Skip to main content Try our corporate solution for free! Single Accounts Corporate Solutions Universities. With the conquest of the kingdoms Mercia in , King Egbert of Wessex became the first ruler of the Anglo-Saxon people. Since this time, there have been 68 rulers of England and since Great Britain.
The majority of these rulers have inherited their title and crown from their mother or father, or as a result of their family ties, although some of the people on this list obtained their title through marriage or conquest, while others simply made a claim to the throne that was not always acknowledged by their subjects.
The longest serving of these rulers is the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who has been the British monarch for over 69 years. The shortest reign on this list belongs to Lady Jane Grey in , who had been named Edward VI's successor in his will, however, Jane was deposed after just nine days by Edward's half-sister Mary I Bloody Mary , and she was subsequently executed for treason at the age of Early Ruling Houses Egbert of Wessex was the first ruler to be named "Bretwalda" Britain-ruler in CE, although his grandson, Alfred the Great, is regarded by historians to be the first widely-accepted ruler of England following his defeat of the Vikings in the late 9th century.
Norman rule ushered in a new era of French influence in the British monarchy, and vice-versa. The next three centuries were dominated by the House of Plantagenet including the Houses of Lancaster and York, most commonly associated with the Wars of the Roses; Britain's bloodiest civil war.
The Houses of Tudor and Stuart Among the most famous royal houses is the House of Tudor , which came into power in , at the beginning of what we now call modern history. This house included Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I, whose lives have been widely publicized in popular culture, and it oversaw a period of heavy reform and anti-reform. Following the Tudors was the House of Stuart , which oversaw most of the seventeenth century, however it was interrupted for a brief period in the s. This interruption came as a result of Charles I's execution, where control passed from the monarchy to parliament, with 'Lord Protector' Oliver Cromwell and later his son at its head.
The monarchy was re-established with the appointment of Charles II in Until this point the monarchy of Scotland and England had a complicated history, with many monarchs acting as the heads of both states, however this act now brought these monarchies together.
During the 18th and nineteenth centuries the monarchy gradually transformed into the more ceremonial role that it has today. The British Empire also expanded to all corners of the world during the reigns of the Hanoverians and Windsors, and the heads of state eventually became the king or queen of all of these dominions.
The final Hanoverian was Queen Victoria, whose reign of 63 years and days is the second longest on this list, and this time is commonly known as the Victorian period. The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took over the monarchy following the death of Victoria in , however their name was changed to Windsor in , to avoid association with Germany during the First World War.
Since , Elizabeth II has been the Queen of Britain and the Commonwealth, making her the longest serving British monarch in history. She will be most likely be succeeded by her son Charles, Prince of Wales. Loading statistic Show source. Download for free You need to log in to download this statistic Register for free Already a member?
Log in. Show detailed source information? Register for free Already a member? More information. Supplementary notes. Other statistics on the topic. Celebrities Most liked members of the British Royal Family Aaron O'Neill. Research expert covering historical data.
He and his brother Richard were murdered in the Tower of London — it is said on the orders of his uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester. The ruthless extinction of all those who opposed him and the alleged murders of his nephews made his rule very unpopular. At the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire he defeated and killed Richard in what was to be the last important battle in the Wars of the Roses.
Archaeological investigations at a car park in Leicester during revealed a skeleton which was thought to have been that of Richard III, and this was confirmed on the 4th February His body was re-interred at Leicester Cathedral on 22nd March He married Elizabeth of York and so united the two warring houses, York and Lancaster.
He was a skillful politician but avaricious. The material wealth of the country increased greatly. His first wife was Catherine of Aragon, his brothers widow, whom he later divorced to marry Anne Boleyn.
This divorce caused the split from Rome and Henry declared himself the head of the Church Of England. The Dissolution of the Monasteries began in , and the money gained from this helped Henry to bring about an effective Navy. In an effort to have a son, Henry married four further wives, but only one son was born, to Jane Seymour.
Henry had two daughters both to become rulers of England — Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn. Edward succeeded his father at the age of 9, the government being carried on by a Council of Regency with his uncle, Duke of Somerset, styled Protector. Even though his reign was short, many men made their mark. She was proclaimed Queen but Mary entered London with her supporters and Jane was taken to the Tower.
She reigned for only 9 days. She was executed in , aged A devout Catholic, she married Philip of Spain. Mary attempted to enforce the wholesale conversion of England to Catholicism. She carried this out with the utmost severity. The place, in Broad Street Oxford, is marked by a bronze cross.
The country was plunged into a bitter blood bath, which is why she is remembered as Bloody Mary. She died in at Lambeth Palace in London. From first to last she was popular with the people and had a genius for the selection of capable advisors. The execution of Mary Queen of Scots marred what was a glorious time in English history.
Shakespeare was also at the height of his popularity. Elizabeth never married. He was the first king to rule over Scotland and England.
James was more of a scholar than a man of action. In the Gunpowder Plot was hatched: Guy Fawkes and his Catholic friends tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but were captured before they could do so. He encountered difficulties with Parliament from the beginning, and this led to the outbreak of the English Civil War in The House of Commons tried Charles for treason against England and when found guilty he was condemned to death.
