King of Ireland
Encyclopedia
A monarchical polity
has existed in Ireland
during three periods of its history
, finally ending in 1801. The designation King of Ireland and Queen (regnant) of Ireland was used during these periods. Since 1949, the only part of Ireland that retains a monarchical system is Northern Ireland
(as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
)
and Tory Island
that is just off Donegal.
Connacht
, Ailech
, Airgíalla
, Ulster
, Mide, Leinster
, Osraige, Munster
and Thomond
. Until the end of Gaelic Ireland they continued to fluctuate, expand and contract in size, as well as dissolving entirely or being amalgamated into new entities. The role of High King of Ireland
was primarily titular and rarely (if ever) absolute.
The names of Connacht, Ulster, Leinster and Munster are still in use, now applied to the four modern provinces of Ireland. The following is a list of the main Irish kingdoms and their kings.
Nevertheless, the achievements of Mael Sechlainn and his successors were purely personal, and open to destruction upon their deaths. Between 846-1022, and again from 1042–1166, kings from the leading Irish kingdoms made greater attempts to compel the rest of the island's polity to their rule, with varying degrees of success, until the inauguration of Ruaidri Ua Conchobair
(Rory O'Connor) in 1166,
One of Ruaidrí's first acts as King was the conquest of Leinster
, which resulted in the exile of its king, Dermot MacMurrough
. Ruaidrí then obtained terms and hostages from all the notable kings and lords. He then celebrated the Oneach Tailtann, a recognised prerogative of the High Kings, and made a number of notable charitable gifts and donations. However, his caput remained in his home territory in central Connacht (County Galway
). Ireland's recognised capital, Dublin, was ruled by Hasculf Thorgillsson
, who had submitted to Ruaidri.
Only with the arrival of MacMurrough's Anglo-Norman
allies in May 1169 did Ruaidrí's position begin to weaken. A series of disastrous defeats and ill-judged treaties lost him much of Leinster
, and encouraged uprisings by rebel lords. By the time of the arrival of Henry II
in 1171, Ruaidrí's position as king of Ireland was increasingly untenable.
Ruaidrí at first remained aloof from engagement with King Henry, though many of the lesser kings and lords welcomed his arrival as they wished to see him curb the territorial gains made by his vassals. Through the intercession of Archbishop Lorcán Ua Tuathail
(Lawrence O'Toole), Ruaidrí and Henry came to terms with the Treaty of Windsor in 1175. Ruaidri agreed to recognise Henry as his lord; in return, Ruaidrí was allowed to keep all Ireland as his personal kingdom outside the petty kingdoms of Laigin
(Leinster) and Mide
as well as the city of Waterford
.
Henry was unwilling or unable to enforce the terms of the treaty on his barons in Ireland, who continued to gain territory in Ireland. A low point came in 1177 with a successful raid into the heart of Connacht
by a party of Anglo-Normans, led by one of Ruaidrí's sons, Prince Muirchertach. They were expelled, Ruaidhrí ordering the blinding of Muirchertach, but over the next six years his rule was increasingly diminished by internal dynastic conflict and external attacks. Finally, in 1183, he abdicated.
He was twice briefly returned to power in 1185 and 1189, but even within his home kingdom of Connacht he had become politically marginalised. He lived quietly on his estates, and died at the monastery of Cong
in 1198. With the possible exception of Brian O'Neill
(died 1260), no other Gaelic king was ever again recognised as king or high king of Ireland.
and Richard I, had exercised rule over the areas inhabited by the Anglo-Norman
s, and claims of allegiance from various Gaelic kings and lords. Successive kings of England did so as lords of Ireland. By the mid-13th century much of the island was under the direct and/or indirect rule of the king of England, but from c.1260 the size of the actual lordship began to recede, as various families died out in the male line while the Gaelic-Irish began to reclaim lost territory. The problem was recognised as significant at the parliament of 1297, yet successive English kings did little to stem the tide, instead using Ireland to draw upon men and supplies in the wars in Scotland
and France
.
By the 1390s the king's lordship had effectively shrunk to the Pale
with the rest of the island under the control of independent Gaelic-Irish or rebel Anglo-Irish. Richard II of England
made two journeys to Ireland during his reign to rectify the situation; as a direct result of his second visit in 1399 he lost his throne to Henry Bolingbroke. This was the last time that a medieval king of England visited Ireland.
