List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of England
Encyclopedia
This list of English monarchs begins with Offa of Mercia
, who was dominant in the late eighth century, although his power did not extend to Northumbria
and did not survive him. In the 9th century Wessex
became dominant over the other English kingdoms under Egbert
, who conquered Kent
and Sussex
from Mercia
in 825. Alfred the Great
and his son Edward the Elder
used the title "King of the Anglo-Saxons". After Athelstan
conquered Northumbria in 927, he adopted the title Rex Anglorum. Starting with Henry II
in 1154, the title became Rex Angliae (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
.
However, on some of his coins Offa describes himself as Of Rx A, believed to stand for Offa Rex Anglorum. This probably had a different meaning at the time from what it acquired later, i.e. king of the Angles
, and not necessarily the Saxons
. Several earlier kings are called rex anglorum or some variant in surviving sources: Aldfrith of Northumbria
by Aldhelm; Æthelred of Mercia in Felix's Vita sancti Guthlaci (Life of Saint Guthlac); and Æthelbald of Mercia by Saint Boniface
. Regardless, Mercia's dominance did not survive Offa's death, and he has been considered by historians as being driven for personal power rather than nationhood.
|-
|Offa
+OFFA•REX+
774–796 ||
|| Circa
747
son of Thingfrith.
|| Cynethryth
five children || 29 July 796
Aged 58.
|}
, King of Wessex from 802, the first King of Wessex to have overlordship over much of England. He defeated the Mercia
ns in 825 and became Bretwalda
in 829, although he later lost control of Mercia. Alfred the Great and his son Edward the Elder used the title "king of the Anglo-Saxons." After Æthelstan conquered Northumbria in 927, he adopted the title rex Anglorum (King of the English).
There is some evidence that Ælfweard of Wessex
may have been king for four weeks in 924, between his father Edward the Elder and his brother Athelstan, although he was not crowned. However this is not accepted by all historians.
|-
| Egbert
(Ecgberht)
802–839
Bretwalda
from 829 ||
|| Circa
.770
son of Ealhmund of Kent
. || Redburga
three children || 4 February 839
Aged about 69.
|-
|width=auto| Æthelwulf
(Æþelwulf)
5 February
839–856 ||
|| c.795
Aachen
son of Egbert
and Redburga
|| (1) Osburga
six children
(2) Judith of Flanders
1 October 853
no children || 13 January 858
62 or 63
|-
| Æthelbald
(Æþelbald)
856–860 || || Circa
.834
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. || Judith of Flanders
no children || 20 December 860
Aged 26 or 27.
|-
| Æthelberht
(Æþelberht)
21 December
860–865 ||
|| Circa
.835
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. ||Unmarried
no children || 865
Aged about 30.
|-
| Æthelred
(Æþelræd)
865–871 ||
|| Circa
.837
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. || Wulfthryth?
868
three children || 23 April 871
Aged about 34.
|-
| Alfred the Great
(Ælfræd)
24 April
871–899 || || Circa
.849
Wantage
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. || Ealhswith
Winchester
868
six children || 26 October 899
Aged about 50.
|-
| Edward the Elder
(Eadweard)
27 October
899–924 ||
|| c.871–877
son of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith || (1) Ecgwynn
893
three children
(2) Aelffaed
c.902
ten children
(3) Eadgifu of Kent
905
four children || 17 July 924
Farndon, Cheshire
aged about 50
|-
| Æthelstan the Glorious
(Æþelstan)
3 August
924–939
Rex Anglorum from 927 ||
|| 895
son of Edward the Elder
and Ecgwynn
. || unmarried || 27 October 939
Aged about 44.
|-
| Edmund the Magnificent
(Eadmund)
28 October
939–946 || || 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 ||
|| Circa
.923
son of Edward the Elder
and Eadgifu of Kent. || Unmarried || 23 November 955
Frome
Aged about 32.
|-
| Eadwig
(Eadwig)
24 November
955–959 ||
|| Circa
.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 ||
|| Circa
.943
Wessex
son of Edmund the Magnificent and Elgiva || (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 ||
|| Circa
.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) ||
|| c.968
son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ælfthryth || (1) Ælfgifu of York
991
nine children
(2) Emma of Normandy
1002
three children || 23 April 1016
London
aged about 48
|-
|}
| Sweyn Forkbeard
(Svend Tveskæg)
25 December
1013–1014 || || 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
|}
, despite ongoing Danish efforts in wresting the crown from the West Saxons
.
| Æthelred the Unready
(Æþelræd Unræd)
3 February
1014–1016 (second reign) || || c.968
son of Edgar the Peaceable 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 || || c.993
son of Æthelred the Unready and Ælfgifu of York || Edith of East Anglia
two children || 30 November 1016
Glastonbury
aged about 23
|}
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.
|Cnut
(Knútr)
30 November
1016–1035||
||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
1035–1040||
||c.1016/7
son of Canute and Ælfgifu of Northampton.||Aelgifu
1 son||17 March 1040
Oxford
Aged about 23 or 24.
|-
|Harthacnut
(Hardeknud)
17 March 1040 –
8 June 1042||||1018
son of Canute and Emma of Normandy
.||Unknown||8 June 1042
Lambeth
Aged about 24.
|}
, a decisive point in British history, William I of Normandy became king of England.
, William II, 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.
----
Disputed Claimants
Empress Matilda
was declared heir presumptive
by her father, Henry I, 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.
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.
, where Stephen recognised Henry
, son of Matilda, as his heir 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.
----
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.
----
.
.
The Wars of the Roses
(1455–1485) saw the throne pass back and forth between the rival houses of Lancaster and York.
, 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 Katherine 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
.
----
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.
----
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.
. 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.
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.
|Oliver Cromwell
Old Ironsides
16 December
1653–1658||
||25 April 1599
Huntingdon
son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward||Elizabeth Bourchier
St Giles
22 August 1620
nine children||3 September 1658
Whitehall
aged 59
|-
|Richard Cromwell
Tumbledown Dick
3 September 1658
– 7 May 1659||
||4 October 1626
Huntingdon
son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier||Dorothy Maijor
May 1649
nine children||12 July 1712
Cheshunt
aged 85
|}
of 1688, when Parliament finally asserted the right to choose whomsoever it pleased as monarch.
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.
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:
In the Norman period
Rex Anglorum remained standard, with occasional use of Rex Anglie ("King of England"). 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 Anglie, or Regina Anglie ("Queen of England") if female.
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).
Offa of Mercia
Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...
, who was dominant in the late eighth century, although his power did not extend to Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
and did not survive him. In the 9th century Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
became dominant over the other English kingdoms under Egbert
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
, who conquered Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
from Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
in 825. Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
and his son Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
used the title "King of the Anglo-Saxons". After Athelstan
Athelstan of England
Athelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...
conquered Northumbria in 927, he adopted the title Rex Anglorum. Starting with 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 1154, the title became Rex Angliae (King of England).
