The first monarch generally regarded as king over most
of England was Egbert who reigned from 802AD until 839AD when he was
succeeded by his son Ethelwulf. Our present monarch, is the 67th in
line from that date, and all the intervening monarchs are shown in the
chart below :
Name |
Lived |
Reigned |
Dynasty |
Notes |
| Egbert (Ecgberht) |
775 - 839 AD |
802 - 839 AD |
Anglo-Saxon |
Exiled to the court of Charlemagne by Offa, King
of Mercia. Returned 802 and declared king of Wessex. Defeated Mercia
in 825. Accepted by Northumbria in 829 and proclaimed sole ruler. |
| Ethelwulf (Aethelwulf) |
795 - 858 AD |
839 - 858 AD |
son of Egbert |
| Ethelbald (Aethelbald) |
831/2 - 860 AD |
858 - 860 AD |
eldest son of Ethelwulf |
| Ethelbert (Aethelbert) |
c. 835 - 865 AD |
860 - 865 AD |
2nd son of Ethelwulf |
| Ethelred (Aethelred) |
837 - 871 AD |
865 - 871 AD |
3rd son of Ethelwulf |
Alfred
("the Great") |
848 - 899 AD |
871 - 899 AD |
4th son of Ethelwulf & probably best known
of the early English kings. |
Edward the Elder |
871/2 - 924 |
899 - 924 |
eldest son of Alfred |
| Elfweard |
904 - 924 |
924 (16 days) |
3rd son of Edward the Elder; elected by the Witan
but never took the throne. |
| Athelstan |
895 - 939 |
924 - 939 |
eldest son of Edward the Elder - probably illegitimate |
Edmund 1
(The Elder) |
921 - 946 |
939 - 946 |
Son of Edward the Elder's 3rd marriage. Murdered
in a brawl with a thief. |
| Eadred |
923 - 955 |
946 - 955 |
younger brother of Edmund 1 |
| Edwy (Eadwig) |
941 - 959 |
955 - 959 |
eldest son of Edmund 1 |
| Edgar (Eadgar) |
943 - 975 |
959 - 975 |
second son of Edmund 1 |
| Edward the Martyr |
962 - 978 |
975 - 978 |
youngest son of Edgar. Murdered on the orders of
his stepmother at the age of 16 |
Ethelred II
("the Unready") |
968 - 1016 |
978 - 1016 |
son of Edgar and his second wife (see above) |
| Sweyn Forkbeard |
c.960 - 1014 |
1013 - 1014 |
Danish |
King of Denmark; gained the English throne
temporarily by conquest. Killed in a fall from his horse. |
| Edmund Ironside |
989 - 1016 |
1016
(6 mths) |
Anglo-Saxon |
second son of Ethelred II. Murdered within 6 months
|
| Canute (Cnut) |
995 - 1035 |
1016 - 1035 |
Danish |
son of Sweyn Forkbeard |
| Harold Harefoot |
1016 - 1040 |
1035 - 1040 |
son of Canute |
| Harthacnut |
1018 - 1042 |
1040 - 1042 |
son of Canute by his 2nd wife |
| Edward the Confessor |
1004 - 1066 |
1042 - 1066 |
Anglo-Saxon |
son of Ethelred II ("the Unready") by
his 2nd wife. |
| Harold II |
1022 - 1066 |
1066
(10 mths) |
son of Godwin, Earl of Essex. Appointed to throne
by Edward on his death-bed but lost it ten months later at the Battle
of Hastings. |
William I
(the Conqueror) |
1028 - 1087 |
1066 - 1087 |
Norman |
came to the throne by conquest. |
William II
(William Rufus) |
1057 - 1100 |
1087 - 1100 |
3rd son of William the Conqueror |
| Henry I |
1068 - 1135 |
1100 -1135 |
4th son of William I. Fathered at least 29 children
but left only one legitimate heir, Matilda. |
| Stephen |
1097 - 1154 |
1135 - 1154 |
nephew of Henry I |
| Matilda |
1102 - 1167 |
1141
(10 mths) |
Henry I's only legitimate heir. Uprising during
Stephen's reign saw her briefly on the throne. |
| Eustace |
1131 - 1153 |
1152 - 1153 |
son of Stephen, declared king by his father
in 1152 but never crowned |
| Henry II |
1133 - 1189 |
1154 - 1189 |
Plantaganet |
eldest son of Matilda ; Stephen agreed to his succession |
Richard I
(the Lionheart) |
1157 - 1199 |
1189 - 1199 |
eldest surviving son of Henry II; spent only six
months of his ten year reign in his kingdom. |
| John |
1167 - 1216 |
1199 - 1216 |
10th and youngest son of Henry II. |
| Henry III |
1207 - 1272 |
1216 - 1272 |
eldest son of John |
| Edward I (Longshanks) |
1239 - 1307 |
1272 - 1307 |
son of Henry III |
| Edward II |
1284 - 1327 |
1307 - 1327 |
son of Edward I; abdicated January 1327, murdered
September 1327 |
| Edward III |
1312 - 1377 |
1327 - 1377 |
son of Edward II |
| Richard II |
1367 - 1400 |
1377 - 1399 |
grandson of Edward III , son of Edward the Black
Prince. Abdicated 1399 |
| Henry IV |
1366/7 - 1413 |
1399 - 1413 |
Lancaster |
grandson of Edward III, son of John of Gaunt. |
| Henry V |
1387 - 1422 |
1413 - 1422 |
son of Henry IV |
| Henry VI |
1421 - 1471 |
1422 - 1471 |
son of Henry V; came to the throne aged only 9
months. Crowned in 1429 and again 1440; deposed in 1461 and again
in 1471. Eventually murdered 1471. |
| Edward IV |
1442 - 1483 |
1461 - 1470 & 1471 - 1483 |
York |
grandson of Edward III, son of Richard of York |
| Edward V |
1470 - 1483 |
1483
(3 mths) |
son of Edward IV; one of the "Princes in the
Tower" believed murdered 1483 |
| Richard III (Crookback) |
1452 - 1485 |
1483 - 1485 |
younger brother of Edward IV; killed at the Battle
of Bosworth Field |
| Henry VII |
1457 - 1509 |
1485 - 1509 |
Tudor |
very tenuous claim to the throne - descended from
Edward III's son John of Gaunt through his mistress Katherine Swynford.