For the duration of the 15th century, royal power in Ireland was weak, the country being dominated by the various clans and dynasties of Gaelic (O'Neill, O'Brien, McCarthy) or Anglo-Norman (Burke, FitzGerald, Butler) origin. Affairs closer to London
ensured, well into the 1530s, that Irish affairs remained at best a secondary concern.
The title "King of Ireland" was created by an act of the Irish Parliament
in 1541, replacing the Lordship of Ireland
, which had existed since 1171, with the Kingdom of Ireland
. The Crown of Ireland Act 1542
established a personal union
between the English and Irish crowns, providing that whoever was king of England was to be king of Ireland as well, and so its first holder was Henry VIII of England
. This followed the failure of the plan to make Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
, the King of Ireland. Although FitzRoy was made Lord-Lieutenant, the King's counselors feared that making a separate Kingdom of Ireland, with a ruler other than that of England, would create another threat like the King of Scotland.
The title of King of Ireland was created after Henry VIII had been excommunicated, so it was not recognised by Catholic monarchs. Following the accession of the Catholic Mary I
, Pope Paul IV
issued a papal bull
in 1555, recognizing her as Queen of Ireland together with her heirs and successors. This Bull was not subsequently revoked, despite her successors all being Protestants.
For a brief period in the 17th century, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
from the impeachment and execution of Charles I
to the Restoration of the monarchy in England
, there was no 'King of Ireland' in fact, only in name. After the Irish Rebellion of 1641
, Irish Catholics, organised in Confederate Ireland
, recognised Charles I and later Charles II
as legitimate monarchs, in opposition to the claims of the English Parliament, and signed a formal treaty with Charles I. But in 1649, the Rump Parliament
, victorious in the English Civil War
, executed Charles I, and made England a republic, or "Commonwealth". The Parliamentarian general Oliver Cromwell
came across the Irish sea to crush any attempt to restore the monarchy by temporarily — though illegally — uniting England, Scotland, and Ireland under one government, styling himself "Lord Protector" of the three kingdoms. (See also Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
.) After Cromwell's death in 1658, his son Richard
emerged as the leader of this pan-British-Isles republic, but he was not competent to maintain it. Parliament at London voted to restore the monarchy and Charles II returned from exile in France in 1660 to become King of England, King of Scotland and King of Ireland.
The Acts of Union 1707
merged the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain
. This entity was also known as the British Crown. The effect was to create a personal union between the Crown of Ireland and the British Crown. Later, on 1 January 1801, an additional merger took place between the two Crowns. By the terms of the Act of Union 1800
, the Kingdom of Ireland
merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain, thus creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
. Following the separation of most of Ireland from that political entity, the remaining constituent parts were renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927, five years after the establishment of the Irish Free State
.
In early December 1922, most of Ireland left the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as the Irish Free State
(renamed Ireland
in 1937), a self-governing Dominion within the British Empire. Six of Ireland's north-eastern counties, all within the Province of Ulster
, remained within the United Kingdom
as Northern Ireland
. This left the new Free State with only 26 counties. As a Dominion, the Free State was a constitutional monarchy
with the British monarch as its head of state.
The King's title in the Irish Free State was exactly the same as it was elsewhere in the British Empire
, being:
The change in the King's title was effected under an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
called the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act, 1927. The Act was intended to update the name of the United Kingdom as well as the King's title to reflect the fact that most of the island of Ireland had left the United Kingdom. The Act therefore provided that:
According to The Times the "Imperial Conference proposed that, as a result of the establishment of the Irish Free State
, the title of the King should be changed to "George V, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India." The change did not mean that the King had now assumed different Styles in the different parts of his Empire. That development did not formally occur until 1953, four years after Ireland had left the Commonwealth.
in 1936 eliminated all but one of the King's official duties. Under the External Relations Act of the same year he continued to represent the Free State in international affairs. This purely external role continued when the new Constitution of Ireland
was introduced in 1937.
The position of the King in the Irish state ended with the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which came into force in April 1949. This Act repealed the External Relations Act and declared the state was a republic
. The Crown of Ireland Act
was formally repealed in the Republic of Ireland by the Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union Irish Statutes) Act, 1962.
