Canute in which all of England except for Wessex would be controlled by Canute. Upon Edmund's death on 30 November, Canute ruled the whole kingdom as its sole king.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Cnut
(Knútr)
30 November 1016 –
12 November 1035
Cnut.jpg c. 995
Son of Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhilda of Poland
(1) Aelfgifu of Northampton
two children
(2) Emma of Normandy
1017
two children
12 November 1035
Shaftesbury
Aged about 40
Harold Harefoot
(Harald)
13 November 1035 –
17 March 1040
Harold H.jpg c. 1016/7
Son of Cnut and Ælfgifu of Northampton
Ælfgifu?
1 son?
17 March 1040
Oxford
Aged about 23 or 24
Harthacnut
(Hardeknud)
17 March 1040 –
8 June 1042
Hardeknut.jpg 1018
Son of Cnut and Emma of Normandy
Unmarried 8 June 1042
Lambeth
Aged about 24

House of Wessex (restored, second time)

After Harthacanute, there was a brief Saxon Restoration between 1042 and 1066. After the Battle of Hastings, a decisive point in English history, William I of Normandy became king of England.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Children Death
Edward the Confessor
(Eadweard)
9 June
1042 – 1066
Edward Confessor.jpg c. 1003
Islip, Oxfordshire
Son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy
Edith of Wessex
23 January 1045
None 5 January 1066
Westminster Palace
Aged about 63
Harold Godwinson
(Harold Godƿinson)
6 January - 14 October 1066
Harold2.jpg c. 1020
Son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir
Edith Swannesha Godwine, Edmund, Magnus, Gunhild, Gytha 14 October 1066
Hastings
Aged about 46
(Died in battle)
Ealdgyth
c. 1064
Harold, Ulf
Edgar the Ætheling
(Eadgar Æþeling)
15 October – 17 December 1066
Proclaimed, but never crowned
Edgar the Ætheling.jpg c. 1053
Hungary
Son of Edward the Exile and Agatha
Unmarried None c. 1125
Aged about 72

House of Normandy

In 1066 the Duke of Normandy, William I, a vassal to the King of France and cousin once-removed of Edward the Confessor, invaded and conquered England in the Norman Conquest of England, and made permanent the recent removal of the capital from Winchester to London. Following the death of King Harold II in the decisive Battle of Hastings on 14 October, the Anglo-Saxon witan elected Edgar the Ætheling king in Harold's place, but Edgar was unable to resist the invaders and was never crowned. William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066, and is today known as William the Conqueror, William the Bastard or William I.

It was only from the reign of William and his descendents that monarchs took regnal numbers in the French fashion, though the earlier custom of distinguishing monarchs by nicknames did not die out by consequence.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
William I
William the Bastard
William the Conqueror
(Guillaume le Bâtard)
(Guillaume le Conquérant)

25 December
1066–1087
William the Conqueror depicted at the Battle of Hastings, on the Bayeux Tapestry c. 1028
Falaise Castle
son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva
Matilda of Flanders
Chapel Notre Dame of the castle in Eu, Normandy
1053
ten children
9 September 1087
Rouen
aged about 59 after wounding himself on the saddle when his horse stumbled. Buried at Saint Etienne Abbey ( Abbaye aux Hommes) of Caen
Supposedly named heir by Edward the Confessor in 1052
(de facto right of conquest)
William II
William Rufus
(Guillaume le Roux)

26 September
1087–1100
William Rufus depicted in the Stowe Manuscript c. 1060
Normandy
son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders
unmarried 2 August 1100
New Forest
aged about 40 when shot by an arrow, events still unclear.
son of William I
(appointment)
Henry I
Henry Beauclerc
(Henri Beauclerc)

5 August
1100–1135
Henry I September 1068
Selby
son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders
(1) Edith otherwise Matilda of Scotland
Westminster Abbey
11 November 1100
four children
(2) Adeliza of Louvain
Windsor Castle
29 January 1121
no children
1 December 1135
Castle of Lyons-la-Forêt (Saint-Denis-en-Lyons)
aged 67 apparently from eating a surfeit of lampreys. Buried at Reading Abbey
son of William I;
(seizure of the crown)

House of Blois

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Stephen
Stephen of Blois
(Étienne de Blois)