The Principality of Wales
Principality of Wales
The Principality of Wales existed between 1216 and 1542, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales.It was formally founded in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi, and later recognised by the 1218 Treaty of Worcester between Llywelyn the Great of Wales and Henry III of England...
was incorporated into the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
under the Statute of Rhuddlan
Statute of Rhuddlan
The Statute of Rhuddlan , also known as the Statutes of Wales or as the Statute of Wales provided the constitutional basis for the government of the Principality of North Wales from 1284 until 1536...
in 1284, and in 1301 Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward 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...
invested his eldest son, the future Edward II, as Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
. Since that time, with the exception of Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward 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...
, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth 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...
without issue, in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were joined in 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...
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
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,...
with Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
to form the United 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...
.
House of Mercia
According to some sources the first ruler to assume the title Rex Anglorum is said to have been Offa in 774, who had been King of Mercia since 757, but this claim is based on charters apparently forged in the 10th century.However, on some of his coins Offa describes himself as Of Rx A, believed to stand for Offa Rex Anglorum. This probably had a different meaning at the time from what it acquired later, i.e. king of the Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
, and not necessarily the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
. Several earlier kings are called rex anglorum or some variant in surviving sources: Aldfrith of Northumbria
Aldfrith of Northumbria
Aldfrith sometimes Aldfrid, Aldfridus , or Flann Fína mac Ossu , was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon as a man of great learning, and some of his works, as well as letters written to him, survive...
by Aldhelm; Æthelred of Mercia in Felix's Vita sancti Guthlaci (Life of Saint Guthlac); and Æthelbald of Mercia by Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
. Regardless, Mercia's dominance did not survive Offa's death, and he has been considered by historians as being driven for personal power rather than nationhood.
|-
|Offa
Offa of Mercia
Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...
+OFFA•REX+
774–796 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
747
son of Thingfrith.
|| Cynethryth
Cynethryth
Cynethryth was the wife of Offa of Mercia and mother of Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon Queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.-Origins and marriage:...
five children || 29 July 796
Aged 58.
|}
House of Wessex
The continuous list traditionally starts with EgbertEgbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
, King of Wessex from 802, the first King of Wessex to have overlordship over much of England. He defeated the Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
ns in 825 and became Bretwalda
Bretwalda
Bretwalda is an Old English word, the first record of which comes from the late 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...
in 829, although he later lost control of Mercia. Alfred the Great and his son Edward the Elder used the title "king of the Anglo-Saxons." After Æthelstan conquered Northumbria in 927, he adopted the title rex Anglorum (King of the English).
There is some evidence that Ælfweard of Wessex
Ælfweard of Wessex
Ælfweard was the second son of Edward the Elder, the eldest born to his second wife Ælfflæd.-Kingship and death:The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle simply states that Ælfweard died soon after his father's death on 17 July 924 and that they were buried together at Winchester Cathedral...
may have been king for four weeks in 924, between his father Edward the Elder and his brother Athelstan, although he was not crowned. However this is not accepted by all historians.
|-
| Egbert
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
(Ecgberht)
802–839
Bretwalda
Bretwalda
Bretwalda is an Old English word, the first record of which comes from the late 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...
from 829 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.770
son of Ealhmund of Kent
Ealhmund of Kent
Ealhmund was King of Kent in 784.The only contemporary evidence of him is an abstract of a charter dated in that year, in which Ealhmund granted land to the Abbot of Reculver...
. || Redburga
Redburga
Redburga or Raedburh appears in a late medieval manuscript held by Oxford University as wife of king Egbert of Wessex. She is described there as "regis Francorum sororia", which means "pertaining to the sister of the French king"...
three children || 4 February 839
Aged about 69.
|-
|width=auto| Æthelwulf
(Æþelwulf)
5 February
839–856 ||
Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
son of Egbert
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
and Redburga
Redburga
Redburga or Raedburh appears in a late medieval manuscript held by Oxford University as wife of king Egbert of Wessex. She is described there as "regis Francorum sororia", which means "pertaining to the sister of the French king"...
|| (1) Osburga
Osburga
Osburh or Osburga was the first wife of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and mother of Alfred the Great. Alfred's biographer, Asser, described her as "a most religious woman, noble in character and noble by birth"....
six children
(2) Judith of Flanders
1 October 853
no children || 13 January 858
62 or 63
|-
| Æthelbald
(Æþelbald)
856–860 || || Circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.834
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. || Judith of Flanders
no children || 20 December 860
Aged 26 or 27.
|-
| Æthelberht
(Æþelberht)
21 December
860–865 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.835
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. ||Unmarried
no children || 865
Aged about 30.
|-
| Æthelred
(Æþelræd)
865–871 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.837
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. || Wulfthryth?
868
three children || 23 April 871
Aged about 34.
|-
| Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
(Ælfræd)
24 April
871–899 || || Circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.849
Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
son of Æthelwulf and Osburh. || Ealhswith
Ealhswith
Ealhswith or Ealswitha was the daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucil, Ealdorman of the Gaini. She was married in 868 to Alfred the Great, before he became king of Wessex. In accordance with ninth century West Saxon custom, she was not given the title of queen. -Life:Ealswith was the...
Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
868
six children || 26 October 899
Aged about 50.
|-
| Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
(Eadweard)
27 October
899–924 ||
son of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith || (1) Ecgwynn
Ecgwynn
Ecgwynn or Ecgwynna , was the first consort of Edward the Elder, later king of the English , by whom she bore the future King Æthelstan , and a daughter who married Sihtric Cáech, Norse king of Dublin and Northumbria. Extremely little is known about her background and life...
893
three children
(2) Aelffaed
Ælfflæd, wife of Edward the Elder
Ælfflæd was the second wife of Edward the Elder, king of the English.Ælfflæd was the daughter of an ealdorman Æthelhelm. There were several contemporaries of this name, but some historians, including Pauline Stafford and David H. Kelley, have identified him as Æthelhelm, a son of Edward's uncle,...
c.902
ten children
(3) Eadgifu of Kent
905
four children || 17 July 924
Farndon, Cheshire
Farndon, Cheshire
Farndon is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located on the banks of the River Dee, south of Chester, and close to the border with Wales...
aged about 50
|-
| Æthelstan the Glorious
(Æþelstan)
3 August
924–939
Rex Anglorum from 927 ||
son of Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
and Ecgwynn
Ecgwynn
Ecgwynn or Ecgwynna , was the first consort of Edward the Elder, later king of the English , by whom she bore the future King Æthelstan , and a daughter who married Sihtric Cáech, Norse king of Dublin and Northumbria. Extremely little is known about her background and life...
. || unmarried || 27 October 939
Aged about 44.
|-
| Edmund the Magnificent
(Eadmund)
28 October
939–946 || || c.921
son of Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent || (1) Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
two children
(2) Æthelflæd of Damerham
Æthelflæd of Damerham
Æthelflæd, known as Æthelflæd of Damerham to distinguish her from other women of the same name, was the second wife of King Edmund I of England....
944
no children || 26 May 946
Pucklechurch
Pucklechurch
Pucklechurch is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom.- Location :Pucklechurch is a historic village with an incredibly rich past, from the Bronze Age with its tumulus on Shortwood Hill, up to the siting of a barrage balloon depot in World War II...
aged about 25 (murdered)
|-
| Eadred
(Eadred)
27 May
946–955 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.923
son of Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
and Eadgifu of Kent. || Unmarried || 23 November 955
Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
Aged about 32.
|-
| Eadwig
(Eadwig)
24 November
955–959 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.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 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.943
Wessex
son of Edmund the Magnificent and Elgiva || (1) Æthelflæd
c.960
1 son
(2) Ælfthryth
c.964
2 sons || 8 July 975
Winchester
Aged about 32.
|-
| Edward the Martyr
Edward the Martyr
Edward the Martyr was king of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but not his father's acknowledged heir...
