The British Monarchy Miscellany
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militarily by Edward I’s English forces.
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Monarch
Reigned:
(Date of Birth/Death)
House of Bruce
Robert I, the Bruce
(1274-1329)
1306-1329
David II
(1324-1371)
1329-1371
House of Balliol (Disputed)
Edward Balliol
(c.1283-1367)
1332-1336
House of Stewart
Robert II
(1316-1390)
1371-1390
Robert III
(1337-1406)
1390-1406
James I
(1394-1437)
1406-1437
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James II
(1430-1460)
1437-1460
James III
(1451-1488)
1460-1488
James IV
(1473-1513)
1488-1513
James V
(1512-1542)
1513-1542
Mary I
(1542-1587)
1542-1567
James VI
(1566-1625)
1567-1625
In 1603 Scottish monarchs also became monarchs of England. The crowns of the two monarchies were kept separate.
Charles I
(1600-1649)
1625-1649
Charles II
(1630-1685)
1649-1651
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Third Interregnum
1651-1660
Scotland is incorporated by Oliver Cromwell into the Republican Commonwealth of England.
Charles II
(re-instated)
1660-1685
James VII
(1633-1701)
1685-1688
Mary II
(1662-1694)
1689-1694
&
William II
(1650-1702)
1689-1702
Anne
(1665-1714)
1702-1707
Scotland and England ceased to have separate
monarchies in 1707 after the Act of Union was passed establishing the Kingdom of Great Britain.
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The Monarchs of England/
Great Britain/
United Kingdom
Since 1066
Listed below are the monarchs who have reigned in
England, and later Great Britain and the United Kingdom, from the Norman Conquest of 1066 until our own day.
For more information about each monarch refer to the Monarchs Fact Sheets.
Monarch
Reigned:
(Date of Birth/Death)
House of Normandy
William I
(c.1027/28-1087)
1066-1087
William II
(c.1056/60-1100)
1087-1100
Henry I
(c.1068/69-1135)
1100-1135
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Stephen
(c.1092/96-1154)
1135-1154
House of Plantagenet
Henry II
(1133-1189)
1154-1189
Richard I
(1157-1199)
1189-1199
John
(1166-1216)
1199-1216
Henry III
(1207-1272)
1216-1272
Edward I
(1239-1307)
1272-1307
Edward II
(1284-1327)
1307-1327
Edward III
(1312-1377)
1327-1377
Richard II
(1367-1400)
1377-1399
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Monarch
Reigned:
(Date of Birth/Death)
House of Plantagenet—Lancaster Branch
Henry IV
(1366-1413)
1399-1413
Henry V
(1386-1422)
1413-1422
Henry VI
(1421-1471)
1422-1461, 1470-1471
House of Plantagenet—York Branch
Edward IV
(1442-1483)
1461-1470, 1471-1483
Edward V
(1470-1483)
1483
Richard III
(1452-1485)
1483-1485
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House of Tudor
Henry VII
(1457-1509)
1485-1509
Henry VIII
(1491-1547)
1509-1547
Edward VI
(1537-1553)
1547-1553
Jane (Disputed)
(c.1536/7-1554)
1553
Mary I
(1516-1558)
1553-1558
Elizabeth I
(1533-1603)
1558-1603
House of Stuart
James I
(1566-1625)
1603-1625
Charles I
(1600-1649)
1625-1649
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Interregnum
1649-1660
In 1649 the monarchy was abolished and England was
governed as a Republican Commonwealth. From 1653 to 1658 Oliver Cromwell ruled as king in all but name using the title of Lord Protector.
Charles II
(1630-1685)
1660-1685
James II
(1633-1701)
1685-1688
Mary II
(1662-1694)
1689-1694
&
William III
(1650-1702)
1689-1702
Anne
(1665-1714)
1702-1714
House of Hanover
George I
(1660-1727)
1714-1727
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Monarch
Reigned:
(Date of Birth/Death)
George II
(1683-1760)
1727-1760
George III
(1738-1820)
1760-1820
George IV
(1762-1830)
1820-1830
William IV
(1765-1837)
1830-1837
Victoria
(1819-1901)
1837-1901
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Edward VII
(1841-1910)
1901-1910
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House of Windsor
George V
(1865-1936)
1910-1936
(House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha until 1917)
Edward VIII
(1894-1972)
1936
George VI
(1895-1952)
1936-1952
Elizabeth II
(1926- )
1952-present
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Monarchs
Facts Sheets
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William I
Reign:
25 December 1066 – 9 September 1087
Birth:
Circa 1027-28 (exact date unknown). Illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and a woman named
Herleva of Falaise. Through his great-aunt, Queen Emma, first wife of King Aethelred the Unready, William was first cousin once removed to King Edward the Confessor.
Queen:
Matilda of Flanders (c.1031-1083), daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders, and granddaughter of King Robert II of France.