22 December
1135–1154
Stephen c. 1096
Blois
son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of Normandy
Matilda of Boulogne
Westminster
1125
five children
25 October 1154
Dover Castle
aged about 58 from dysentery
grandson of William I
(appointment/usurpation)

Disputed claimants

Empress Matilda was declared heir presumptive by her father, Henry I, after the death of her brother on the White Ship, and acknowledged as such by the barons. However, upon Henry I's death, the throne was seized by Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois. The Anarchy followed, with Matilda's being a de facto ruler for a few months in 1141, but she was never crowned and is rarely listed as a monarch of England.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Matilda
Empress Matilda
(Mathilde l'emperesse)

7 April 1141–1 November 1141
Title disputed
7 February 1102
Sutton Courtenay
daughter of Henry I and Edith of Scotland
(1) Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
Mainz
6 January 1114
no children
(2) Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou
Le Mans Cathedral
22 May 1128
three children
10 September 1167
Notre Dame du Pré in Rouen
aged 65
daughter of Henry I
(seizure of the crown)

Prince Eustace (c. 1130 – 17 August 1153) was appointed co-king of England by his father, King Stephen, on 6 April 1152, in order to guarantee his succession to the throne (as was the custom in France, but not in England). However, the Church would not agree to this, and Eustace was not crowned. Eustace died the next year aged 22, during his father's lifetime, and so never became king in his own right.

House of Plantagenet

Stephen came to an agreement with Matilda in November 1153 with the signing of the Treaty of Wallingford, where Stephen recognised Henry, son of Matilda, as the heir-apparent to the throne in lieu of his own son.

Rather than ruling among the Normans, the Plantagenets ruled from Aquitaine — lands which were acquired through Henry II's marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, but did not regard England as their primary home until after most of their French possessions were lost by King John. This long-lived dynasty is usually divided into three houses: the Angevins, the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

The Plantagenets formulated England's royal coat of arms, which usually showed other kingdoms held or claimed by them or their successors, although without representation of Ireland for quite some time.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Henry II
Henry Curtmantle
(Henri Court-manteau)

19 December
1154–1189
Henry II 5 March 1133
Le Mans
son of Geoffrey V of Anjou and Matilda
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Bordeaux Cathedral
18 May 1152
eight children
6 July 1189
Chinon
aged 56. Buried at Fontevraud Abbey
grandson of Henry I
( Treaty of Wallingford)
Henry the Young King
(Henri le Jeune Roy)
(co-ruler with his father)
14 June
1170–1183
Henry 28 February 1155

son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

Margaret of France
Winchester Cathedral
27 August 1172
one child
11 June 1183
Martel, Limoges
aged 28. Buried at Rouen Cathedral (Notre-Dame)
son of Henry II
( coronation as junior king)
Richard I
Richard the Lionheart
(Richard Cœur de Lion)

3 September
1189–1199
Richard the Lionheart, an illustration from a 12th century codex 8 September 1157
Beaumont Palace
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Berengaria of Navarre
Limassol
12 May 1191
no children
6 April 1199
Chalus
aged 41 from an arrow wound in the shoulder that became infected. Buried: Heart at Rouen Cathedral. Body at Fontevraud Abbey
son of Henry II
( primogeniture)
John
Lackland
(Jean sans Terre)

27 May
1199–1216
King John 24 December 1166
Beaumont Palace
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
(1) Isabel of Gloucester
Marlborough Castle
29 August 1189
no children

(2) Isabella of Angoulême
Bordeaux Cathedral
24 August 1200
five children

19 October 1216
Newark-on-Trent
aged 49, probably from dysentery brought on by eating peaches and drinking wine. Buried at Worcester Cathedral
brother of Richard I
(appointment)

Disputed claimant

Louis VIII of France briefly ruled about half of England from 1216 to 1217 at the conclusion of the First Barons' War against King John. On marching into London he was openly received by the rebel barons and citizens of London and proclaimed (though not crowned) king at St Paul's cathedral. Many nobles, including Alexander II of Scotland for his English possessions, gathered to give homage to him. However, in signing the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217, Louis conceded that he had never been the legitimate king of England.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Louis
The Lion
1216–
22 September 1217
Title disputed
Louis8lelion.jpg 5 September 1187
Paris
son of Philip II of France, and Isabella of Hainault
Blanche of Castile
Portmont
23 May 1200
13 children
8 November 1226
Montpensier
aged 39
Right of conquest

