list of british monarchs

Monarchs of England Name Reign The Saxons Ælfred the Great 878-9 Edward the Elder 9-924 Ælfred's son Ethelweard Athelstan Edmund I Edred Edwy Edgar the Peaceful St Edward the Martyr Ethelred II Edmund II 924 Edward's son Notes Name Monarchs of Scotland Reign Notes The House of Alpin Kenneth I 843-858 Donald I 858-862 Kenneth I's brother 925-940 Edward's son 939-946 Edward's son 946-955 Edward's son 955-959 Edmund's son 959-975 Edmund's son 975-978 Edmund's son 978-1013 Edgar's son 1014-1016 1016 Ethelred II's son Constantine 862-877 Kenneth I's son I Aedh Eochaid Giric 877-878 Kenneth I's son 878-8 878-8 Aedh's nephew Jointly with Giric Aedh's first cousin Jointly with Eochaid Donald II 8-900 Constantine I's son Constantine 900-943 Aedh's son II Malcolm I 943-9 Donald II's son Indulf 9-962 Constantine II's son The Danelaw Dubh 962-966 Malcolm I's son For a period of time, both the Saxons and the Culen 966-971 Indulf's son Danish claimed the English throne. Kenneth II 971-995 Malcolm I's son Sweyn Forkbeard 1013-1014 Constantine Canute the Great 1016-1035 Svein's son 995-997 Culen's son III Canute's Harold I 1035-1040 Kenneth III 997-1005 Dubh's son illegitimate son Malcolm II 1005-1034 Kenneth II's son Harthacanute 1040-1042 Canute's son Duncan I 1034-1040 Malcolm II's grandson The Saxon Restoration Macbeth 1040-1057 Malcolm II's grandson St Edward the 1042-1066 Ethelred II's son Lulach 1057-1058 Kenneth III's grandson Confessor Edward the Harold II 1066 Confessor's brother-in-law The House of Dunkeld Malcolm III 1058-1093 Duncan I's son Donald III 1093-1094 Duncan I's son 1094-1097 The Normans After the Norman Conquest in 1066, numbering of Duncan II 1094 Malcolm III's son kings (a French tradition applied to the Saxons 1097-1107 Malcolm III's son only by historians) begins anew, although this Edgar affects only the Edwards. Alexander I 1107-1124 Malcolm III's son

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William I William II Henry I Stephen 1066-1087 1087-1100 William I's son 1100-1135 William I's son David I 1124-1153 Malcolm III's son Malcolm IV 1153-1165 David I's grandson William I 1165-1214 David I's grandson II III Margaret 1214-1249 William I's son 1249-1286 Alexander II's son 1286-1290 Alexander III's granddaughter The House of Balliol When Margaret died, there was no clear heir. King Edward I of England took over and installed a puppet, John Balliol. John Balliol David I's 1292-1296 great-great-great-grandson The House of Bruce When John Balliol rebelled, the Wars of Scottish Independence commenced, during which Robert the Bruce became King. David I's 1306-1329 great-great-great-great-grandson 1329-1371 Robert I's son 1135-11 William I's grandson Alexander The Angevins or Plantagenets The Royal House name changed to reflect Matilda's Alexander marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet. Matilda (Empress 1141 Maud) Henry II Richard I John Henry III Edward I Edward II Edward III Richard II Henry I's daughter 11-11 Matilda's son 11-1199 Henry II's son 1199-1216 Henry II's son 1216-1272 John's son 1272-1307 Henry III's son 1307-1327 Edward I's son 1327-1377 Edward II's son 1377-1399 Edward III's grandson The House of Lancaster Robert I Henry Bolingbroke deposed Richard II, and the Royal House name came to reflect Henry's father's David II title, Duke of Lancaster. The House of Balliol Henry IV 1399-1413 Edward III's grandson For a period of time, both Edward Balliol and David II claimed the throne. Henry V 1413-1422 Henry IV's son Edward Henry VI 1422-1461 Henry V's son 1332-1338 John Balliol's son Balliol The House of York The House of Stuart The Houses of Lancaster and York had fought the When Robert Stewart took over, the Royal House name was War of the Roses, and the Yorkists took the throne. changed to Stuart (the French spelling of Stewart). Edward III's Edward IV 1461-1483 Robert II 1371-1390 Robert I's grandson great-great-grandson Robert III 1390-1406 Robert II's son Edward V 1483 Edward IV's son James I 1406-1437 Robert III's son Richard III 1483-1485 Edward IV's brother James II 1437-1460 James I's son The House of Tudor The Lancastrian Henry Tudor reclaimed the throne James III 1460-1488 James II's son from the Yorkists. James IV 1488-1513 James III's son Henry VII Henry VIII