Death:
9 September 1087, in Rouen, Normandy, France.
Key Facts:
He ruled Normandy as Duke during the first part of
his life, proving himself to be politically astute, ruthless, 47
and a skilled warrior. In 1051 he was chosen by his cousin, the ch
ildless king Edward the Confessor, to succeed him on the English throne after his death.
Despite this, at Edward’s death the English crown was offered to Harold Godwinson instead, prompting William to take action to defend his claim to the throne.
In 1066, he invaded England to claim the English
crown in what is called the Norman Conquest. After
landing in Sussex with an army, William defeated and killed King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. He then marched onto London where
he was crowned king in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. His remarkable conquest of England in only a few weeks earned him the name of William the Conqueror.
After the Conquest, William redistributed Saxon
lands to Norman nobles, creating a new ruling class. He also introduced French laws and concepts into England leading to the establishment of feudalism. The variant of the French language spoken by William and his court became the language of royal administration in England for over 350 years, and brought many new words into English. William also replaced Anglo-Saxon bishops and officials with continental prelates, in the process reshaping the English Church.
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In order to control the local Anglo-Saxon population William introduced castles to England, which had
previously been unknown in the country. By the end of his reign in 1087 over 70 castles were erected across the land, including the White Tower in London and castles at Dover, York and Nottingham. Small Saxon cathedrals
were also replaced with much more imposing, massive Norman buildings. Among the cathedrals started in
William’s reign were Canterbury, Winchester, Ely, and York Minster.
He fought several Anglo-Saxon rebellions during his reign, the most serious of which was an uprising in the North of England in 1068-1069. In response to it, William led a major punitive campaign to the area in 1069-1070
later called ‘The Harrying of the North’. Many people were slaughtered, food and livestock were destroyed, and fertile land was laid waste to make sure nothing could grow on it again. It is said that over 100,000 people perished as a result of the destruction and subsequent winter starvation. The North of England did not recover its prosperity for centuries.
In 1085-86 he ordered the compilation of the
Domesday Book, an extensive census of people and their property across England done primarily for taxing
purposes. One the most remarkable administrative
surveys in Western history, Domesday remained
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unmatched in completeness in Europe until the 19th
century. People called it Domesday because they said the facts therein were as accurate and inescapable as the judgments on Domesday (the Day of Judgment). It
remains the oldest public record in England.
William’s conquest of England was the most
significant event in English history. By imposing Norman laws, culture and feudalism he severed England’s
previous political and cultural ties to Scandinavia and re-oriented the country towards continental Europe,
particularly France. The social and political reorganization of the country under him was so complete, and the
changes he introduced so lasting, that the history of England as a unified nation is considered to have begun with his conquest. The current numbering of British monarchs had its start in his reign.
Peculiar Fact:
William was very sensitive about his illegitimate birth.
Once when some citizens in Alencon, France, mocked him about his bastard origins, William retaliated by having their hands and feet cut off. He also, unusually for his time, never took up a mistress himself.
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William II
Reign:
9 September 1087 – 2 August 1100
Birth:
Circa 1056-1060 (exact date unknown), in Normandy.
Third son of King William I and Queen Matilda of
Flanders.
Queen:
None.
Death:
2 August 1100, in the New Forest, Hampshire.
Key Facts:
Called Rufus because of his red complexion, William resembled his father William the Conqueror in military skills and courage in battle, ensuring that he was picked as his father’s successor even though he was not a
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firstborn son. Early in his reign he successfully fought an attempt by his elder brother Robert to capture the
throne, during which he also fought and exiled his uncle, the powerful Archbishop Odo of Bayeux. Afterwards he went on to rule England with a firm hand.
He had a troubled relationship with the Church.
Among other things, after the Archbishop of Canterbury died in 1089 William kept the position vacant for 4 years in order to cash in its revenues. He was accused of despoiling Church wealth, and angry ecclesiastical
chroniclers retaliated by claiming that William led a debauched life and that under him sodomy and adultery had increased in the kingdom
He caused much resentment among both nobles and
commoners alike by imposing heavy taxes and adopting harsh punishments for lawbreakers, including mutilation and dispossessing people of their property. He eventually died in suspicious circumstances whilst hunting in the New Forest when an arrow hit him in the heart. His only long-lasting legacy was the building of Westminster Hall, at the time the largest medieval hall in Europe, and still standing today as part of the Palace of Westminster in London.
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Peculiar Fact:
William encouraged a new men’s fashion at his court which included sporting long hair, wearing shoes with long curled up tips, and dressing in revealing clothes. This contributed to him being accused by chroniclers of
homosexuality and debauchery, however the fashion
might actually have been aimed at seducing women.
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Henry I
Reign:
2 August 1100 – 1 December 1135
Birth:
Circa 1068-69 (exact date unknown), most probably in Yorkshire. Fourth son and youngest child of King William I and Queen Matilda of Flanders.
Queens:
1. (1100-1118) Matilda of Scotland (c.1080 – 1 May 1118), daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and of Margaret of Wessex.
2. (1121-1135) Adeliza of Louvain (c.1103 – 23 Apr 1151), daughter of Godfrey the Great, Count of Louvain.