List of English monarchs

See also: List of English consorts.

This is a list of the monarchs of England. The first ruler in Britain to adopt the title King of the English (Rex Anglorum in Latin) was Offa of Mercia in 774, though the continuous list of English monarchs traditionally begins with Egbert of Wessex in 829. However, prior to their migration to Britain, the English, or Angles, had established a unified monarchy in what is now Schleswig-Holstein (see List of kings of the Angles). In Britain they founded a number of separate kingdoms, known as the Heptarchy, the ruler of one or other of which was generally accepted as overlord, or Bretwalda, of the others. The English kingdom was not permanently unified until 927, under Athelstan. Wales was annexed in 1536, and England underwent union with Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Since that date the title King (or Queen) of England is incorrect, though has remained in wide usage to the present day.

English monarchs :

House of Mercia :

The first ruler to assume the title King of the English was Offa in 774, who had been King of Mercia since 757 and Bretwalda of the other kingdoms of the Heptarchy. He was the most powerful of all English kings prior to its formal unification, but his power did not survive him.width=auto| Offa
(+OFFAREX+)
774-796 c.730Offa@Everything.com URL last accessed 28 December 2007
son of Thingfrith Cynethryth
5 children 26 or 29 July 796
aged about 66

House of Wessex :

The continuous list traditionally starts with Egbert, King of Wessex from 802, the first King of Wessex to have overlordship over much of England.Burke's Peerage & Gentry URL last accessed 7 September 2007. He defeated the Mercians and became Bretwalda in 829. Permanent unity was not achieved until 927, under Athelstan. Egbert
(Ecgberht)
829-839 c.775
son of Ealhmund of Kent Redburga
3 children 4 February 839
aged about 64 Ethelwulf
(Æþelwulf)
5 February
839-856 Aachen
son of Egbert and Redburga (1) Osburga
6 children

(2) Judith of Flanders
1 October 853
no children 13 January 858
age unknownBurke's Peerage & Gentry URL last accessed 7 September 2007. Ethelbald
(Æþelbald)
856-860 c.831
son of Ethelwulf and Osburga Judith of Flanders
no children 20 December 860
aged about 29Burke's Peerage & Gentry URL last accessed 7 September 2007. Ethelbert
(Æþelberht)
21 December
860-866 c.835
son of Ethelwulf and Osburga unknown
2 children 865
aged about 30Burke's Peerage & Gentry URL last accessed 7 September 2007. Ethelred
(Æþelræd)
865-871 c.837
son of Ethelwulf and Osburga Wulfrida
868
2 children 23 April 871
aged about 34Burke's Peerage & Gentry URL last accessed 7 September 2007. Alfred the Great
(Ælfræd)
24 April
871899Alfred (the Great) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 15 March 2007. c.849
Wantage
son of Ethelwulf and OsburgaCatholic Encyclopedia: Alfred the Great. URL last accessed 14 March 2007. Ealhswith
Winchester
868
6 childrenAlfred the Great. URL last accessed 14 March 2007. 26 October 899
aged about 50 Edward the Elder
(Eadweard)
27 October
899924EADWEARD (Edward the Elder) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed on 15 March 2007. c.871-877
son of Alfred the Great and EalhswithThere are various references listing Edward the Elder's birth as sometime in the 870s, being the second child of a marriage of 868. There are no sources listing his birth as after 877. Anglo-Saxons.net : Edward the Elder. URL last accessed on 15 March 2007. (1) Ecgwynn
893
3 children

(2) Aelffaed
c.902
10 children

(3) Edgiva of Kent
905
4 childrenEnglish Monarchs - Kings and Queens of England - Edward the Elder. URL last accessed on 21 January 2007. 17 July 924
Farndon, Cheshire
aged about 50 Elfward
(Ælfweard)
18 July -
2 August 924 No known image or
coin of Elfward exists c.902
son of Edward the Elder and Aelffaed unmarried 2 August 924
aged about 22 Athelstan
(Æþelstan)
3 August
924939Aethelstan @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 15 March 2007. 895
son of Edward the Elder and EcgwynnEBK: Aethelstan, King of the English. URL last accessed 15 March 2007. unmarried 27 October 939
aged about 44 Edmund the Magnificent
(Eadmund)
28 October
939946EADMUND (Edmund) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. c.921
son of Edward the Elder and Edgiva of Kent (1) Elgiva
3 children