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Henry III
Henry of Winchester
28 October
1216–1272
Henry III 1 October 1207
Winchester Castle
son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême
Eleanor of Provence
Canterbury Cathedral
14 January 1236
nine children
16 November 1272
Westminster Palace
aged 65
son of King John
(primogeniture)
Edward I
Longshanks
20 November
1272–1307
Eduard1 korunovace.jpg 17 June 1239
Westminster Palace
son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence
(1) Eleanor of Castile
Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas
18 October 1254
17 children

(2) Margaret of France
10 September 1299
three children

7 July 1307
Burgh by Sands
aged 68
son of Henry III
(primogeniture)
Edward II
Edward of Caernarfon
7 July 1307 –
25 January 1327
Contemporary depiction of Edward II 25 April 1284
Caernarfon Castle
son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile
Isabella of France
Boulogne Cathedral
25 January 1308
five children
21 September 1327
Berkeley Castle
aged 43 (murdered)
son of Edward I
(primogeniture)
Edward III
25 January
1327–1377
Edward III 13 November 1312
Windsor Castle
son of Edward II and Isabella of France
Philippa of Hainault
York Minster
24 January 1328
14 children
21 June 1377
Sheen Palace
aged 64
son of Edward II
(primogeniture)
Richard II
21 June 1377 –
29 September 1399
Richard II, the so-called 'Westminster Portrait', painted by an unknown artist working in the International Gothic style, 1390s 6 January 1367
Bordeaux
son of Edward, the Black Prince and Joan of Kent
(1) Anne of Bohemia
14 January 1382
no children

(2) Isabella of Valois
Calais
4 November 1396
no children

14 February 1400
Pontefract Castle
aged 33 probably from starvation
grandson of Edward III
(primogeniture)

House of Lancaster

This house descended from Edward III's third surviving son, John of Gaunt. Henry IV seized power from Richard II (and also displaced the next in line to the throne, Edmund Mortimer, a descendant of Edward III's second son, Lionel of Antwerp).

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Henry IV
Bolingbroke
30 September
1399–1413
Henry IV 3 April 1366/7
Bolingbroke Castle
son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster
(1) Mary de Bohun
Arundel Castle
27 July 1380
seven children

(2) Joanna of Navarre
Winchester Cathedral
7 February 1403
no children

20 March 1413
Westminster Abbey
aged 45 or 46
grandson and heir male of Edward III
( usurpation/ agnatic primogeniture)
Henry V
20 March
1413–1422
Henry V 16 September 1386 or
9 August 1387
Monmouth Castle
son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun
Catherine of Valois
Troyes Cathedral
2 June 1420
one son
31 August 1422
Château de Vincennes
aged 35
son of Henry IV
(agnatic primogeniture)
Henry VI
(first reign)
31 August 1422 – 4 March 1461
Henry VI 6 December 1421
Windsor Castle
son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
Margaret of Anjou
Titchfield Abbey
22 April 1445
1 son
21 May 1471
Tower of London
aged 49
son of Henry V
(agnatic primogeniture)

House of York

The House of York inherited its name from the fourth surviving son of Edward III, Edmund, 1st Duke of York, but claimed the right to the throne through Edward III's second surviving son, Lionel of Antwerp.

The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) saw the throne pass back and forth between the rival houses of Lancaster and York.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Edward IV
(first reign)
4 March 1461 – 2 October 1470
Edward IV 28 April 1442
Rouen
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville
Elizabeth Woodville
Grafton Regis
1 May 1464
ten children
9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
aged 40 (probably died of a stroke after catching a chill during a fishing trip)
great-great-grandson and heir general of Edward III
(seizure of the crown/ cognatic primogeniture)

House of Lancaster (restored)

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Henry VI
(second reign)
30 October 1470 – 11 April 1471
Henry VI 6 December 1421
Windsor Castle
son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
Margaret of Anjou
Titchfield Abbey
22 April 1445
1 son
21 May 1471
Tower of London
aged 49 (murdered) by being stabbed in the head.
son of Henry V
(seizure of the crown)