Edward III's James V 1485-1509 great-great-grandson Mary I 1509-17 Henry VII's son 2

1513-12 James IV's son 12-1567 James V's daughter Edward VI 17-1553 Henry VIII's son James VI 1567-1625 Mary I's son Lady Jane Grey 1553 Mary I Elizabeth I Henry VII's great-granddaughter 1553-1558 Henry VIII's daughter 1558-1603 Henry VIII's daughter Monarchs of England and of Scotland In 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne upon the death of Elizabeth I. From then until 1707, England and Scotland had shared monarchs. Name James I (England) James VI (Scotland) Charles I Reign 1603-1625 1625-19 Notes Henry VII of England's great-great-grandson Mary of Scotland's son James I's son The Commonwealth and Protectorate There was no King between Charles I's execution in 19 and the Restoration in 1660. The nation's rulers were known as Lords Protector. Name Oliver Cromwell Richard Cromwell Reign 1653-1658 1658-1659 Monarchs of England and of Scotland In 1659, Richard Cromwell abdicated. Anarchy existed until the Stuart Restoration in 1660. Name Charles II James II (England) James VII (Scotland) Mary II William III (England) William II (Scotland) Anne 1660-1685 1685-16 16-1694 16-1702 1702-1707 Monarchs of Great Britain In 1707, the Act of Union combined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain. Reign Charles I's son Charles I's son James II's daughter Jointly with William III Mary II's husband Jointly with his wife James II's daughter Notes Oliver Cromwell's son Notes 3

Name Anne Reign 1707-1714 James II's daughter Notes The House of Hanover Under the Act of Settlement, descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover, as the closest Protestant relatives of Anne, became entitled to the throne, and the Royal House name was changed when George, Elector of Hanover became King. George I George II George III 1714-1727 1727-1760 1760-1801 James I's great-grandson George I's son George II's son Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland In 1801, the Act of Union combined the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom. Name George III George IV William IV Victoria Reign 1801-1820 1820-1830 1830-1837 1837-1901 George II's son George III's son George IV's son George III's granddaughter Notes The House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha The Royal House name was changed to reflect Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Victoria Edward VII George V 1837-1901 1901-1910 1910-1936 George III's granddaughter Victoria's son Edward VII's son The House of Windsor The name of the Royal House changed from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor due to anti-German sentiments during World War I. George V 1910-1936 Edward VII's son Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland In 1922, the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom. The name of the Kingdom was amended in 1927 to reflect the change. Name George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II Reign 1910-1936 1936 1936-1952 1952- Edward VII's son George V's son George V's son George VI's daughter Notes

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Mnemonics

A useful rhyme for memorising the names of the English and UK monarchs since the Norman Conquest in chronological order:

Willy Willy Harry Steve, Henry Dick John Henry three;

Then three Edwards Richard two, Henry Four, Five Six then who? Edward four five, Dick the bad, Two more Henries, Ned the lad; Bloody Mary she came next,

Then we have our Good Queen Bess. From Scotland we got James the Vain; Charlie one, two, James again. William and Mary, Anna Gloria,

Four Georges, William, and Victoria. Edward, George, the same again, Now Elizabeth - and the end.

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