(2) Æthelflæd of Damerham
944
no childrenEnglish Monarchs - Kings and Queens of England - Edmund the Elder. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. 26 May 946
Pucklechurch
aged about 25 (murdered) Edred
(Eadred)
27 May
946955EADRED (Edred) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. c.923
son of Edward the Elder and Edgiva of KentEBK: Edred, King of England. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. unmarried 23 November 955
Frome
aged about 32BritRoyals - King Edred. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. Edwy the Fair
(Eadwig)
24 November
955959EADWIG (Edwy) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. c.940
son of Edmund the Magnificent and ElgivaCatholic Encyclopedia: Edwy. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. Elgiva 1 October 959
aged about 19 Edgar the Peaceable
(Eadgar)
2 October
959975EADGAR (Edgar the Peacemaker) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. c.943
Wessex
son of Edmund the Magnificent and ElgivaEBK: Edgar the Peacemaker, King of England. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. (1) Ethelflaed
c.960
1 son

(2) Wulfthryh
1 daughter
(3) Ælfthryth
c.964
2 sons 8 July 975
Winchester
aged about 32The Atheling. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. Saint Edward the Martyr
(Eadweard)
9 July
975978EADWEARD (Edward the Martyr) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. c.962
son of Edgar the Peaceable and EthelflaedEBK: Edward the Martyr, King of England. URL last accessed 17 March 2007. unmarried 18 March 978
Corfe Castle
aged about 16 (assassinated) Ethelred the Unready
(Æþelræd Unræd)
19 March
9781016Ethelred the Unready was forced to go into exile in the summer of 1013, following Danish attacks, but was invited back following Sweyn Forkbeard's death. AETHELRED (the Unready) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 17 March 2007 c.968
son of Edgar the Peaceable and ÆlfthrythSchoolnet Spartacus: Ethelred. URL last accessed 17 March 2007 (1) Ælflaed of Northumbria
4 children

(2) Aelgifu
991
6 children

(3) Emma of Normandy
1002
3 childrenEnglish Monarchs - Kings and Queens of England - Ethelred II, the Redeless. URL last accessed 17 March 2007 23 April 1016
London
aged about 48 Edmund Ironside
(Eadmund)
24 April –
30 November 1016EADMUND (Edmund the Ironside) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 17 March 2007 c.993
son of Ethelred the Unready and Ælflaed of Northumbria Edith of East Anglia
2 childrenEnglish Monarchs - Kings and Queens of England - Edmund Ironside. URL last accessed 17 March 2007 30 November 1016
Glastonbury
aged about 23

House of Denmark :

England came under the rule of Danish kings following the disastrous reign of Ethelred the Unready. Some, though not all, of these were also kings of Denmark. Sweyn Forkbeard
(Svend Tjugeskæg)
25 December
10131014 c.960
Denmark
son of Harald Bluetooth and Gyrid Olafsdotti (1) Gunhilda of Poland
c.990
7 children

(2) Sigrid the Haughty
c.1000
1 daughter 3 February 1014
Gainsborough
aged about 54 Canute
(Knud)
1 December
10161035CNUT (Canute) @ Archontology.org. URL last accessed 21 March 2007. c.995
son of Sweyn Forkbeard (1) Aelgifu of Northampton
2 children

(2) Emma of Normandy
1017 12 November 1035
Shaftesbury
aged about 40 Harold Harefoot
(Harald)
13 November
10351040Harold was only recognised as king north of the River Thames until 1037, after which he was recognised as king of all England. c.1016/7
son of Canute and Aelgifu of Northampton Aelgifu
1 son 17 March 1040
Oxford
aged about 23 or 24 Harthacanute
(Hardeknud)
18 June
10401042 1018
son of Canute and Emma of Normandy unknown 8 June 1042
Lambeth
aged about 24

House of Wessex (restored) :