The monarchy continues in Northern Ireland
, which remains a part of the sovereign state
that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Interregnum
Kings George I, II, and III had reigned as "King of Ireland"; after a constitutional change Georges III & IV had reigned as "King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." Edward VIII
was the first monarch to accede to the British throne with the Northern Ireland designation attached to his title. His brother, George VI
, was the first actually so crowned. He was also the last Monarch to reign as King in all of the island of Ireland.
Polity
Polity is a form of government Aristotle developed in his search for a government that could be most easily incorporated and used by the largest amount of people groups, or states...
has existed in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
during three periods of its history
History of Ireland
The first known settlement in Ireland began around 8000 BC, when hunter-gatherers arrived from continental Europe, probably via a land bridge. Few archaeological traces remain of this group, but their descendants and later Neolithic arrivals, particularly from the Iberian Peninsula, were...
, finally ending in 1801. The designation King of Ireland and Queen (regnant) of Ireland was used during these periods. Since 1949, the only part of Ireland that retains a monarchical system is Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
(as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
)
and Tory Island
Tory Island
Toraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...
that is just off Donegal.
Gaelic Kings and Kingdoms
Gaelic Ireland consisted of as few as five and as many as nine main kingdoms, subdivided into dozens of smaller kingdoms. The primary kingdoms wereConnacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, Ailech
Ailech
Ailech was a medieval kingdom in Ireland, roughly centred on modern-day County Tyrone and the Inishowen peninsula in Ulster....
, Airgíalla
Airgíalla
Airgíalla or Airgialla was the name of an Irish federation and Irish kingdom which first formed around the 7th century...
, Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
, Mide, Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, Osraige, Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
and Thomond
Thomond
Thomond The region of Ireland associated with the name Thomond is County Clare, County Limerick and north County Tipperary; effectively most of north Munster. The name is used by a variety of establishments and organisations located in , or associated with the region...
. Until the end of Gaelic Ireland they continued to fluctuate, expand and contract in size, as well as dissolving entirely or being amalgamated into new entities. The role of High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
was primarily titular and rarely (if ever) absolute.
The names of Connacht, Ulster, Leinster and Munster are still in use, now applied to the four modern provinces of Ireland. The following is a list of the main Irish kingdoms and their kings.
- Kings of AilechKings of AilechThe Kings of Ailech belonged to the northern Uí Néill and took their name from the Grianán of Ailech , a hillfort on top of Greenan Mountain in modern County Donegal...
– divided into Tír EóghainCounty TyroneHistorically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
and Tír Conaill in twelfth century - Kings of ConnachtKings of ConnachtThe Kings of Connacht were rulers of the cóiced of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named after The Connachta.The old name for the province was Cóiced Ol nEchmacht . Ptolemy's map of c. 150 AD...
– all the land west of the Shannon except ThomondThomondThomond The region of Ireland associated with the name Thomond is County Clare, County Limerick and north County Tipperary; effectively most of north Munster. The name is used by a variety of establishments and organisations located in , or associated with the region...
. - Kings of LeinsterKings of LeinsterThe following is a provisional list of the kings of Leinster who ruled the Irish kingdom of Leinster up to 1632 with the death of Domhnall Spainnach MacMurrough-Kavanagh, the last legitimately inaugurated head of the MacMurrough Kavanagh royal line...
– Its last de facto king died in 1632. - Kings of MideKings of MideIn medieval Ireland, the Kings of Mide were of the Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the Uí Néill. Several were High Kings of Ireland. After the collapse of the kingdom in the 12th century its dynasty, the Ua Mael Sechlainn or Ó Melaghlins, were forced west and settled on the east bank of the Shannon...
– Ireland's central kingdom, annexed by Connacht in the 11th century. - Kings of MunsterKings of MunsterThe name Munster is derived from the Gaelic God, Muman. The province of Munster was once divided into six regions: Tuadh Mhuman , Des Mhuman , Aur/Ur Mumhan , Iar mumhan or Iarmuman , Ernaibh Muman , and Deisi Muman...
– an overkingdom of late prehistoric origins - Kings of UlsterKings of UlsterThe Kings of Ulster were of the Ulaid, and up till about AD 450, ruled as over-kings of the ancient cóiced of Ulster. Ptolemy's map shows them as the Voluntii and adjacent Darini. They were joined in the kingship by the later attested Cruithne...
