This is a list of British monarchs, that is, the monarchs on the thrones
of the various kingdoms that have existed on, or incorporated, the island
of Great Britain, namely:
-
The small kingdoms which existed prior to the formation of England, Scotland
or Wales
-
England up to 1707
-
Scotland up to 1707
-
The Kingdom of Great Britain (when England & Scotland merged in 1707)
-
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (when Great Britain and
Ireland merged in 1801)
-
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (The UK after
the Irish Free State was formed and became a separate kingdom in the 1920s)
Complications over Title and Style
Royal titles are also complicated because in some cases names of kingdoms
are used that did not officially come into existence until later, or came
into existence earlier without immediate adoption of the royal title.
-
For example, in October 1604, one year after James VI of Scotland had become
king of England, he decreed that the Royal Title would use the term 'Great
Britain' to refer to the "one Imperiall Crowne" made up of England and
Scotland. However using that title is problematical because the 'state'
of Great Britain was only created in the 1707 Act of Union. Nor was the
united crown generally referred to as 'imperial'. Furthermore, monarchs
continued to use ordinals attached to the two previous kingdoms, for instance
James VII/II. To avoid confusion, historians in general thus refer to all
monarchs up to 1707 as monarchs of 'England' and 'Scotland' (so explaining
their two ordinals where they existed), with the monarch's title at all
times accurately following the 'official' name or names of the state or
states they reigned over, where it differed from the official royal title.
(Hence though many English and British monarchs claimed 'France' as part
of their official title, as that had no reality in substance it isn't used.)
-
In different documents, the terms 'Kingdom of Great Britain' and 'United
Kingdom of Great Britain' feature, even documents as official as the 1707
Act of Union. Most historians presume the 'United' was meant to be descriptive
(indicating a union as a form of unity by marriage rather than coercion).
For clarity and because the 'United' is far more strongly associated with
the later name United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland produced in
the 1801 Act of Union, the 1707 kingdom is generally referred to as the
Kingdom of Great Britain.
-
Similarly, though the Irish Free State ceased to be part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1922, neither the full name of
the United Kingdom nor the royal title was changed until the Royal and
Parliamentary Titles Act, 1927. In this instance historians generally retrospectively
date the coming into being of the modern United Kingdom to December 1922,
even though in this case the formal change did not occur for another
five years.
The list of monarchs below cannot be exhaustive. For succession to the
many thrones often did not pass smoothly from parent to child; lack of
heirs, civil wars, murders and invasions affected the inheritance in ways
that a simple list does not show. The relationships that formed the basis
for claims to throne are noted where we know them, and the dates of reign
indicated.
Scottish monarchs
Prior to the formation of Scotland, Dalriada, Strathclyde, Bernicia and
the seven kingdoms of the Picts occupied the northern third of Britain.
-
Kings of the Picts
-
Kings of Dalriada
-
Kings of Strathclyde
The kingdom of Scotland is taken to have begun when Kenneth mac Alpin became
king of the Picts and the Dalriadan Scots. However the kingdoms of Strathclyde
and Bernicia were still independent of it. Strathclyde became part of Scotland
in the reign of Duncan I.
-
Kenneth
I (843-858)
-
his brother, Donald
I (858-862)
-
Kenneth I's son, Constantine
I (862-877)
-
Kenneth I's son, Aed
(877-878)
-
his nephew, Eochaid
(878-889)
-
Constantine I's son, Donald
II (889-900)
-
Aed I's son, Constantine
II (900-943)
-
Donald II's son, Malcolm
I (943-954)
-
Constantine II's son, Indulf
(954-962)
-
Malcolm I's son, Dubh
(962-966)
-
Indulf's son, Culen
(966-971)
-
Malcolm I's son, Kenneth
II (971-995)
-
Culen I's son, Constantine
III (995-997)
-
Dubh I's son, Kenneth
III (997-1005)
-
Kenneth II's son, Malcolm
II (1005-1034)
-
Malcolm II's grandson, Duncan
I (1034-1040)
-
Malcolm II's grandson, Macbeth
(1040-1057)
-
Kenneth III's grandson, Lulach
(1057-1058)
The House of Dunkeld
-
Duncan I's son, Malcolm
III (1058-1093)
-
Duncan I's son, Donald
III (1093-1094 and 1094-1097)
-
Malcolm III's son, Duncan
II (1094)
-
Malcolm III's son, Edgar
(1097-1107)
-
Malcolm III's son, Alexander
I (1107-1124)
-
Malcolm III's son, David
I (1124-1153)
-
David I's grandson, Malcolm
IV (1153-1165)
-
David I's grandson, William
I (1165-1214)
-
his son, Alexander
II (1214-1249)
-
his son, Alexander
III (1249-1286)
-
his granddaughter, Margaret
(1286-1290)
When Margaret died, there was no clear heir, and King Edward
I of England took over, installing a puppet.
John Balliol rebelled, and Scotland was plunged into war. In the end, independence
was secured under a new dynasty.