The old West Saxon line was restored, but Edward the Confessor, who was later canonised, was more Norman than English in his sympathies. Saint Edward the Confessor
(Eadweard)
9 June
10421066 c.1005
Islip, Oxfordshire
son of Ethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy Edith of Wessex
23 January 1045
no children 5 January 1066
Westminster Palace
aged about 60 Harold Godwinson
(Harold Godwinesson)
6 January –
14 October 1066 c.1020
son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir (1) Edith Swan-neck
6 children

(2) Ealdgyth of Mercia
York
c.1064
1 son 14 October 1066
Hastings
aged about 46 (died in battle) Edgar the Atheling
(Eadgar Æþeling)
15 October –
17 December 1066After reigning for approximately 9 weeks, Edgar the Atheling submitted to William the Conqueror, who had gained control of the the area to the south and immediate west of London. No known image or
coin of Edgar exists c.1053
Hungary
son of Edward the Exile and Agatha unmarried c.1125
aged about 72

House of Normandy :

It was only after the Norman Conquest of 1066 that monarchs took regnal numbers in the French fashion, though the earlier custom of distinguishing monarchs by nicknames did not die out immediately. William I the Conqueror
(Guillaume le Conquérant
ou le Bâtard)
25 December
10661087 c.1027
Falaise Castle
son of Robert II, Duke of Normandy and Herleva Matilda of Flanders
Cathedral of Notre Dame
1053
10 children 9 September 1087
Priory of St. Gervais
aged about 60 William II Rufus
(Guillaume le Roux)
26 September
10871100 c.1060
Normandy
son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders unmarried 2 August 1100
New Forest
aged about 40 Henry I
(Henri Beauclerc)
5 August
11001135 September 1068
Selby
son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders (1) Edith of Scotland
Westminster Abbey
11 November 1100
4 children

(2) Adeliza of Louvain
Windsor Castle
29 January 1121
no children 1 December 1135
Saint-Denis-le-Fermont
aged 67 Stephen
(Étienne de Blois)
22 December
11351154 c.1096
Blois
son of Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy Matilda of Boulogne
Westminster
1125
5 children 25 October 1154
Dover Castle
aged about 58 Matilda
(Mathilde ou
Maud l'Impératrice)
7 April1 November 1141Matilda ruled at the same time as Stephen, but her reign was disputed. 7 February 1102
Sutton Courtenay
only legitimate daughter of Henry I and Edith of Scotland (1) Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
Mainz
6 January 1114
no children

(2) Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou
Le Mans Cathedral
22 May 1128
4 children 10 September 1167
Abbey of the Notre Dame des Prés
aged 65

House of Plantagenet :

The early Plantagenets ruled many territories in France, and 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.

Angevins :

Henry II
(Henri Court-manteau)
19 December
11541189 5 March 1133
Le Mans
son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda Eleanor of Aquitaine
Bordeaux Cathedral
18 May 1152
8 children 6 July 1189
Château Chinon
aged 56 Richard I the Lionheart
(Richard Cur de Lion)
3 September
11891199 8 September 1157
Beaumont Palace
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine Berengaria of Navarre
Limassol
12 May 1191
no children 6 April 1199
Chalus
aged 41 John Lackland
(Jean Sans Terre)
27 May
11991216 24 December 1167
Beaumont Palace
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine (1) Isabel of Gloucester
Marlborough Castle
29 August 1189
no children

(2) Isabella of Angoulême
Bordeaux Cathedral
24 August 1200
5 children 19 October 1216
Newark Castle
aged 48 Henry III
28 October
12161272 1 October 1207
Winchester Castle
son of John and Isabella of Angoulême Eleanor of Provence
Canterbury Cathedral
14 January 1236
9 children 16 November 1272
Westminster Palace
aged 65 Edward I Longshanks
20 November
12721307 17 June 1239
Westminster Palace
son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence (1) Eleanor of Castile
Abbey of Las Huelgas
18 October 1254
17 children