– properly, Ulster east of the lower and upper BannRiver BannThe River Bann is the longest river in Northern Ireland, the total length being 80 miles . The river winds its way from the south east corner of Northern Ireland to the north west coast, pausing in the middle to widen into the enormous Lough Neagh...
.
Ard Ri co febressa:High-Kings with Opposition
Maire Herbert has noted that Annal evidence from the late eighth century in Ireland suggests that the larger provincial kingships were already accruing power at the expense of smaller political units. Leading kings appear in public roles at church-state proclamations ... and at royal conferences with their peers. (2000,p. 62). Responding to the assumption of the title ri hErenn uile (king of all Ireland) by Mael Sechlainn I in 862, she furthermore states that(Herbert, 2000, p. 72)
... the ninth-century assumption of the title of "ri Erenn" was a first step towards the definition of a national kingship and a territorially-based Irish realm. Yet change only gained ground after the stranglehold of Ui Neill power-structures was broken in the eleventh century. ...The renaming of a kingship ... engendered a new self-perception which shaped the future definition of a kingdom and of its subjects.
Nevertheless, the achievements of Mael Sechlainn and his successors were purely personal, and open to destruction upon their deaths. Between 846-1022, and again from 1042–1166, kings from the leading Irish kingdoms made greater attempts to compel the rest of the island's polity to their rule, with varying degrees of success, until the inauguration of Ruaidri Ua Conchobair
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair , often anglicised Rory O'Connor, reigned as King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and from 1166 to 1198 was the last High King before the Norman invasion of Ireland .Ruaidrí was one of over twenty sons of King...
(Rory O'Connor) in 1166,
High–Kings of Ireland 846–1198
- Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid, 846–860
- Aed Findliath, 861–876
- Flann SinnaFlann SinnaFlann Sinna was the son of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid of Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the southern Uí Néill. He was King of Mide from 877 onwards and is counted as a High King of Ireland...
, 877–914 - Niall GlundubNiall GlúndubNiall Glúndub mac Áedo was a 10th century Irish king of the Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland. While many Irish kin groups were members of the Uí Néill, tracing their descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages , the O'Neill dynasty took their name from Niall Glúndub rather than the earlier Niall...
, 915–917 - Donnchad DonnDonnchad DonnDonnchadh Donn mac Flainn was High King of Ireland. He belonged to Clann Cholmáin, a branch of the southern Uí Néill.-Origins:...
, 918–942 - Congalach CnogbaCongalach CnogbaConghalach Cnoghbha was High King of Ireland, according to the lists in the Annals of the Four Masters, from around 944 to 956...
, 943–954 - Domnall ua NeillDomnall ua NéillDomhnall ua Néill was High King of Ireland from 956 to 980.Domnall was the son of Muirchertach mac Néill, and grandson of Niall Glúndub, a member of the Cenél nEógain northern Uí Néill. He became co-King of Ailech with his brother Flaithbertach on the death of his father in 943...
, 955–978 - Mael Sechnaill mac DomnaillMáel Sechnaill mac DomnaillMáel Sechnaill mac Domnaill , also called Máel Sechnaill Mór, Máel Sechnaill II, anglicized Malachy II, was King of Mide and High King of Ireland...
, 979–1002; 1014–1022 - Brian Boruma, 1002–1014
- Donnchad mac BriainDonnchad mac BriainDonnchadh mac Briain , formerly anglicised as Donough O'Brian, son of Brian Bóruma and Gormflaith ingen Murchada, was King of Munster.-Background:...
, died 1064 - Diarmait mac Mail na mBoDiarmait mac Mail na mBoDiarmait mac Maíl na mBó was King of Leinster, and also High King of Ireland .He was one of the most important and significant Kings in Ireland in the pre-Norman era...
, died 1072 - Toirdelbach Ua Briain, died 1086
- Muirchertach Ua Briain, died 1119
- Domnall Ua Lochlainn, died 1121
- Toirdelbach Ua Conchobair, died 1156
- Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, died 1166
- Ruaidrí Ua ConchobairRuaidrí Ua ConchobairRuaidrí Ua Conchobair , often anglicised Rory O'Connor, reigned as King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and from 1166 to 1198 was the last High King before the Norman invasion of Ireland .Ruaidrí was one of over twenty sons of King...
