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The reigning king or queen is the country’s head of state. All political power rests with the prime minister (the head of government) and the cabinet, and the monarch must act on their advice. The table provides a chronological list of the sovereigns of Britain.
- Edward VI
Edward VI, king of England and Ireland from 1547 to 1553. He...
- Victoria
Victoria (born May 24, 1819, Kensington Palace, London,...
- Anne
Anne was the second daughter of James, duke of York (King...
- Egbert
The son of Ealhmund, king in Kent in 784 and 786, Egbert was...
- George III
George III (born June 4 [May 24, Old Style], 1738,...
- Charles II
Charles II (born May 29, 1630, London—died February 6, 1685,...
- Henry V
Henry V’s true genius is revealed in the planning and...
- Edward I
Edward I (born June 17, 1239, Westminster, Middlesex,...
- Edward VI
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England.
- English Kings
- Monarchs of England and Wales
- Monarchs of England, Wales and Ireland
- British Monarchs
SAXON KINGS
EGBERT 827 – 839 Egbert (Ecgherht) was the first monarch to establish a stable and extensive rule over all of Anglo-Saxon England. After returning from exile at the court of Charlemagne in 802, he regained his kingdom of Wessex. Following his conquest of Mercia in 827, he controlled all of England south of the Humber. After further victories in Northumberland and North Wales, he is recognised by the title Bretwalda (Anglo-Saxon, “ruler of the British”). A year before he died aged almost 70, h...
NORMAN KINGS
WILLIAM I (The Conqueror) 1066- 1087 Also known as William the Bastard (but not normally to his face!), he was the illegitimate son of Robert the Devil, whom he succeeded as Duke of Normandy in 1035. William came to England from Normandy, claiming that his second cousin Edward the Confessor had promised him the throne, and defeated Harold II at the Battle of Hastings on 14th October 1066. In 1085 the Domesday Survey was begun and all of England was recorded, so William knew exactly what his n...
PLANTAGENET KINGS
HENRY II 1154-1189 Henry of Anjou was a strong king. A brilliant soldier, he extended his French lands until he ruled most of France. He laid the foundation of the English Jury System and raised new taxes (scutage) from the landholders to pay for a militia force. Henry is mostly remembered for his quarrel with Thomas Becket, and Becket’s subsequent murder in Canterbury Cathedralon 29th December 1170. His sons turned against him, even his favourite John. RICHARD I (The Lionheart) 1189 – 1199 R...
EDWARD I 1272 – 1307 Edward Longshanks was a statesman, lawyer and soldier. He formed the Model Parliament in 1295, bringing the knights, clergy and nobility, as well as the Lords and Commons together for the first time. Aiming at a united Britain, he defeated the Welsh chieftains and created his eldest son Prince of Wales. He was known as the ‘Ham...
HENRY VIII 1509 – 1547 The best known fact about Henry VIII is that he had six wives! Most school children learn the following rhyme to help them remember the fate of each wife: “Divorced, Beheaded, Died: Divorced, Beheaded, Survived”. His first wife was Catherine of Aragon, his brothers widow, whom he later divorced to marry Anne Boleyn. This divo...
THE STUARTS
JAMES I and VI of Scotland 1603 -1625 James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley. He was the first king to rule over Scotland and England. James was more of a scholar than a man of action. In 1605 the Gunpowder Plot was hatched: Guy Fawkes and his Catholic friends tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but were captured before they could do so. James’s reign saw the publication of the Authorised Version of the Bible, though this caused problems with the Puritans and their a...
THE COMMONWEALTH
declared May 19th 1649 OLIVER CROMWELL, Lord Protector 1653 – 1658 Cromwell was born at Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire in 1599, the son of a small landowner. He entered Parliament in 1629 and became active in events leading to the Civil War. A leading Puritan figure, he raised cavalry forces and organised the New Model Army, which he led to victory over the Royalists at the Battle of Nasebyin 1645. Failing to gain agreement on constitutional change in government with Charles I, Cromwell was a mem...
THE RESTORATION
CHARLES II 1660 – 1685 Son of Charles I, also known as the Merry Monarch. After the collapse of the Protectorate following the death of Oliver Cromwell and the flight of Richard Cromwell to France, the Army and Parliament asked Charles to take the throne. Although very popular he was a weak king and his foreign policy was inept. He had 13 known mistresses, one of whom was Nell Gwyn. He fathered numerous illegitimate children but no heir to the throne. The Great Plague in 1665 and the Great Fi...
List of British monarchs. There have been 13 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. England and Scotland had been in personal union since 24 March 1603.
NamePortraitArmsBirthCharles III [18] Charles Philip Arthur ...14 November 1948 Buckingham Palace Son of ...(1) Diana Spencer St Paul's Cathedral 29 ...Living Age 75Elizabeth II [16] Elizabeth Alexandra ...21 April 1926 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair ...Philip of Greece and Denmark Westminster ...8 September 2022 Balmoral Castle Aged 96George VI [15] Albert Frederick Arthur ...14 December 1895 York Cottage Son of ...Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Westminster Abbey 26 ...6 February 1952 Sandringham House Aged ...Edward VIII [14] Edward Albert Christian ...23 June 1894 White Lodge Son of George V ...Wallis Simpson Château de Candé 3 June ...28 May 1972 4 route du Champ ...Dec 3, 2021 · A comprehensive list of the rulers of England from 1066 to the present day, organized by dynasties and dates. Learn about the Norman, Plantagenet, Tudor, Stuart, Hanover and Windsor kings and queens of England.
Mar 31, 2023 · The current ruling house, there have been, to date, five Windsor monarchs. This list of kings and queens of England takes in our current King, Charles III. George V. Born: 1865 | Died: 1936 | Reign: 1910 – 1936. George was a career sailor who didn’t expect to become king.
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The King of England was the supreme head of state and head of government of the Kingdom of England. This is a list of the Kings and Queens of the Kingdom of England from 924 until England and Scotland joined together in 1707.