(2) Marguerite of France
10 September 1299
3 children 7 July 1307
Burgh by Sands
aged 68 Edward II
7 July 1307 –
25 January 1327Edward II was officially deposed by Parliament on 25 January 1327, having been imprisoned on 16 November 1326. 25 April 1284
Caernarfon Castle
son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile Isabella of France
Boulogne Cathedral
25 January 1308
5 children 21 September 1327
Berkeley Castle
aged 43 (murdered) Edward III
25 January
13271377 13 November 1312
Windsor Castle
son of Edward II and Isabella of France Philippa of Hainault
York Minster
24 January 1328
14 children 21 June 1377
Sheen Palace
aged 64 Richard II
21 June 1377 –
29 September 1399Richard II was deposed, and became a prisoner of Henry Bolingbroke, who usurped the throne from the prior claims of the issue of his father John of Gaunt. 6 January 1367
Bordeaux
son of Edward, the Black Prince and Joan of Kent (1) Anne of Bohemia
14 January 1382
no children

(2) Isabella of Valois
Calais
4 November 1396
no children 6 January 1400
Pontefract Castle
aged 33

House of Lancaster :

Henry IV Bolingbroke
30 September
13991413 3 April 1366/7
Bolingbroke Castle
son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster (1) Mary de Bohun
Arundel Castle
27 July 1380
7 children

(2) Joanna of Navarre
Winchester Cathedral
7 February 1403
no children 20 March 1413
Westminster Abbey
aged 45 or 46 Henry V
20 March
14131422 9 August 1387
Monmouth Castle
son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun Catherine of Valois
Troyes Cathedral
2 June 1420
1 son 31 August 1422
Château de Vincennes
aged 35 Henry VI
31 August 1422
– 4 March 1461

30 October 1470
– 11 April 1471Edward IV usurped the throne in 1461 after years of civil war. Henry VI was restored for about five months in 1470 before being deposed again permanently. 6 December 1421
Windsor Castle
son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois Margaret of Anjou
Titchfield Abbey
22 April 1445
1 son 21 May 1471
Tower of London
aged 49 (murdered)

House of York :

Edward IV
4 March 1461 –
3 October 1470

11 April
14711483Edward was briefly deposed during his reign by Henry VI. 28 April 1442
Rouen
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville Elizabeth Woodville
Grafton Regis
1 May 1464
10 children 9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
aged 40 Edward V
9 April25 June 1483Edward V was deposed by Richard III, who usurped the throne on the grounds that Edward was illegitimate. 2 November 1470
Westminster
son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville unmarried c. 1483
London
aged about 12 (traditionally murdered) Richard III Crouchback
26 June
14831485 2 October 1452
Fotheringhay Castle
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville Anne Neville
Westminster Abbey
12 July 1472
1 son 22 August 1485
Bosworth Field
aged 32 (killed in battle)

House of Tudor :

The Tudors were of partial Welsh ancestry, and in 1536 Wales was fully incorporated into the English state (having been under English control since 1284). With Henry VIII's break from the Roman Catholic Church the monarch became the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Elizabeth I's title became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Henry VII
22 August
14851509 28 January 1457
Pembroke Castle
son of Edmund Tudor and Lady Margaret Beaufort Elizabeth of York
Westminster Abbey
18 January 1486
8 children 21 April 1509
Richmond Palace
aged 52 Henry VIII
21 April
15091547 28 June 1491
Greenwich Palace
son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (1) Catherine of Aragon
Greenwich
11 June 1509
1 daughter

(2) Anne Boleyn
Westminster Palace
25 January 1533
1 daughter

(3) Jane Seymour
Whitehall Palace
30 May 1536
1 son

(4) Anne of Cleves
Greenwich Palace
6 January 1540

(5) Catherine Howard
Hampton Court Palace
28 July 1540

(6) Catherine Parr
Hampton Court Palace
12 July 1543 28 January 1547
Whitehall Palace
aged 55 Edward VI
28 January
15471553 12 October 1537
Hampton Court Palace
son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour unmarried 6 July 1553
Greenwich Palace
aged 15 Jane
("The Nine Days' Queen")
10 July19 July 1553Jane was deposed in favour of Mary Tudor. October 1537
Bradgate Park
daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Lady Frances Brandon Lord Guildford Dudley
The Strand
21 May 1553
no children 12 February 1554
Tower of London
aged 16 (beheaded) Mary I
("Bloody Mary")
19 July
15531558 18 February 1516
Greenwich Palace
daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon Philip II of Spain
Winchester Cathedral
25 July 1554
no children 17 November 1558
St. James's Palace
aged 42 Elizabeth I
("The Virgin Queen")
17 November
15581603 7 September 1533
Greenwich Palace
daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn unmarried 24 March 1603
Richmond Palace
aged 69