, died 1198
Ruaidhrí, King of Ireland
Upon the death of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn in early 1166, Ruaidhrí, King of Connacht, proceeded to Dublin where he was inaugurated King of Ireland without opposition. He was arguably the first undisputed full king of Ireland. He was also the only Gaelic one, as the events of the Norman invasion of 1169–1171 brought about the destruction of the high-kingship, and the direct involvement of the Kings of England in Irish politics.One of Ruaidrí's first acts as King was the conquest of Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, which resulted in the exile of its king, Dermot MacMurrough
Dermot MacMurrough
Diarmait Mac Murchada , anglicized as Dermot MacMurrough or Dermod MacMurrough , was a King of Leinster in Ireland. In 1167, he was deprived of his kingdom by the High King of Ireland - Turlough Mór O'Connor...
. Ruaidrí then obtained terms and hostages from all the notable kings and lords. He then celebrated the Oneach Tailtann, a recognised prerogative of the High Kings, and made a number of notable charitable gifts and donations. However, his caput remained in his home territory in central Connacht (County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
). Ireland's recognised capital, Dublin, was ruled by Hasculf Thorgillsson
Hasculf Thorgillsson
Ascall mac Ragnaill, also Hasculf Rognvaldsson , but surnamed Mac Torcaill or Thorgillsson, was the last Norse King of Dublin. His fortress is believed to have stood on the modern site of Dublin Castle. After the 1171 invasion under Strongbow, Ascall's kingdom was captured by Cambro-Norman...
, who had submitted to Ruaidri.
Only with the arrival of MacMurrough's Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
allies in May 1169 did Ruaidrí's position begin to weaken. A series of disastrous defeats and ill-judged treaties lost him much of Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, and encouraged uprisings by rebel lords. By the time of the arrival of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
in 1171, Ruaidrí's position as king of Ireland was increasingly untenable.
Ruaidrí at first remained aloof from engagement with King Henry, though many of the lesser kings and lords welcomed his arrival as they wished to see him curb the territorial gains made by his vassals. Through the intercession of Archbishop Lorcán Ua Tuathail
Lorcán Ua Tuathail
Lorcán Ua Tuathail, also known as St Laurence O'Toole, was born at Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland, in 1128, and died at Eu, Normandy, France, on 14 November 1180; he was canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius III.-Early life:...
(Lawrence O'Toole), Ruaidrí and Henry came to terms with the Treaty of Windsor in 1175. Ruaidri agreed to recognise Henry as his lord; in return, Ruaidrí was allowed to keep all Ireland as his personal kingdom outside the petty kingdoms of Laigin
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin , were a population group of early Ireland who gave their name to the province of Leinster...
(Leinster) and Mide
Kingdom of Mide
Mide , spelt Midhe in modern Irish and anglicised as Meath, was a medieval kingdom in Ireland for over 1,000 years. Its name means "middle", denoting the fact that lay in the middle of Ireland....
as well as the city of Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
.
Henry was unwilling or unable to enforce the terms of the treaty on his barons in Ireland, who continued to gain territory in Ireland. A low point came in 1177 with a successful raid into the heart of Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
by a party of Anglo-Normans, led by one of Ruaidrí's sons, Prince Muirchertach. They were expelled, Ruaidhrí ordering the blinding of Muirchertach, but over the next six years his rule was increasingly diminished by internal dynastic conflict and external attacks. Finally, in 1183, he abdicated.
He was twice briefly returned to power in 1185 and 1189, but even within his home kingdom of Connacht he had become politically marginalised. He lived quietly on his estates, and died at the monastery of Cong
Cong Abbey
Cong Abbey is a historic site located at Cong, on the borders of counties Galway and Mayo, in Ireland's province of Connacht. Founded in the early 7th century, by Saint Feichin, the abbey was destroyed by fire in the early 12th century. Turlough Mor O’Connor, the High King of Ireland, refounded the...
in 1198. With the possible exception of Brian O'Neill
Brian Ua Neill
Brian Ua Néill, also known as Brian O'Neill, was the High King of Ireland from 1258 to 1260. He died in the Battle of Druim Dearg in 1260.- Revolt in Ireland :...