(Eadweard)
9 July
975–978 ||
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
.962
son of Edgar the Peaceful and Æthelflæd. || Unmarried || 18 March 978
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The village lies in the gap below the castle, and is some eight...
Aged about 16 (Assassinated).
|-
| Æthelred the Unready
(Æþelræd Unræd)
19 March
978–1013 (first reign) ||
son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ælfthryth || (1) Ælfgifu of York
Ælfgifu of York
Ælfgifu of York was the first wife of King Æthelred , by whom she bore many offspring, including Edmund Ironside. It is most probable that she was a daughter of Thored, earl of southern Northumbria....
991
nine children
(2) Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
1002
three children || 23 April 1016
London
aged about 48
|-
|}
House of Denmark
England came under the rule of Danish kings during and following the reign of Æthelred the Unready.| Sweyn Forkbeard
(Svend Tveskæg)
25 December
1013–1014 || || c.960
Denmark
son of Harald Bluetooth and Gyrid Olafsdottir
Gyrid Olafsdottir
Princess Gyrid Olafsdottir of Sweden, also called Gyrithe Olafsdottir, was a Swedish princess and a Danish Viking Age queen consort, the spouse of King Harald I of Denmark.-Biography:...
|| (1) Gunhild of Wenden
Gunhild of Wenden
Princess Gunhilda of Wenden was a semi-legendary Slavic princess and Danish Viking age queen consort, the supposed spouse of 10th-century King Sweyn I of Denmark .- Heimskringla :...
c.990
seven children
(2) Sigrid the Haughty
Sigrid the Haughty
Sigrid the Haughty, also known as Sigríð Storråda, is a queen appearing in Norse sagas as wife, first of Eric the Victorious of Sweden, then Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark. While given the Nordic ancestry in sagas, she has been hypothesized to be identical to historically attested Polish or Pomeranian...
c.1000
1 daughter || 3 February 1014
Gainsborough
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
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 WitanWitenagemot
The Witenagemot , also known as the Witan was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England which operated from before the 7th century until the 11th century.The Witenagemot was an assembly of the ruling class whose primary function was to advise the king and whose membership was...
, despite ongoing Danish efforts in wresting the crown from the West Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
.
| Æthelred the Unready
(Æþelræd Unræd)
3 February
1014–1016 (second reign) ||
son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ælfthryth || (1) Aelgifu
991
nine children
(2) Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
1002
three children || 23 April 1016
London
aged about 48
|-
| Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
(Eadmund)
24 April –
30 November 1016 || || c.993
son of Æthelred the Unready and Ælfgifu of York || Edith of East Anglia
two children || 30 November 1016
Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
aged about 23
|}
House of Denmark (restored)
Following the decisive Battle of AshingdonBattle of Ashingdon
The Battle of Assandun was fought on 18 October 1016. There is dispute over whether Assandun may actually be today's Ashdon, or the long supposed Ashingdon, in southeast Essex, England....
on 18 October 1016, King Edmund
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
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.
|Cnut
(Knútr)
30 November
1016–1035||
||c.995son of Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhilda of Poland||(1) Aelfgifu of Northampton
two children
(2) Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
1017
two children||12 November 1035
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
aged about 40
|-
|Harold Harefoot
Harold Harefoot
Harold Harefoot was King of England from 1037 to 1040. His cognomen "Harefoot" referred to his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship. He was the son of Cnut the Great, king of England, Denmark, and Norway by Ælfgifu of Northampton...
(Harald)
13 November
1035–1040||
||c.1016/7son of Canute and Ælfgifu of Northampton.||Aelgifu
1 son||17 March 1040
Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
Aged about 23 or 24.
|-
|Harthacnut
(Hardeknud)
17 March 1040 –
8 June 1042||||1018
son of Canute and Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
.||Unknown||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 HastingsBattle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
, a decisive point in British history, William I of Normandy became king of England.
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Children | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066.... (Eadweard) 9 June 1042–1066 |
Circa Circa Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date... .1003 Islip, Oxfordshire Islip, Oxfordshire Islip is a village and civil parish on the River Ray, just above its confluence with the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about east of Kidlington and about north of Oxford. This village in Oxfordshire is not related to Islip, New York... son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy Emma of Normandy Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark... . |
Edith of Wessex Edith of Wessex Edith of Wessex married King Edward the Confessor of England on 23 January 1045. Unlike most wives of kings of England in the tenth and eleventh centuries, she was crowned queen, but the marriage produced no children... 23 January 1045. |
None. | 5 January 1066 Westminster Palace Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons... Aged about 60. |
|
| Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king... (Harold Godwinesson) 6 January-14 October 1066 |
 |
Circa Circa Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date... .1020 son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex , was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex... and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir Gytha Thorkelsdóttir Gytha Thorkelsdottir , also called Githa, was the daughter of Thorgil Sprakling . She married the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin of Wessex.... . |
Edith Swannesha. | Godwine, Edmund, Magnus, Gunhild Gunhild of Wessex Gunhild of Wessex was the eldest daughter of Harold Godwinson and Edith the Fair.- Life :Her parents were married in common law. Even though their marriage was not recognized by the church, their children were treated as if they were legitimate. She remained in Britain after her father's death at... , Gytha Gytha of Wessex Gytha of Wessex was one of several daughters of Edith Swanneck by Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.According to Saxo Grammaticus, two of Harold's sons and a daughter escaped to the court of their uncle, king Sweyn Estridsson of Denmark. They were treated by Sweyn with hospitality,... . |
14 October 1066 Hastings Hastings Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900.... Aged about 46 (Died in battle). |
| Ealdgyth Circa Circa Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date... .1064. |
Harold, Ulf. | ||||
| Edgar the Ætheling (Eadgar Æþeling) 15 October–17 December 1066. Proclaimed, but never crowned |
Circa Circa Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date... .1053 Hungary son of Edward the Exile Edward the Exile Edward the Exile , also called Edward Ætheling, son of King Edmund Ironside and of Ealdgyth. After the Danish conquest of England in 1016 Canute had him and his brother, Edmund, exiled to the Continent... and Agatha Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile Agatha was the wife of Edward the Exile and mother of Edgar Ætheling, Saint Margaret of Scotland and Cristina of England... . |
Unmarried. | None. | Circa Circa Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date... .1125 Aged about 72. |
House of Normandy
In 1066 the Duke of NormandyDuke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...
, William II, 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
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II 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
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
on 14 October, the Anglo-Saxon witan
Witenagemot
The Witenagemot , also known as the Witan was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England which operated from before the 7th century until the 11th century.The Witenagemot was an assembly of the ruling class whose primary function was to advise the king and whose membership was...
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
Monarchical ordinal
Ordinal numbers or regnal numbers are used to distinguish among persons with the same name who held the same office. Most importantly, they are used to distinguish monarchs...