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 what became known as the Union of the Crowns. In 1604 he adopted the title King of Great Britain, although the two kingdoms remained separate. James I
24 March
16031625 19 June 1566
Edinburgh Castle
son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots Anne of Denmark
Oslo
23 November 1589
9 children 27 March 1625
Theobalds House
aged 58 Charles I
("Saint Charles the Martyr")
27 March
16251649 19 November 1600
Dunfermline Palace
son of James I and Anne of Denmark Henrietta Maria of France
St Augustine's Abbey
13 June 1625
9 children 30 January 1649
Whitehall Palace
aged 48 (executed)

Commonwealth :

There was no reigning monarch between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Despite this, from 1653 the following individuals held power as Lords Protector, during the period known as the Protectorate. Oliver Cromwell
16 December
16531658 25 April 1599
Huntingdon
son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Stewart Elizabeth Bourchier
St Giles
22 August 1620
9 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
9 children 12 July 1712
Cheshunt
aged 85

House of Stuart (restored) :

Although the monarchy was restored in 1660, no stable settlement proved possible until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when parliament finally asserted the right to choose whomsoever it pleased as monarch. Charles II
8 May
16601685 29 May 1630
St. James's Palace
son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France Catherine of Braganza
Portsmouth
21 May 1662
3 children (none survived infancy) 6 February 1685
Whitehall Palace
aged 54 James II
6 February 1685 –
23 December 1688 14 October 1633
St. James's Palace
son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France (1) Anne Hyde
The Strand
3 September 1660
8 children

(2) Mary of Modena
Dover
21 November 1673
7 children 16 September 1701
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
aged 67 William III of Orange
(Willem Hendrik,
Prins van Oranje)
13 February
16891702 4 November 1650
The Hague
son of William II, Prince of Orange and Mary Stuart St James's Palace
4 November 1677
3 children (none survived infancy) 8 March 1702
Kensington Palace
aged 51 Mary II
13 February
16891694 30 April 1662
St James's Palace
daughter of James II and Anne Hyde 28 December 1694
Kensington Palace
aged 32 Anne
8 March
1702-1707
Great Britain
1 May 1707-1714 6 February 1665
St James's Palace
daughter of James II and Anne Hyde George of Denmark
St James's Palace
28 July 1683
17 children 1 August 1714
Kensington Palace
aged 49 England and Scotland entered into legislative and governmental union on 1 May 1707 under the Acts of Union 1707, though retained separate legal systems and other attributes thereafter. For the continuation of this list, therefore, go to List of British monarchs.

Titles :

The standard title for all monarchs from Alfred the Great 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:

Alfred the Great: Rex Angulsaxonum and Rex Anglorum et Saxonum
Athelstan: Rex Anglorum per omnipatrantis dexteram totius Bryttaniæ regni solio sublimatus
Edmund the Magnificent: Rex Britanniae and Rex Anglorum caeterarumque gentium gobernator et rector
Edred: Regis qui regimina regnorum Angulsaxna, Norþhymbra, Paganorum, Brettonumque
Edwy the Fair: Rex nutu Dei Angulsæxna et Northanhumbrorum imperator paganorum gubernator Breotonumque propugnator
Edgar the Peaceable: Totius Albionis finitimorumque regum basileus
Canute: Rex Anglorum totiusque Brittannice orbis gubernator et rector and Brytannie totius Anglorum monarchus

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).After the personal union of the three crowns, James was the first to style himself King of Great Britain, but the title was rejected by the English Parliament and had no basis in law. The Parliament of Scotland also opposed it. Croft, p67; Wilson, pp249-252. See also the early history of the Union Flag.