(died 1260), no other Gaelic king was ever again recognised as king or high king of Ireland.
The Lordship of Ireland:1198–1542
By the time of Ruairi's death in 1198, two English kings, Henry IIHenry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and Richard I, had exercised rule over the areas inhabited by the Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
s, and claims of allegiance from various Gaelic kings and lords. Successive kings of England did so as lords of Ireland. By the mid-13th century much of the island was under the direct and/or indirect rule of the king of England, but from c.1260 the size of the actual lordship began to recede, as various families died out in the male line while the Gaelic-Irish began to reclaim lost territory. The problem was recognised as significant at the parliament of 1297, yet successive English kings did little to stem the tide, instead using Ireland to draw upon men and supplies in the wars in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
By the 1390s the king's lordship had effectively shrunk to the Pale
The Pale
The Pale or the English Pale , was the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages. It had reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast stretching from Dalkey, south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk...
with the rest of the island under the control of independent Gaelic-Irish or rebel Anglo-Irish. Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
made two journeys to Ireland during his reign to rectify the situation; as a direct result of his second visit in 1399 he lost his throne to Henry Bolingbroke. This was the last time that a medieval king of England visited Ireland.
For the duration of the 15th century, royal power in Ireland was weak, the country being dominated by the various clans and dynasties of Gaelic (O'Neill, O'Brien, McCarthy) or Anglo-Norman (Burke, FitzGerald, Butler) origin. Affairs closer to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
ensured, well into the 1530s, that Irish affairs remained at best a secondary concern.
Lords of Ireland 1171–1541
- Henry II of EnglandHenry II of EnglandHenry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, (1171–1189) - Richard I of EnglandRichard I of EnglandRichard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
, (1189–1199) - John of EnglandJohn of EnglandJohn , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
, (1199–1216) - Henry III of EnglandHenry III of EnglandHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
, (1216–1272)- opposed by: Brian O'NeillBrian Ua NeillBrian Ua Néill, also known as Brian O'Neill, was the High King of Ireland from 1258 to 1260. He died in the Battle of Druim Dearg in 1260.- Revolt in Ireland :...
, 1258–1260
- opposed by: Brian O'Neill
- Edward I of EnglandEdward I of EnglandEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, (1272–1307) - Edward II of EnglandEdward II of EnglandEdward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
, (1307–1327)- opposed by: Edward BruceEdward BruceEdward the Bruce , sometimes modernised Edward of Bruce, was a younger brother of King Robert I of Scotland, who supported his brother in the struggle for the crown of Scotland, then pursued his own claim in Ireland. He was proclaimed High King of Ireland, but was eventually defeated and killed in...
, (1315–1318)
- opposed by: Edward Bruce
- Edward III of EnglandEdward III of EnglandEdward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
, (1327–1377) - Richard II of EnglandRichard II of EnglandRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, (1377–1399) - Henry IV of EnglandHenry IV of EnglandHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, (1399–1413) - Henry V of EnglandHenry V of EnglandHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
, (1413–1422) - Henry VI of EnglandHenry VI of EnglandHenry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
, (1422–1461 and 1470–1471) - Edward IV of EnglandEdward IV of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, (1461–1470 and 1471–1483) - Edward V of EnglandEdward V of EnglandEdward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
, (1483) - Richard III of EnglandRichard III of EnglandRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, (1483–1485) - Henry VII of EnglandHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, (1485–1509) - Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, (1509–1542)
The Kingdom of Ireland:1542–1801
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...
in 1541, replacing the Lordship of Ireland
Lordship of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland refers to that part of Ireland that was under the rule of the king of England, styled Lord of Ireland, between 1177 and 1541. It was created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71 and was succeeded by the Kingdom of Ireland...
, which had existed since 1171, with the Kingdom of Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
. The Crown of Ireland Act 1542
Crown of Ireland Act 1542
The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 is an Act of the Parliament of Ireland , declaring that King Henry VIII of England and his successors would also be Kings of Ireland. Since 1171 the monarch of England had held the title Lord of Ireland...
established a personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
between the English and Irish crowns, providing that whoever was king of England was to be king of Ireland as well, and so its first holder was Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. This followed the failure of the plan to make Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Blount, the only illegitimate offspring whom Henry acknowledged.-Childhood:...