House of York (restored)

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Edward IV
(second reign)
11 April 1471 – 9 April 1483
Edward IV 28 April 1442
Rouen
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville
Elizabeth Woodville
Grafton Regis
1 May 1464
ten children
9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
aged 40 (probably died of a stroke after catching a chill during a fishing trip)
great-great-grandson and heir general of Edward III
(seizure of the crown/ cognatic primogeniture)
Edward V
9 April – 25 June 1483
Edward V 2 November 1470
Westminster
son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
unmarried c. 1483
London
aged about 12 (reportedly smothered)
son of Edward IV
(cognatic primogeniture)
Richard III
26 June
1483–1485
Richard III 2 October 1452
Fotheringhay Castle
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville
Anne Neville
Westminster Abbey
12 July 1472
1 son
22 August 1485
Bosworth Field
aged 32 (killed in battle)
great-great-grandson of Edward III
( Titulus Regius)

House of Tudor

The Tudors descended matrilineally from John Beaufort, one of the illegitimate children of John of Gaunt (third surviving son of Edward III), by Gaunt's long-term mistress Katherine Swynford. Those descended from English monarchs only through an illegitimate child would normally have no claim on the throne, but the situation was complicated when Gaunt and Swynford eventually married in 1396 (25 years after John Beaufort's birth). In view of the marriage, the church retroactively declared the Beauforts legitimate via a papal bull the same year (also enshrined in an Act of Parliament in 1397). A subsequent proclamation by John of Gaunt's legitimate son, King Henry IV, also recognized the Beauforts' legitimacy, but declared them ineligible ever to inherit the throne. Nevertheless, the Beauforts remained closely allied with Gaunt's other descendants, the Royal House of Lancaster.

John Beaufort's granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort was married to Edmund Tudor. Tudor was the son of Welsh courtier Owain Tewdr (anglicised to "Owen Tudor") and Catherine of Valois, the widowed queen consort of the Lancastrian King Henry V. Edmund Tudor and his siblings were either illegitimate, or the product of a secret marriage, and owed their fortunes to the goodwill of their legitimate half-brother King Henry VI. When the House of Lancaster fell from power, the Tudors followed. By the late 15th century, the Tudors were the last hope for the Lancaster supporters. Edmund Tudor's son became king as Henry VII after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, ending the Wars of the Roses.

With Henry VIII's break from the Roman Catholic Church, the monarch became the Supreme Head of the Church of England and of the Church of Ireland. Elizabeth I's title became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Henry VII
22 August
1485–1509
Henry VII, by Michel Sittow, 1505 28 January 1457
Pembroke Castle
son of Edmund Tudor and Lady Margaret Beaufort
Elizabeth of York
Westminster Abbey
18 January 1486
eight children
21 April 1509
Richmond Palace
aged 52
great-great-great-grandson of Edward III
( right of conquest)
Henry VIII
21 April
1509–1547
Henry VIII, by Hans Holbein, c.1536 28 June 1491
Greenwich Palace
son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
Catherine of Aragon
Greenwich
11 June 1509
one daughter
28 January 1547
Whitehall Palace
aged 55
son of Henry VII
( primogeniture)
Anne Boleyn
Westminster Palace
25 January 1533
one daughter
Jane Seymour
Whitehall Palace
30 May 1536
one son
Anne of Cleves
Greenwich Palace
6 January 1540
Catherine Howard
Hampton Court Palace
28 July 1540
Catherine Parr
Hampton Court Palace
12 July 1543
Edward VI
28 January
1547–1553
Edward VI, by Hans Eworth 12 October 1537
Hampton Court Palace
son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
unmarried 6 July 1553
Greenwich Palace
aged 15
son of Henry VIII
( primogeniture)

Disputed claimant

Edward VI named Lady Jane Grey as his heir presumptive. Four days after his death on 6 July 1553, Jane was proclaimed queen. Nine days after the proclamation, on 19 July, the Privy Council switched allegiance and proclaimed Edward VI's Catholic half-sister Mary. Jane was executed in 1554, aged 16. Many historians do not consider her to have been a legitimate monarch.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Jane