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 |
c.1028 Falaise Castle son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva Herleva Herleva also known as Herleve, Arlette, Arletta and Arlotte, was the mother of William I of England. She had two other sons, Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain, who became prominent in William's realm.... |
Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and, as such, Queen consort of the Kingdom of England. She bore William nine/ten children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.-Marriage:... Chapel Notre Dame of the castle in Eu, Normandy Normandy Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:... 1053 ten children |
9 September 1087 Rouen Rouen Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages... aged about 59 after wounding himself on the saddle when his horse stumbled. Buried at Saint Etienne Abbey (Abbaye aux Hommes) of Caen Caen Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel.... |
Supposedly named heir by Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066.... in 1052 (de facto right of conquest Right of conquest The right of conquest is the right of a conqueror to territory taken by force of arms. It was traditionally a principle of international law which has in modern times gradually given way until its proscription after the Second World War when the crime of war of aggression was first codified in the... ) |
|
| William II William II of England William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales... William Rufus (Guillaume le Roux) 26 September 1087–1100 |
c.1060 Normandy Normandy Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:... son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and, as such, Queen consort of the Kingdom of England. She bore William nine/ten children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.-Marriage:... |
unmarried | 2 August 1100 New Forest New Forest The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire.... aged about 40 when shot by an arrow, events still unclear. |
son of William I (appointment) |
|
| Henry I Henry I of England Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106... Henry Beauclerc (Henri Beauclerc) 5 August 1100–1135 |
 |
September 1068 Selby Selby Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding... son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and, as such, Queen consort of the Kingdom of England. She bore William nine/ten children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.-Marriage:... |
(1) Edith otherwise Matilda of Scotland Edith of Scotland Matilda of Scotland , born Edith, was the first wife and Queen consort of Henry I of England.-Early life:Matilda was born around 1080 in Dunfermline, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret. She was christened Edith, and Robert Curthose stood as godfather at the ceremony... Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,... 11 November 1100 four children (2) Adeliza of Louvain Adeliza of Louvain Adeliza of Louvain, sometimes known in England as Adelicia of Louvain, also called Adela and Aleidis; was queen consort of the Kingdom of England from 1121 to 1135, the second wife of Henry I... Windsor Castle Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it... 29 January 1121 no children |
1 December 1135 Castle of Lyons-la-Forêt Lyons-la-Forêt Lyons-la-Forêt is a commune in the Eure department in Haute Normandie in northern France.Because of its architecture which has been maintained as it was at the beginning of the 17th century, it is also a well-known landmark within the very distinct geophysical and geocultural entity that is the end... (Saint-Denis-en-Lyons) aged 67 apparently from eating a surfeit of lampreys. Buried at Reading Abbey Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother, and Queen Maud, my wife, and all my ancestors... |
son of William I; (seizure of the crown) |
| Stephen Stephen, King of England Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda... Stephen of Blois (Étienne de Blois) 22 December 1135–1154 |
c.1096 Blois Blois Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:... son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of Normandy Adela of Normandy Adela of Normandy also known as Adela of Blois and Adela of England was, by marriage, Countess of Blois, Chartres, and Meaux. She was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders... |
Matilda of Boulogne Matilda of Boulogne Matilda I was suo jure Countess of Boulogne. She was also queen consort of England as the wife of King Stephen.-Biography:... Westminster Westminster Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross... 1125 five children |
25 October 1154 Dover Castle Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history... aged about 58 from dysentery |
grandson of William I (appointment/usurpation) |
----
Disputed Claimants
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
was declared heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
by her father, Henry I, and acknowledged as such by the barons. However, upon Henry I's death, the throne was seized by Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
. The Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
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 Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood... Empress Matilda (Mathilde l'emperesse) 7 April 1141–1 November 1141 Title disputed |
 |
7 February 1102 Sutton Courtenay Sutton Courtenay Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon and northwest of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Today:... daughter of Henry I Henry I of England Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106... and Edith of Scotland Edith of Scotland Matilda of Scotland , born Edith, was the first wife and Queen consort of Henry I of England.-Early life:Matilda was born around 1080 in Dunfermline, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret. She was christened Edith, and Robert Curthose stood as godfather at the ceremony... |
(1) Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor , the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor... Mainz Mainz Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire... 6 January 1114 no children (2) Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou Geoffrey V , called the Handsome and Plantagenet, was the Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine by inheritance from 1129 and then Duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144... Le Mans Cathedral 22 May 1128 three children |
10 September 1167 Notre Dame du Pré in Rouen Rouen Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages... aged 65 |
daughter of Henry I (seizure of the crown The Anarchy The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government... ) |
Prince Eustace (c. 1130 – 17 August 1153) was appointed co-king of England by his father, King Stephen
Stephen, King of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
, 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 WallingfordTreaty of Wallingford
The Treaty of Wallingford of 1153, aka Treaty of Winchester or as the Treaty of Westminster, was an agreement that effectively ended the civil war known as the Anarchy, caused by a dispute between Empress Matilda and her cousin King Stephen of England over the English crown...
, where Stephen recognised Henry
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...
, son of Matilda, as his heir to the throne in lieu of his own son.
Rather than ruling among the Normans, the Plantagenets ruled from Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
— 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
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
and the House of York
House of York
The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
.
The Plantagenets formulated England's royal coat of arms
Coat of arms of England
In heraldry, the Royal Arms of England is a coat of arms symbolising England and its monarchs. Its blazon is Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure, meaning three identical gold lions with blue tongues and claws, walking and facing the observer, arranged in a column...
, which usually showed other kingdoms held or claimed by them or their successors, although without representation 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...
for quite some time.