, the King of Ireland. Although FitzRoy was made Lord-Lieutenant, the King's counselors feared that making a separate Kingdom of Ireland, with a ruler other than that of England, would create another threat like the King of Scotland.
The title of King of Ireland was created after Henry VIII had been excommunicated, so it was not recognised by Catholic monarchs. Following the accession of the Catholic Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
issued a papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
in 1555, recognizing her as Queen of Ireland together with her heirs and successors. This Bull was not subsequently revoked, despite her successors all being Protestants.
For a brief period in the 17th century, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
from the impeachment and execution of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
to the Restoration of the monarchy in England
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, there was no 'King of Ireland' in fact, only in name. After the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
, Irish Catholics, organised in Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
, recognised Charles I and later Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
as legitimate monarchs, in opposition to the claims of the English Parliament, and signed a formal treaty with Charles I. But in 1649, the Rump Parliament
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
, victorious in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, executed Charles I, and made England a republic, or "Commonwealth". The Parliamentarian general Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
came across the Irish sea to crush any attempt to restore the monarchy by temporarily — though illegally — uniting England, Scotland, and Ireland under one government, styling himself "Lord Protector" of the three kingdoms. (See also Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
.) After Cromwell's death in 1658, his son Richard
Richard Cromwell
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
emerged as the leader of this pan-British-Isles republic, but he was not competent to maintain it. Parliament at London voted to restore the monarchy and Charles II returned from exile in France in 1660 to become King of England, King of Scotland and King of Ireland.
The Acts of Union 1707
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
merged the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
. This entity was also known as the British Crown. The effect was to create a personal union between the Crown of Ireland and the British Crown. Later, on 1 January 1801, an additional merger took place between the two Crowns. By the terms of the Act of Union 1800
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
, the Kingdom of Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain, thus creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. Following the separation of most of Ireland from that political entity, the remaining constituent parts were renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927, five years after the establishment of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
.
Irish Free State (1927–1936)
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
(renamed Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
in 1937), a self-governing Dominion within the British Empire. Six of Ireland's north-eastern counties, all within the Province of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
, remained within the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. This left the new Free State with only 26 counties. As a Dominion, the Free State was a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
with the British monarch as its head of state.
The King's title in the Irish Free State was exactly the same as it was elsewhere in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, being:
- From 1922 to 1927 - By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of IndiaEmperor of IndiaEmperor/Empress of India was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and revived by the colonial British monarchs during the British Raj in India....
- From 1927 to 1937 - By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India
The change in the King's title was effected under an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
called the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act, 1927. The Act was intended to update the name of the United Kingdom as well as the King's title to reflect the fact that most of the island of Ireland had left the United Kingdom. The Act therefore provided that:
- "It shall be lawful for His Most Gracious Majesty by His Royal Proclamation under the Great Seal of the RealmGreat Seal of the RealmThe Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents...
, issued within six months after the passing of this Act, to make such alteration in the style and titles at present appertaining to the Crown as to His Majesty may seem fit"; - "Parliament shall hereafter be known as and styled the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (instead of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland);
- "In every Act passed and public document issued after the passing of this Act the expression "United Kingdom" shall, unless the context otherwise requires, mean Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
According to The Times the "Imperial Conference proposed that, as a result of the establishment of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, the title of the King should be changed to "George V, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India." The change did not mean that the King had now assumed different Styles in the different parts of his Empire. That development did not formally occur until 1953, four years after Ireland had left the Commonwealth.
Irish Free State / Ireland (1936–1949)
From 1936 to 1949 the role of the King in the Irish Free State was greatly reduced and ambiguous. An amendment to the Constitution of the Irish Free StateConstitution of the Irish Free State
The Constitution of the Irish Free State was the first constitution of the independent Irish state. It was enacted with the adoption of the Constitution of the Irish Free State Act 1922, of which it formed a part...
in 1936 eliminated all but one of the King's official duties. Under the External Relations Act of the same year he continued to represent the Free State in international affairs. This purely external role continued when the new Constitution of Ireland
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...
was introduced in 1937.