10–19 July 1553
Title disputed
Streathamladyjayne.jpg October 1537
Bradgate Park
daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Frances Brandon
Lord Guildford Dudley
The Strand
21 May 1553
no children
12 February 1554
Tower of London
aged 16 (beheaded)
great-granddaughter of Henry VII
(Devise for the succession)

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Mary I
19 July
1553–1558
Mary I, by Antonius Mor, 1554 18 February 1516
Greenwich Palace
daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
Philip II of Spain
Winchester Cathedral
25 July 1554
no children
17 November 1558
St. James's Palace
aged 42
daughter of Henry VIII
( Third Succession Act)
Philip
25 July 1554 –
17 November 1558
( jure uxoris)
King Philip of England 21 May 1527
Valladolid, Spain
son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Isabella of Portugal
(2) Mary I of England
Winchester Cathedral
25 July 1554
no children
three other marriages
and seven children
13 September 1598
El Escorial, Spain
aged 71
husband of Mary I
( Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain)
Coat of arms, 1554–1558

Under the terms of the marriage treaty between Philip I of Naples (Philip II of Spain from 15 January 1556) and Queen Mary I, Philip was to enjoy Mary's titles and honours for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including Acts of Parliament, were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple. An Act of Parliament gave him the title of king and stated that he "shall aid her Highness ... in the happy administration of her Grace’s realms and dominions" (although elsewhere the Act stated that Mary was to be "sole queen"). Nonetheless, Philip was to co-reign with his wife. As the new King of England could not read English, it was ordered that a note of all matters of state should be made in Latin or Spanish. Coins were minted showing the heads of both Mary and Philip, and the coat of arms of England (right) was impaled with Philip's to denote their joint reign. Acts which made it high treason to deny Philip's royal authority were passed in England and Ireland. In 1555, Pope Paul IV issued a papal bull recognising Philip and Mary as rightful King and Queen of Ireland.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Elizabeth I
17 November
1558–1603
Elizabeth I, by Darnley 7 September 1533
Greenwich Palace
daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
unmarried 24 March 1603
Richmond Palace
aged 69
daughter of Henry VIII
( Third Succession Act)

House of Stuart

Following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 without issue, the Scottish king, James VI, succeeded to the English throne as James I in the Union of the Crowns. James was descended from the Tudors through his great-grandmother, Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of Henry VII. In 1604 he adopted the title King of Great Britain. However the two parliaments remained separate.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
James I
24 March
1603–1625
James I, by Paulus van Somer 19 June 1566
Edinburgh Castle
son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and Mary I, Queen of Scots
Anne of Denmark
Oslo
23 November 1589
seven children
27 March 1625
Theobalds House
Aged 58
great-great-grandson and heir general of Henry VII
Charles I
27 March
1625–1649
Charles I, by Anthony van Dyck 19 November 1600
Dunfermline Palace
son of James I and Anne of Denmark
Henrietta Maria of France
St Augustine's Abbey
13 June 1625
nine children
30 January 1649
Whitehall Palace
aged 48 (beheaded)
son of James I ( cognatic primogeniture)

Commonwealth

There was no reigning monarch between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Instead, from 1653 the following individuals held power as Lords Protector, during the period known as the Protectorate, when the monarchy was overthrown.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Oliver Cromwell
Old Ironsides
16 December
1653–1658
Oliver Cromwell 25 April 1599
Huntingdon
son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward
Elizabeth Bourchier
in St Giles
22 August 1620
nine children
3 September 1658
Whitehall
aged 59
Richard Cromwell
Tumbledown Dick
3 September 1658
– 7 May 1659
Richard Cromwell, c.1650 4 October 1626
Huntingdon
son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier
Dorothy Maijor
May 1649
nine children
12 July 1712
Cheshunt
aged 85

House of Stuart (restored)

Although the monarchy was restored in 1660, no stable settlement proved possible until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when Parliament finally asserted the right to choose whomsoever it pleased as monarch.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Claim
Charles II
1660–1685
Recognized by Royalists in 1649
Charles II (1670s).jpg 29 May 1630
St. James's Palace
son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France
Catherine of Braganza
Portsmouth
21 May 1662
no children
6 February 1685
Whitehall Palace
aged 54
son of Charles I ( cognatic primogeniture; English Restoration)
James II
6 February 1685 –
23 December 1688 (deposed)
James II by John Riley.png 14 October 1633
St. James's Palace
son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France
(1) Anne Hyde
The Strand
3 September 1660
eight children