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... Henry Curtmantle (Henri Court-manteau) 19 December 1154–1189 |
 |
5 March 1133 Le Mans Le Mans Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux... son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda Empress Matilda Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood... |
Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England... Bordeaux Cathedral 18 May 1152 eight children |
6 July 1189 Chinon Chinon Chinon is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France well known for Château de Chinon.In the Middle Ages, Chinon developed especially during the reign of Henry II . The castle was rebuilt and extended, becoming one of his favorite residences... aged 56. Buried at Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud Abbey or Fontevrault Abbey is a religious building hosting a cultural centre since 1975, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest, in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in Anjou, France. It was founded by the itinerant reforming preacher Robert of Arbrissel, who had just created a... |
grandson of Henry I (Treaty of Wallingford Treaty of Wallingford The Treaty of Wallingford of 1153, aka Treaty of Winchester or as the Treaty of Westminster, was an agreement that effectively ended the civil war known as the Anarchy, caused by a dispute between Empress Matilda and her cousin King Stephen of England over the English crown... ) |
| Henry the Young King Henry the Young King Henry, known as the Young King was the second of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine but the first to survive infancy. He was officially King of England; Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine.-Early life:Little is known of the young prince Henry before the events... (Henri le Jeune Roy) (co-ruler with his father) 14 June 1170–1183 |
 |
28 February 1155 son 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... and Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England... |
Margaret of France Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe... 27 August 1172 one child |
11 June 1183 Martel Martel, Lot Martel is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.The town has a distinctive sky-line with medieval towers. There is a museum containing items from Puy d'Issolud, a local Gallic archaeological site which has been identified as Uxellodunum, besieged by Julius Caesar in 51 BC.Henry... , Limoges Limoges Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France.... aged 28. Buried at Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral in Rouen, in northwestern France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Rouen and Normandy.-History:... (Notre-Dame) |
son of Henry II (coronation as junior king) |
| Richard I Richard I of England Richard 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... Richard the Lionheart (Richard Cœur de Lion) 3 September 1189–1199 |
 |
8 September 1157 Beaumont Palace Beaumont Palace Beaumont Palace built outside the north gate of Oxford was intended by Henry I about 1130 to serve as a royal palace conveniently close to the royal hunting-lodge at Woodstock . Its former presence is recorded in Beaumont Street, Oxford... son 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... and Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England... |
Berengaria of Navarre Berengaria of Navarre Berengaria of Navarre was Queen of the English as the wife of King Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval queens consort of the Kingdom of England, relatively little is known of her life... Limassol Limassol Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the... 12 May 1191 no children |
6 April 1199 Chalus Château de Chalus-Chabrol The Château de Chalus-Chabrol is a castle in the commune of Châlus in the département of Haute-Vienne, France.The castle dominates the town of Châlus... aged 41 from an arrow wound in the shoulder that became infected. Buried: Heart at Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral in Rouen, in northwestern France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Rouen and Normandy.-History:... . Body at Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud Abbey or Fontevrault Abbey is a religious building hosting a cultural centre since 1975, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest, in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in Anjou, France. It was founded by the itinerant reforming preacher Robert of Arbrissel, who had just created a... |
son of Henry II (primogeniture) |
| John Lackland (Jean sans Terre) 27 May 1199–1216 |
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24 December 1166 Beaumont Palace son 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... and Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England... |
(1) Isabel of Gloucester Isabel of Gloucester Isabel of Gloucester was the first wife of King John of England. This historical figure is known by an exceptionally large number of alternative names: Hadwisa, Hawisia, Hawise, Joan, Eleanor, Avise and Avisa.... Marlborough Castle Marlborough Castle Marlborough Castle, locally known and recorded in historical documents as The Mount, was an 11th-century royal castle located in the civil parish of Marlborough, a market town in the English county of Wiltshire, on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath... 29 August 1189 no children (2) Isabella of Angoulême Isabella of Angoulême Isabella of Angoulême was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John's death in 1216. They had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III... Bordeaux Cathedral 24 August 1200 five children |
19 October 1216 Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way... aged 49, probably from dysentery brought on by eating peaches and drinking wine. Buried at Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester... |
brother of Richard I (appointment) |
----
Disputed claimant
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
briefly ruled about half of England from 1216 to 1217 at the conclusion of the First Barons' War
First Barons' War
The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...
against King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. 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
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...
for his English possessions, gathered to give homage to him. However in signing the Treaty of Lambeth
Treaty of Lambeth
The Treaty of Lambeth may refer to either of two agreements signed following conflict with King John and Philip Augustus of France which broke out in 1202.-Treaty of Lambeth :...
in 1217 Louis conceded that he had never been the legitimate king of England.
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis Louis VIII of France Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226... The Lion 1216–22 September 1217 Title disputed |
 |
5 September 1187 Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... son of Philip II of France Philip II of France Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne... , and Isabella of Hainault |
Blanche of Castile Blanche of Castile Blanche of Castile , was a Queen consort of France as the wife of Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX.... Portmont 23 May 1200 13 children |
8 November 1226 Montpensier Montpensier The French lordship of Montpensier , located in historical Auvergne, became a countship in the 14th century.... aged 39 |
Right of conquest Right of conquest The right of conquest is the right of a conqueror to territory taken by force of arms. It was traditionally a principle of international law which has in modern times gradually given way until its proscription after the Second World War when the crime of war of aggression was first codified in the... |
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| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry III Henry III of England Henry 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... Henry of Winchester 28 October 1216–1272 |
1 October 1207 Winchester Castle Winchester Castle Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall exists now; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester.-Great Hall:... son of King John John of England John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death... and Isabella of Angoulême Isabella of Angoulême Isabella of Angoulême was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John's death in 1216. They had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III... |
Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272.... Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site.... 14 January 1236 nine children |
16 November 1272 Westminster Palace Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons... aged 65 |
son of King John John of England John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death... (primogeniture Primogeniture Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females... ) |
|
| Edward I Edward I of England Edward 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... Longshanks 20 November 1272–1307 |
17 June 1239 Westminster Palace son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence |
(1) Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile was the first queen consort of Edward I of England. She was also Countess of Ponthieu in her own right from 1279 until her death in 1290, succeeding her mother and ruling together with her husband.-Birth:... Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas The Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas is a monastery of Cistercian nuns located approximately 1.5 km west of the city of Burgos in Spain. The word huelgas, which usually refers to "labor strikes" in modern Spanish, refers in this case to land which had been left fallow... 18 October 1254 17 children (2) Margaret of France 10 September 1299 three children |
7 July 1307 Burgh by Sands Burgh by Sands Burgh by Sands is a village and civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England, situated near the Solway Firth. The parish includes the village of Burgh by Sands along with Longburgh, Dykesfield, Boustead Hill, Moorhouse and Thurstonfield.... aged 68 |
son of Henry III Henry III of England Henry 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... (primogeniture) |
|
| Edward II Edward II of England Edward 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... 7 July 1307 – 25 January 1327 |
25 April 1284 Caernarfon Castle Caernarfon Castle Caernarfon Castle is a medieval building in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. There was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure... son of Edward I Edward I of England Edward 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... and Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile was the first queen consort of Edward I of England. She was also Countess of Ponthieu in her own right from 1279 until her death in 1290, succeeding her mother and ruling together with her husband.-Birth:... |
Isabella of France Isabella of France Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre... Boulogne Cathedral 25 January 1308 five children |
21 September 1327 Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the... aged 43 (murdered, probably 'with a hoote brooche putte thro the secret place posterialle' according to a Confessor of one of the Jailers) |
son of Edward I Edward I of England Edward 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... (primogeniture) |
|
| Edward III Edward III of England Edward 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... 25 January 1327–1377 |
 |
13 November 1312 Windsor Castle Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it... son of Edward II Edward II of England Edward 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... and Isabella of France Isabella of France Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre... |
Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault, or, Philippe de Hainaut was the Queen consort of King Edward III of England. Edward, Duke of Guyenne, her future husband, promised in 1326 to marry her within the following two years... York Minster York Minster York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by... 24 January 1328 14 children |
21 June 1377 Sheen Palace aged 64 |
son of Edward II (primogeniture) |
| Richard II 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... 21 June 1377 – 29 September 1399 |
6 January 1367 Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... son of Edward, the Black Prince Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England.... and Joan of Kent Joan of Kent Joan, Countess of Kent , known to history as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the first English Princess of Wales... |
(1) Anne of Bohemia Anne of Bohemia Anne of Bohemia was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elizabeth of Pomerania.... 14 January 1382 no children (2) Isabella of Valois Calais Calais Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras.... 4 November 1396 no children |
14 February 1400 Pontefract Castle Pontefract Castle Pontefract Castle is a castle in the town of Pontefract, in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It was the site of the demise of Richard II of England, and later the place of a series of famous sieges during the English Civil War-History:... 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 GauntJohn of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
.