The position of the King in the Irish state ended with the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which came into force in April 1949. This Act repealed the External Relations Act and declared the state was a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
. The Crown of Ireland Act
Crown of Ireland Act 1542
The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 is an Act of the Parliament of Ireland , declaring that King Henry VIII of England and his successors would also be Kings of Ireland. Since 1171 the monarch of England had held the title Lord of Ireland...
was formally repealed in the Republic of Ireland by the Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union Irish Statutes) Act, 1962.
The monarchy continues in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, which remains a part of the sovereign state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Monarchs of Ireland
- Ruaidrí Ua ConchobairRuaidrí Ua ConchobairRuaidrí Ua Conchobair , often anglicised Rory O'Connor, reigned as King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and from 1166 to 1198 was the last High King before the Norman invasion of Ireland .Ruaidrí was one of over twenty sons of King...
, inauguraged at Dublin, spring 1166. Died 1198. He was the last native to be widely recognised as monarch of Ireland. - Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
(1542–1547); Lord of Ireland, (1509–1542) - Edward VI of EnglandEdward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, (1547–1553) - disputed claimant: Lady Jane GreyLady Jane GreyLady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
, (1553) - Mary I of EnglandMary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, (1553–1558)- Philip II of SpainPhilip II of SpainPhilip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, jure uxorisJure uxorisJure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
(1554–1558)
- Philip II of Spain
- Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, (1558–1603) - James I of EnglandJames I of EnglandJames VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, (1603–1625) (James VI of Scotland, I of England and of Ireland). He held all three crowns in a personal but not a political union. - Charles I of EnglandCharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, (1625–1649)
Interregnum
- Charles II of EnglandCharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, (1660–1685) - James II of EnglandJames II of EnglandJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, (1685–1688) - William III of EnglandWilliam III of EnglandWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, (1689–1702) & Mary II of EnglandMary II of EnglandMary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
, (1689–1694) - Anne of Great BritainAnne of Great BritainAnne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, (1702–1714)
Monarchs of the Kingdom of Great Britain and of the Kingdom of Ireland
- Anne of Great BritainAnne of Great BritainAnne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, (1702–1714) Following the Act of Union with Scotland, Anne's personal union of the Scottish and English crowns was replaced by a political union. The united entity was known as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain". The personal union with the crown of Ireland was still in place. - George I of Great BritainGeorge I of Great BritainGeorge I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, (1714–1727) - George II of Great BritainGeorge II of Great BritainGeorge II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
, (1727–1760) - George III of Great Britain (1760–1801)
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- George III of the United KingdomGeorge III of the United KingdomGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
(1801–1820). By the Act of Union of 1800, the previous personal union with the Irish crown was replaced by a political union. The united entity was known as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". - George IV of the United KingdomGeorge IV of the United KingdomGeorge IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
(1820–1830) - William IV of the United KingdomWilliam IV of the United KingdomWilliam IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
(1830–1837) - Victoria of the United KingdomVictoria of the United KingdomVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
(1837–1901) - Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
(1901–1910) - George V of the United KingdomGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
(1910–1927)
Monarchs of the United Kingdom and of Ireland
- George V of the United KingdomGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
(1927–1936) - Edward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
(1936) - George VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
(1936–1949)
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- George VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
(1949–1952). Following the declaration of the Republic of IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
in 1949, only that part of IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
known as Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
retained the British monarchy. - Elizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
(1952–)
Kings George I, II, and III had reigned as "King of Ireland"; after a constitutional change Georges III & IV had reigned as "King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
was the first monarch to accede to the British throne with the Northern Ireland designation attached to his title. His brother, George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
, was the first actually so crowned. He was also the last Monarch to reign as King in all of the island of Ireland.
See also
- List of Irish monarchs
- British monarchyBritish monarchyThe monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
- List of British monarchs
- Style of the British SovereignStyle of the British SovereignThe precise style of British Sovereigns has varied over the years. style is officially proclaimed in two languages:* in English: * in Latin: -Highness, Grace and Majesty:From about the 12th century onwards, English Sovereigns used the style "Highness"...
- The King of Ireland's SonThe King of Ireland's SonThe King of Ireland's Son is a children's novel published in Ireland in 1916 written by Padraic Colum, and illustrated by Willy Pogany. It is the story of the eldest of the King of Ireland's sons, and his adventures winning and then finding Fedelma, the Enchanter's Daughter, who after being won is...
– a novel published in 1962