(2) Mary of Modena
Dover
21 November 1673
seven children

16 September 1701
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
aged 67
son of Charles I ( cognatic primogeniture)
Mary II
13 February
1689–1694
Queen Mary II.jpg 30 April 1662
St. James's Palace
daughter of James II and Anne Hyde
St. James's Palace
4 November 1677
no children
28 December 1694
Kensington Palace
aged 32
grandchildren of Charles I (offered the crown by Parliament)
William III
William of Orange
13 February
1689–1702
Portrait of William III, (1650-1702).jpg 4 November 1650
The Hague
son of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal
8 March 1702
Kensington Palace
aged 51 after breaking his collarbone from falling off his horse
Anne
8 March
1702–1 May 1707
Queen of Great Britain and Ireland
1 May 1707–1 August 1714
Anne1705.jpg 6 February 1665
St. James's Palace
daughter of James II and Anne Hyde
George of Denmark
St. James's Palace
28 July 1683
5 children
1 August 1714
Kensington Palace
aged 49
daughter of James II ( cognatic primogeniture; Bill of Rights 1689)

Monarchs after 1707

For monarchs after the union of England and Scotland in 1707, see List of British monarchs.

Acts of Union

The Acts of Union 1707 were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. The Acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into a single Kingdom of Great Britain.

The two countries had shared a monarch for about 100 years (since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne from his first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I). Although described as a Union of Crowns, until 1707 there were in fact two separate Crowns resting on the same head. There had been three attempts in 1606, 1667, and 1689 to unite the two countries by Acts of Parliament, but it was not until the early eighteenth century that the idea had the will of both political establishments behind them, albeit for rather different reasons.

Timeline of English Monarchs

Mary II of England William III of England James II of England Charles II of England Oliver Cromwell Charles I of England James I of England Elizabeth I of England Philip II of Spain Mary I of England Edward VI of England Henry VIII of England Henry VII of England Richard III of England Edward V of England Edward IV of England Henry VI of England Edward IV of England Henry VI of England Henry V of England Henry IV of England Richard II of England Edward III of England Edward II of England Edward I of England Henry III of England John of England Richard I of England Henry II of England Stephen of England Henry I of England William II of England William I of England Harold Godwinson Saint Edward the Confessor Cnut the Great

Titles

The standard title for all monarchs from Alfred the Great until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum ("King of the English"). In addition, many of the pre-Norman kings assumed extra titles, as follows:

  • Alfred the Great: Rex Angulsaxonum ("King of the Anglo-Saxons") and Rex Anglorum et Saxonum ("King of the Angles and Saxons")
  • Athelstan: Rex Anglorum per omnipatrantis dexteram totius Bryttaniæ regni solio sublimatus ("King of the English and for accomplishing every right raised to the throne of Britannia")
  • Edmund the Magnificent: Rex Britanniae ("King of Britain") and Rex Anglorum caeterarumque gentium gobernator et rector ("King of the English and of other peoples governor and director")
  • Edred: Regis qui regimina regnorum Angulsaxna, Norþhymbra, Paganorum, Brettonumque ("Reigning over the governments of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons, Northumbrians, Pagans, and British")
  • Edwy the Fair: Rex nutu Dei Angulsæxna et Northanhumbrorum imperator paganorum gubernator Breotonumque propugnator ("King by the will of God, Emperor of the Anglo-Saxons and Northumbrians, governor of the pagans, commander of the British")
  • Edgar the Peaceable: Totius Albionis finitimorumque regum basileus ("Autocrat of all Albion and its neighboring realms")
  • Canute: Rex Anglorum totiusque Brittannice orbis gubernator et rector ("King of the English and of all the British sphere governor and director") and Brytannie totius Anglorum monarchus ("Monarch of all the English of Britain")

In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with occasional use of Rex Anglie ("King of England"). The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum ("Lady of the English").

From the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie.

In 1604 James I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, adopted the title (now usually rendered in English rather than Latin) King of Great Britain. The English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707 under Queen Anne (who was of course Queen of Great Britain rather than king).

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