His death warrant states that he was beheaded on 30th January Following this the British monarchy was abolished and a republic called the Commonwealth of England was declared. He entered Parliament in and became active in events leading to the Civil War. A leading Puritan figure, he raised cavalry forces and organised the New Model Army, which he led to victory over the Royalists at the Battle of Naseby in In he finally expelled the corrupt English parliament and with the agreement of army leaders became Lord Protector King in all but name.
Unlike his father, Richard lacked military experience and as such failed to gain respect or support from his New Model Army. After the collapse of the Protectorate following the death of Oliver Cromwell and the flight of Richard Cromwell to France, the Army and Parliament asked Charles to take the throne. Although very popular he was a weak king and his foreign policy was inept. He had 13 known mistresses, one of whom was Nell Gwyn. He fathered numerous illegitimate children but no heir to the throne.
Many new buildings were built at this time. Although James converted to Catholicism in , his two daughters were raised as Protestants. James became very unpopular because of his persecution of the Protestant clergy and was generally hated by the people. William landed in England and James fled to France where he died in exile in Gathering local support, he marched his army, now 20, strong, on to London in The Glorious Revolution. William and Mary were to reign jointly, and William was to have the Crown for life after Mary died in James plotted to regain the throne and in landed in Ireland.
She had 17 pregnancies but only one child survived — William, who died of smallpox aged just A staunch, high church Protestant, Anne was 37 years old when she succeeded to the throne. Anne was a close friend of Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough. The 54 year old George arrived in England able to speak only a few words of English with his 18 cooks and 2 mistresses in tow. George spent little time in England — he preferred his beloved Hanover, although he was implicated in the South Sea Bubble financial scandal of He was more English than his father, but still relied on Sir Robert Walpole to run the country.
George was the last English king to lead his army into battle at Dettingen in In the Jacobites tried once again to restore a Stuart to the throne. His reign was one of elegance and the age of some of the greatest names in English literature — Jane Austen , Byron , Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth. It was also the time of great statesmen like Pitt and Fox and great military men like Wellington and Nelson. The American Colonies proclaimed their independence on July 4th George was well meaning but suffered from a mental illness due to intermittent porphyria and eventually became blind and insane.
He had a love of art and architecture but his private life was a mess, to put it mildly! He married twice, once in to Mrs. Fitzherbert, secretly as she was a Catholic, and then in to Caroline of Brunswick. Fitzherbert remained the love of his life. Caroline and George had one daughter, Charlotte in but she died in George was considered a great wit, but was also a buffoon and his death was hailed with relief! Before his accession he lived with a Mrs.
Jordan, an actress, by whom he had ten children. When Princess Charlotte died, he had to marry in order to secure the succession. He married Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg in He had two daughters but they did not live. He hated pomp and wanted to dispense with the Coronation.
The people loved him because of his lack of pretension. During his reign Britain abolished slavery in the colonies in The Reform Act was passed in , this extended the franchise to the middle-classes on a basis of property qualifications. The throne Victoria inherited was weak and unpopular. Her Hanoverian uncles had been treated with irreverence. In she married her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Albert exerted tremendous influence over the Queen and until his death was virtual ruler of the country.
He was a pillar of respectability and left two legacies to the UK, the Christmas Tree and the Great Exhibition of The Queen withdrew from public life after the death of Albert in until her Golden Jubilee in When Victoria died in , the British Empire and British world power had reached their highest point. She had nine children, 40 grand-children and 37 great-grandchildren, scattered all over Europe. He loved horse-racing, gambling and women! This Edwardian Age was one of elegance.
Edward had all the social graces and many sporting interests, yachting and horse-racing — his horse Minoru won the Derby in Edward married the beautiful Alexandra of Denmark in and they had six children.
When Edward died in it is said that Queen Alexandra brought his current mistress Mrs. Keppel to his bedside to take her farewell. He had joined the Navy as a cadet in and loved the sea. His years on the throne were difficult; the First World War in — and the troubles in Ireland which lead to the creation of the Irish Free State were considerable problems. In he began the royal broadcasts on Christmas Day and in he celebrated his Silver Jubilee.
His latter years were overshadowed by his concern about the Prince of Wales and his infatuation with Mrs. Consequently when he renounced the throne to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson the country found it almost impossible to believe. The people as a whole knew nothing about Mrs. Simpson until early in December Simpson was an American, a divorcee and had two husbands still living. This was unacceptable to the Church, as Edward had stated that he wanted her to be crowned with him at the Coronation which was to take place the following May.
Edward abdicated in favour of his brother and took the title, Duke of Windsor. He went to live abroad. He was very popular and well loved by the British people. The prestige of the throne was low when he became king, but his wife Elizabeth and his mother Queen Mary were outstanding in their support of him.
The Second World War started in and throughout the King and Queen set an example of courage and fortitude. They remained at Buckingham Palace for the duration of the war in spite of the bombing. The Palace was bombed more than once. George was in close touch with the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill throughout the war and both had to be dissuaded from landing with the troops in Normandy on D-Day! The post-war years of his reign were ones of great social change and saw the start of the National Health Service.
Elizabeth and her sister Margaret anonymously joined the crowded streets of London on VE Day to celebrate the end of the war. In this article, we take a look at the Kings and Queens that ruled over the kingdom for almost half a millennium. Related articles. Kings and Queens of Mercia.
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