The House of Bruce
-
Robert I's grandson, Robert
II (1371-1390)
-
his son, Robert
III (1390-1406)
-
his son, James
I (1406-1437)
-
his son, James
II (1437-1460)
-
his son, James
III (1460-1488)
-
his son, James
IV (1488-1513)
-
his son, James
V (1513-1542)
-
his daughter, Mary
(1542-1567)
-
her son, James
VI (1567-1625)
-
his son, Charles
I (1625-1649)
-
his son, Charles
II (1651-1685)
-
Charles I's son, James
VII (1685-1688)
The House of Orange
-
his daughter, Mary
II (1689-1694) and her husband William
III (1689-1702), reigned together during Mary's life as "William and
Mary"
In 1707, with the Act of Union, the thrones of England and Scotland were
formally united as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, keeping the numbering
system of England. See GB and UK monarchs below.
Rulers of Wales
Prior to 1282, Wales was independent of England, consisting of a number
of separate principalities. See List
of rulers of Wales for full details.
English monarchs
After the departure of the Romans and prior to the formation of England,
various British, Viking and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms existed in the southern
two-thirds of Britain. Between 400 and 1000 the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms gradually
conquered the others, amalgamating to form England.
The Bretwalda were chosen from among the rulers of the various Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms of England. There was not always a Bretwalda.
The Saxon kings
By this time, the kings of Wessex
had become established as kings of England.
-
Ethelwulf's son, Ælfred
(Alfred) the Great (871-899)
-
his son, Edward
the Elder (899-924)
-
his son, Ethelweard
(924)
-
his brother, Athelstan
(924-939)
-
Edward's son, Edmund
I (939-946)
-
Edward's son, Edred
(946-955)
-
Edmund's son, Edwy
(955-959)
-
Edmund's son, Edgar
(959-975)
-
his son, Edward
the Martyr (975-978)
-
Edgar's son, Ethelred
II (978-1013)
-
restored Ethelred
II (1014-1016
-
his son, Edmund
II (1016)
For a period of time, both Danish and Saxon kings claimed the throne of
England.
The Saxon restoration
After the Norman
Conquest in 1066, numbering of kings began anew; this affected only
the Edwards.
-
Edward III's and Canute II's first cousin twice removed, William
I (1066-1087)
-
his son, William
II (1087-1100)
-
William I's son, Henry
I (1100-1135)
-
William I's grandson, Stephen
(1135-1154)
-
Henry I's daughter, Matilda,
uncrowned (1141)
-
Matilda's son, Henry
II (1154-1189)
-
his son, Richard
I, Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199)
-
Henry II's son, John
(1199-1216)
-
his son, Henry
III (1216-1272)
-
his son, Edward
I (1272-1307)
-
his son, Edward
II (1307-1327)
-
his son, Edward
III (1327-1377)
-
his grandson, Richard
II (1377-1399)
The House of Lancaster
-
Edward III's grandson, Henry
IV (1399-1413)
-
his son, Henry
V (1413-1422)
-
his son, Henry
VI (1422-1461 and 1470-1471)
The Houses of Lancaster and York fought the Wars
of the Roses over the English crown.
The House of York
-
Edward III's great-great-grandson, Edward
IV (1461-1470 and 1471-1483)
-
his son, Edward
V, uncrowned (1483)
-
Edward IV's brother, Richard
III (1483-1485)
The House of Tudor
-
Edward III's 2x(great)grandson and Edward IV's son-in-law, Henry
VII (1485-1509)
-
his son, Henry
VIII (1509-1547)
-
his son, Edward
VI (1547-1553)
-
Henry VII's great-granddaughter, Lady
Jane Grey, uncrowned (1553)
-
Henry VIII's daughter, Mary
I (1553-1558)
-
Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth
I (1558-1603)
The House of Stuart
-
Henry VII's great-great-grandson, James
I, also King of Scotland, (1603-1625)
-
his son, Charles
I (1625-1649)
The Commonwealth and Protectorate
There was no king between Charles I's execution in 1649 and the restoration
in 1660, but there were two Lords Protector during the Protectorate.
The Stuart restoration
The House of Orange
-
James II's daughter, Mary
II (1689-1694) and her husband William
III (1689-1702), reigned together during Mary's life as "William and
Mary"
Monarchs of Great Britain
In 1707, with the Act of Union, the thrones of England and Scotland were
formally united as the throne of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
The House of Stuart
-
The daughter of James (II of England; VII of Scotland), Anne
I (1702-1714)
The House of Hanover
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland
In 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland merged to
form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
The House of Windsor
The name of the Royal house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was changed to Windsor
in 1917 due to anti-German feelings aroused by World War I.
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The Irish Free State left the United Kingdom in 1922. The name of the
UK was changed to reflect that change, becoming the 'United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland' in 1927. Note also: from 1927, each
dominion in the Commonwealth became a separate kingdom, with George V as
native king in each. Hence, in 1927, he became 'King of Ireland', 'King
of Australia,' 'King of Canada' etc.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation
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work (including additions) remains under this license. See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html
for details. It uses material from the Wikipedia article List_of_British_monarchs
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