| Name | |Portrait | |Birth | |Marriages | |Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry IV Henry IV of England Henry 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... Bolingbroke 30 September 1399–1413 |
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3 April 1366/7 Bolingbroke Castle Bolingbroke Castle Bolingbroke Castle is a ruined castle in Bolingbroke Lincolnshire, England.-Construction:Most of the castle is built of Spilsby greenstone, as are several nearby churches. The local greenstone is a limestone that proved to be porous, prone to rapid deterioration when exposed to weather and a... son of John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault... and Blanche of Lancaster Blanche of Lancaster Blanche of Lancaster, Duchess of Lancaster was an English noblewoman and heiress, daughter of England's wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster... |
(1) Mary de Bohun Mary de Bohun Mary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne.-Early life:... Arundel Castle Arundel Castle Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror... 27 July 1380 seven children (2) Joanna of Navarre Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe... 7 February 1403 no children |
20 March 1413 Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,... aged 45 or 46 |
grandson and heir male of Edward III (usurpation/agnatic primogeniture) |
| Henry V Henry V of England Henry 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.... 20 March 1413–1422 |
 |
16 September 1386 or 9 August 1387 Monmouth Castle Monmouth Castle Monmouth Castle is a castle site in the town of Monmouth, county town of Monmouthshire, south east Wales.- Location :Monmouth Castle is located close to the centre of Monmouth town on a hill towering over the River Monnow, behind shops and the main square and streets... son of Henry IV Henry IV of England Henry 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... and Mary de Bohun Mary de Bohun Mary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne.-Early life:... |
Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois Catherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of... Troyes Cathedral 2 June 1420 one son |
31 August 1422 Château de Vincennes Château de Vincennes The Château de Vincennes is a massive 14th and 17th century French royal castle in the town of Vincennes, to the east of Paris, now a suburb of the metropolis.-History:... aged 35 |
son of Henry IV (agnatic primogeniture) |
| Henry VI Henry VI of England Henry 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... (first reign) 31 August 1422 – 4 March 1461 |
 |
6 December 1421 Windsor Castle Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it... son of Henry V Henry V of England Henry 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.... and Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois Catherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of... |
Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453... Titchfield Abbey Titchfield Abbey Titchfield Abbey is a medieval abbey and later country house, located in the village of Titchfield near Fareham in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1222 for Premonstratensian canons, an austere order of priests... 22 April 1445 1 son |
21 May 1471 Tower of London Tower of London Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space... aged 49 |
son of Henry V (agnatic primogeniture) |
House of York
The House of York was descended from the fourth surviving son of Edward III, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of YorkDuke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
.
The Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
(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 Edward IV of England Edward 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... (first reign) 4 March 1461 – 2 October 1470 |
 |
28 April 1442 Rouen Rouen Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages... son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III... , and Cecily Neville Cecily Neville Cecily Neville, Duchess of York was the wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and the mother of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III.... |
Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans... Grafton Regis Grafton Regis Grafton Regis is a village and civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire. The village is east of the A508 road, on which it has a short frontage and two bus stops. It is ca. south of Northampton and north of Milton Keynes.... 1 May 1464 ten children |
9 April 1483 Westminster Palace Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons... aged 40 (probably died of a stroke Stroke A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage... after catching a chill during a fishing trip) |
great-great-grandson and heir general of Edward III Edward III of England Edward 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... (seizure of the crown Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York... /cognatic primogeniture) |
House of Lancaster (restored)
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry VI Henry VI of England Henry 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... (second reign) 30 October 1470 – 11 April 1471 |
|
6 December 1421 Windsor Castle Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it... son of Henry V Henry V of England Henry 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.... and Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois Catherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of... |
Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453... Titchfield Abbey Titchfield Abbey Titchfield Abbey is a medieval abbey and later country house, located in the village of Titchfield near Fareham in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1222 for Premonstratensian canons, an austere order of priests... 22 April 1445 1 son |
21 May 1471 Tower of London Tower of London Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space... aged 49 (murdered) by being stabbed in the head. |
son of Henry V (seizure of the crown Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York... ) |
House of York (restored)
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward IV Edward IV of England Edward 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... (second reign) 11 April 1471 – 9 April 1483 |
|
28 April 1442 Rouen Rouen Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages... son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III... , and Cecily Neville Cecily Neville Cecily Neville, Duchess of York was the wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and the mother of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III.... |
Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans... Grafton Regis Grafton Regis Grafton Regis is a village and civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire. The village is east of the A508 road, on which it has a short frontage and two bus stops. It is ca. south of Northampton and north of Milton Keynes.... 1 May 1464 ten children |
9 April 1483 Westminster Palace Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons... aged 40 (probably died of a stroke Stroke A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage... after catching a chill during a fishing trip) |
great-great-grandson and heir general of Edward III Edward III of England Edward 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... (seizure of the crown Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York... /cognatic primogeniture) |
| Edward V Edward V of England Edward 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... 9 April – 25 June 1483 |
 |
2 November 1470 Westminster Westminster Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross... son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans... |
unmarried | c. 1483 London aged about 12 (according to many sources smothered) |
son of Edward IV (cognatic primogeniture) |
| Richard III Richard III of England Richard 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... 26 June 1483–1485 |
 |
2 October 1452 Fotheringhay Castle Fotheringhay Castle Fotheringhay Castle was in the village of Fotheringhay 3½ miles to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire .King Richard III was born here in 1452 and it was also where Mary, Queen of Scots, was tried and executed in 1587.... son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III... , and Cecily Neville Cecily Neville Cecily Neville, Duchess of York was the wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and the mother of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III.... |
Anne Neville Anne Neville Lady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485... Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,... 12 July 1472 1 son |
22 August 1485 Bosworth Field aged 32 (killed in battle) |
great-great-grandson of Edward III Edward III of England Edward 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... (Titulus Regius Titulus Regius Titulus Regius is a statute of the Parliament of England, issued in 1484, by which the title of King of England was given to Richard III of England.... ) |
House of Tudor
The Tudors descended matrilineally from John BeaufortJohn Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
John Beaufort, 1st Marquess of Somerset and 1st Marquess of Dorset, later only 1st Earl of Somerset, KG was the first of the four illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford, later his wife...
, one of the illegitimate children of John of Gaunt
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
(third surviving son of Edward III), by Gaunt's long-term mistress Katherine Swynford
Katherine Swynford
Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster , née Roet , was the daughter of Sir Payne Roet , originally a Flemish herald from County of Hainaut, later...
. 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
Henry IV of England
Henry 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...
, 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
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
.
John Beaufort's granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort was married to Edmund Tudor
Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond
Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond , also known as Edmund of Hadham , was the father of King Henry VII of England and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd, North Wales.-Birth and early life:...
. Tudor was the son of Welsh courtier Owain Tewdr (anglicised to "Owen Tudor") and Katherine of Valois, the widowed queen consort of the Lancastrian King Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry 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....
. 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
Henry VI of England
Henry 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...
. 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
Henry VII of England
Henry 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....
after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field
Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians...
in 1485, ending the Wars of the Roses.
With Henry VIII
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...