Their great-granddaughter, Margaret, was Henry VII's mother, giving
birth when she was only thirteen |
| Henry VIII |
1491 - 1547 |
1509 - 1547 |
eldest surviving son of Henry VII;. famous (or
notorious) for having married six times) |
| Edward VI |
1537 - 1553 |
1547 - 1553 |
only surviving son of Henry VIII; mother Jane Seymour
(died in childbirth) |
| Lady Jane Grey |
1537 - 1553 |
nine days in 1553 |
granddaughter of Mary, Henry VIII's sister;
pawn in political intrigue, declared Queen in 1553 and executed
for treason in 1554 |
| Mary I |
1516 - 1558 |
1553 - 1558 |
eldest daughter of Henry VIII; mother Catherine
of Aragon (marriage annulled 1533) |
| Elizabeth I |
1533 - 1603 |
1558 - 1603 |
only other surviving legitimate child of Henry
VIII; mother Ann Boleyn (executed 1536) |
James I of England
& VI of Scotland |
1566 - 1625 |
1603 - 1625 |
Stuart |
only son of Mary Queen of Scots and great-grandson
of Margaret Tudor, sister to Henry VIII. Inherited because the previous
three monarchs all died childless. |
| Charles I |
1600 - 1649 |
1625 - 1649 |
son of James I; executed at the end of the English
Civil war in 1649 |
| Oliver Cromwell |
1599 - 1658 |
1649 - 1658 |
The Commonwealth |
"Lord Protector of the Commonwealth;"
was offered the crown in 1657 but refused. |
| Richard Cromwell |
1626 - 1712 |
1658 - 1659 |
son of Oliver Cromwell; dismissed by Parliament
in 1659 and the monarchy restored. |
| Charles II |
1630 - 1685 |
1660 - 1685 |
Stuart |
son of the murdered Charles I; invited back to
take the throne by Parliament after Richard Cromwell was dismissed;
left no legitimate heirs. |
| James II |
1633 - 1701 |
1685 - 1688 |
younger brother of Charles II; deposed in 1688 |
William III
(William & Mary) |
1650 - 1702
1662 - 1694 |
1689 - 1702
(Mary d. 1694) |
William III ("William of Orange") was
the grandson of Charles I & Mary was the daughter of James II;
they were invited to take the throne after James was deposed |
| Anne |
1665 - 1714 |
1702 - 1714 |
second daughter of James II |
| George I |
1660 - 1727 |
1714 - 1727 |
Hanover |
great-grandson of James I : the Act of Protestant
Succession had ruled out other less tenuous claimants to the throne |
| George II |
1683 - 1760 |
1727 - 1760 |
only son of George I |
| George III |
1738 - 1820 |
1760 - 1820 |
grandson of George II |
| George IV |
1762 - 1830 |
1820 - 1830 |
eldest son of George III |
| William IV |
1765 - 1837 |
1830 - 1837 |
third son of George III |
| Victoria |
1819 - 1901 |
1837 - 1901 |
niece of George IV and the closest legitimate heir |
| Edward VII |
1841 - 1910 |
1901 - 1910 |
eldest son of Queen Victoria |
| George V |
1865 - 1936 |
1910 - 1936 |
Windsor |
second and oldest surviving son of Edward VII |
| Edward VIII |
1894 - 1972 |
1936 |
eldest son of George V; abdicated in 1936 in order
to marry an American divorcee, thus avoiding a constitutional crisis |
| George VI |
1895 - 1952 |
1936 - 1952 |
second son of George V |
| Elizabeth II |
1926 - fl2004 |
1952 - present |
eldest daughter of George VI |