's break from the Roman Catholic Church, the monarch became the Supreme Head of the Church of England and of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
. Elizabeth I's title became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England
Supreme Governor of the Church of England
The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is a title held by the British monarchs which signifies their titular leadership over the Church of England. Although the monarch's authority over the Church of England is not strong, the position is still very relevant to the church and is mostly...
.
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry VII Henry VII of England Henry 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.... 22 August 1485–1509 |
 |
28 January 1457 Pembroke Castle Pembroke Castle Pembroke Castle is a medieval castle in Pembroke, West Wales. Standing beside the River Cleddau, it underwent major restoration work in the early 20th century. The castle was the original seat of the Earldom of Pembroke.... son of Edmund Tudor Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond , also known as Edmund of Hadham , was the father of King Henry VII of England and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd, North Wales.-Birth and early life:... and Lady Margaret Beaufort |
Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England.... Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,... 18 January 1486 eight children |
21 April 1509 Richmond Palace Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a Thameside royal residence on the right bank of the river, upstream of the Palace of Westminster, to which it lay 9 miles SW of as the crow flies. It it was erected c. 1501 within the royal manor of Sheen, by Henry VII of England, formerly known by his title Earl of Richmond,... aged 52 |
great-great-great-grandson of Edward III (right of conquest Right of conquest The right of conquest is the right of a conqueror to territory taken by force of arms. It was traditionally a principle of international law which has in modern times gradually given way until its proscription after the Second World War when the crime of war of aggression was first codified in the... ) |
| Henry VIII 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... 21 April 1509–1547 |
 |
28 June 1491 Greenwich Palace Palace of Placentia The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London... son of Henry VII Henry VII of England Henry 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.... and Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England.... |
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales... Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time... 11 June 1509 one daughter |
28 January 1547 Whitehall Palace Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire... aged 55 |
son of Henry VII (primogeniture Primogeniture Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females... ) |
| Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the... Westminster Palace Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons... 25 January 1533 one daughter |
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| Jane Seymour Jane Seymour Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of... Whitehall Palace 30 May 1536 one son |
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| Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort... Greenwich Palace 6 January 1540 |
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| Catherine Howard Catherine Howard Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn".... Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames... 28 July 1540 |
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| Catherine Parr Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him... Hampton Court Palace 12 July 1543 |
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| Edward VI Edward VI of England Edward 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... 28 January 1547–1553 |
 |
12 October 1537 Hampton Court Palace son of Henry VIII 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... and Jane Seymour Jane Seymour Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of... |
unmarried | 6 July 1553 Greenwich Palace aged 15 |
son of Henry VIII (primogeniture Primogeniture Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females... ) |
----
Disputed claimant
Edward VI named Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady 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...
as his heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
. Four days after his death on 6 July 1553, Jane was proclaimed queen. Nine days after the proclamation, on 19 July, the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
switched allegiance and proclaimed Edward VI's Catholic half-sister Mary
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...
. 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 Lady Jane Grey Lady 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... The Nine Days Queen 10–19 July 1553 Title disputed |
 |
October 1537 Bradgate Park Bradgate Park Bradgate Park is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, just northwest of Leicester. It covers 850 acres . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland. The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston... daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, KG was an English nobleman of the Tudor period and the father of Lady Jane Grey.-Henry VIII's reign:... , and Lady Frances Brandon Lady Frances Brandon Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk , born Lady Frances Brandon, was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France... |
Lord Guildford Dudley Lord Guildford Dudley Lord Guildford Dudley was the husband of Lady Jane Grey who, declared as his heir by King Edward VI, occupied the English throne from 6/10 July till 19 July 1553. Guildford Dudley enjoyed a humanist education and was married to Jane in a magnificent celebration about six weeks before... The Strand Strand, London Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length... 21 May 1553 no children |
12 February 1554 Tower of London Tower of London Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space... aged 16 (beheaded) |
great-granddaughter of Henry VII (Devise for the succession) |
----
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... Bloody Mary 19 July 1553–1558 |
 |
18 February 1516 Greenwich Palace daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales... |
Philip II of Spain Philip II of Spain Philip 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.... Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe... 25 July 1554 no children |
17 November 1558 St. James's Palace St. James's Palace St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK... aged 42 |
daughter of Henry VIII (Third Succession Act Third Succession Act The Third Succession Act of Henry VIII's reign was passed by the Parliament of England in July 1543, and returned both Mary and Elizabeth to the line of the succession behind Prince Edward.... ) |
| Philip Philip II of Spain Philip 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.... 25 July 1554 – 17 November 1558 (jure uxoris Jure uxoris Jure 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.... ) |
21 May 1527 Valladolid Valladolid Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales... , Spain son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As... , and Isabella of Portugal Isabella of Portugal Isabella of Portugal was a Portuguese Princess and Holy Roman Empress, Duchess of Burgundy, and a Queen Regent/Consort of Spain. She was the daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon. By her marriage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella was also Holy Roman Empress and Queen... |
(2) Mary I of England 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... Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe... 25 July 1554 no children three other marriages and seven children |
13 September 1598 El Escorial El Escorial The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and... , Spain aged 71 |
husband of Mary I (Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain) |
Under the terms of the marriage treaty between Philip I of Naples
Philip II of Spain
Philip 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....
(Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip 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....
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
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
, 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
Coat of arms of England
In heraldry, the Royal Arms of England is a coat of arms symbolising England and its monarchs. Its blazon is Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure, meaning three identical gold lions with blue tongues and claws, walking and facing the observer, arranged in a column...
(right) was impaled with Philip's to denote their joint reign. Acts which made it high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
to deny Philip's royal authority were passed in England and Ireland. In 1555, 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....
recognising Philip and Mary as rightful King and Queen of Ireland.
| Name | | Portrait | | Birth | | Marriages | | Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth I Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth 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... The Virgin Queen 17 November 1558–1603 |
 |
7 September 1533 Greenwich Palace daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the... |
unmarried | 24 March 1603 Richmond Palace aged 69 |
daughter of Henry VIII (Third Succession Act Third Succession Act The Third Succession Act of Henry VIII's reign was passed by the Parliament of England in July 1543, and returned both Mary and Elizabeth to the line of the succession behind Prince Edward.... ) |
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 CrownsUnion of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns was the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the throne of England, and the consequential unification of Scotland and England under one monarch. The Union of Crowns followed the death of James' unmarried and childless first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I of...
. James was descended from the Tudors through his great-grandmother, Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
, 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 The Peacemaker King 24 March 1603–1625 |
 |
19 June 1566 Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear... son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field... , and Mary I, Queen of Scots |
Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I... Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... 23 November 1589 7 Children |
27 March 1625 Theobalds House Theobalds House Theobalds House , located in Theobalds Park, just outside Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a prominent stately home and royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries.- Early history :... Aged 58 |
great-great-grandson and heir general of Henry VII Henry VII of England Henry 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.... |
| 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... 27 March 1625–1649 |
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19 November 1600 Dunfermline Palace Dunfermline Palace Dunfermline Palace is a former Scottish royal palace in Dunfermline, Fife. It is currently a ruin under the care of Historic Scotland and an important tourist attraction in Dunfermline.... son of James I and Anne of Denmark |
Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I... St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Canterbury, Kent, England.-Early history:In 597 Saint Augustine arrived in England, having been sent by Pope Gregory I, on what might nowadays be called a revival mission. The King of Kent at this time was Æthelberht, who happened to be married to a... 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 RestorationEnglish 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...
of 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...
in 1660. Instead, from 1653 the following individuals held power as Lords Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
, during the period known as the Protectorate
The Protectorate
In British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653–1659 during which the Commonwealth of England was governed by a Lord Protector.-Background:...
, when the monarchy was overthrown.
|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....
Old Ironsides
16 December
1653–1658||
Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward||Elizabeth Bourchier
St Giles
St Giles-without-Cripplegate
St Giles-without-Cripplegate is a Church of England church in the City of London, located within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to St Giles, patron saint of beggars and cripples...
22 August 1620
nine children||3 September 1658
Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
aged 59
|-
|Richard Cromwell
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...
Tumbledown Dick
3 September 1658
– 7 May 1659||
Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier||Dorothy Maijor
May 1649
nine children||12 July 1712
Cheshunt
Cheshunt
Cheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom's 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station...
aged 85
|}
House of Stuart (restored)
Although the monarchy was restored in 1660, no stable settlement proved possible until the Glorious RevolutionGlorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688, when Parliament finally asserted the right to choose whomsoever it pleased as monarch.
| Name | |Portrait | |Birth | |Marriages | |Death | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... The Merrie Monarch 1660–1685 Recognized by Royalists in 1649 |
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29 May 1630 St. James's Palace St. James's Palace St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK... son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France |
Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662... Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... 21 May 1662 no children |
6 February 1685 Whitehall Palace aged 54 |
son of Charles I (cognatic primogeniture; English Restoration 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... ) |
| James II James II of England James 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... 6 February 1685 – 23 December 1688 (deposed) |
14 October 1633 St. James's Palace son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France |
(1) Anne Hyde Anne Hyde Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York , and the mother of two monarchs, Mary II of England and Scotland and Anne of Great Britain.... The Strand Strand, London Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length... 3 September 1660 eight children (2) Mary of Modena Mary of Modena Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II... Dover Dover Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings... 21 November 1673 seven children |
16 September 1701 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the département of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale .... aged 67 |
son of Charles I (cognatic primogeniture) | |
| Mary II Mary II of England Mary 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... 13 February 1689–1694 |
 |
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 the Parliament Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau... ) |
| William III William III of England William 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... William of Orange 13 February 1689–1702 |
.jpg) |
4 November 1650 The Hague The Hague The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam... son of William II, Prince of Orange William II, Prince of Orange William II, Prince of Orange was sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three years later.-Biography:... , and Mary, Princess Royal Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France... |
8 March 1702 Kensington Palace Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and... 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 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,... –1 August 1714 |
 |
6 February 1665 St. James's Palace daughter of James II and Anne Hyde Anne Hyde Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York , and the mother of two monarchs, Mary II of England and Scotland and Anne of Great Britain.... |
George of Denmark George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain.His marriage to Anne was arranged in the early 1680s with a view to developing an Anglo-Danish alliance to contain Dutch maritime power. As a result, George was unpopular with his Dutch... 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 Bill of Rights 1689 The Bill of Rights or the Bill of Rights 1688 is an Act of the Parliament of England.The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament on 16 December 1689. It was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 ,... ) |
Acts of Union
The Acts of Union 1707Acts 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,...
were a pair of Parliamentary Acts
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
and the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...
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
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
and the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
(previously separate states
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...
, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch
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...
) into a single 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...
.
The two countries had shared a monarch for about 100 years (since the Union of the Crowns
Union of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns was the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the throne of England, and the consequential unification of Scotland and England under one monarch. The Union of Crowns followed the death of James' unmarried and childless first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I of...
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.
Titles
The standard title for all monarchs from Alfred the GreatAlfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
until the time of King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
was Rex Anglorum (King of the English). In addition, many of the pre-Norman kings assumed extra titles, as follows:
- Alfred the GreatAlfred the GreatAlfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
: Rex Angulsaxonum (King of the Anglosaxons) and Rex Anglorum et Saxonum (King of the Angles and Saxons) - AthelstanAthelstan of EnglandAthelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...
: Rex Anglorum per omnipatrantis dexteram totius Bryttaniæ regni solio sublimatus - Edmund the MagnificentEdmund I of EnglandEdmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.-Military threats:Shortly after his...
: Rex Britanniae and Rex Anglorum caeterarumque gentium gobernator et rector - EdredEdred of EnglandEadred was the king of England from 946 until his death in 955, in succession to his elder brother Edmund I.-Background and succession:...
: Regis qui regimina regnorum Angulsaxna, Norþhymbra, Paganorum, Brettonumque - Edwy the FairEdwy of EnglandEadwig, more rarely Edwy , sometimes nicknamed All-Fair or the Fair, was King of England from 955 until his death four years later. The eldest son of King Edmund and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, Eadwig was chosen by the nobility to succeed his uncle Eadred as King...
: Rex nutu Dei Angulsæxna et Northanhumbrorum imperator paganorum gubernator Breotonumque propugnator - Edgar the PeaceableEdgar of EnglandEdgar the Peaceful, or Edgar I , also called the Peaceable, was a king of England . Edgar was the younger son of Edmund I of England.-Accession:...
: Totius Albionis finitimorumque regum basileus - CanuteCanute the GreatCnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
: Rex Anglorum totiusque Brittannice orbis gubernator et rector and Brytannie totius Anglorum monarchus
In the Norman period
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
Rex Anglorum remained standard, with occasional use of Rex Anglie ("King of England"). Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
styled herself Domina Anglorum ("Lady of the English").
From the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex Anglie, or Regina Anglie ("Queen of England") if female.
In 1604 James I
James I of England
James 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...
, 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
Anne of Great Britain
Anne 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...
(who was of course Queen of Great Britain rather than king).
See also
- List of British monarchs
- List of monarchs in the British Isles
- List of Scottish monarchs
- Line of succession to the British ThroneLine of succession to the British ThroneThe line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms. By the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession is limited to the descendants of the Electress Sophia of...
(a list of people) - List of English consorts
- English monarchs family treeEnglish monarchs family treeThis is the English monarchs' family tree for England from William the Conqueror to James I of England. It is split into three sections each containing a mapped image with links to articles in the English Wikipedia. The House of Wessex family tree precedes this family tree and the British...
- Succession to the British throneSuccession to the British ThroneSuccession to the British throne is governed both by common law and statute. Under common law the crown is currently passed on by male-preference primogeniture. In other words, succession passes first to an individual's sons, in order of birth, and subsequently to daughters, again in order of birth....
(historical overview and current rules) - Alternative successions of the English crown
- List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death
- Demise of the CrownDemise of the CrownIn relation to the shared monarchy of the Commonwealth realms and other monarchies, the demise of the Crown is the legal term for the end of a reign by a king, queen, or emperor, whether by death or abdication....
- Mnemonic verse of monarchs in EnglandMnemonic verse of monarchs in EnglandA mnemonic verse listing the monarchs ruling in England since William the Conqueror was traditionally used by English schoolchildren in the era when rote learning formed a major part of the curriculum....