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A History of the British Monarchy

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Saxon Rulers

Saxon Rulers

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The Saxon Rulers began with The House of Wessex. It is the oldest known Ruling "House", AKA A Ruling Family. The first king of the Wessex House and of England was named Egbert. He was born between 770 and 780. He was the son of Ealhmund, King of Kent. Ealhmund was himself the son of Eafa, King of Wessex, by a Kentish princess. The House of Wessex boasted of a descent from no less a personage than the great Woden himself. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records the descent of Egbert from Cerdic, a Saxon invader who landed on the south coast in 495.

The Saxon rulers' reign ended in 1066 with the reign of Harold II.

 
Saxons
Egbert
Ethelwulf
Ethelbald
Ethelbert
Ethelred I
Alfred the Great
Edward the Elder
Athelstan
Edmund I the Elder
Edred
Edwy the Fair
Edgar the Peaceful
Edward the Martyr
Ethelred II
Edmund II
St. Edward the Confessor
Harold II


Viking Rulers

Viking Rulers

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England's line of Viking kings spans a dynasty of three generations. It was founded in 1013 by Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark. He was the son of Harald Bluetooth, who after years of conflict, wrested the throne of England from the ineffectual native Saxon king Ethelred II the Redeless (978-1016).

Sweyn was followed by his son Canute, who was known as the Great. He was the ablest of his line. Sweyn converted to Christianity and married Ethelred II's widow, Emma of Normandy (c. 985 – 6 March 1052), the daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy.

Canute's two sons, the illegitimate Harald Harefoot (1037–1040) and Hardicanute or Harthacnut (1040–1042), his son by his marriage to Emma, reigned after him. Both were antagonistic toward one another.

On the death of Hardicanute in 1042, the old Saxon line of Wessex was restored in the person of Ethelred's son, Edward I, the Confessor (1042–1066).

The Vikings
Sweyn Forkbeard
King Canute
Harold I
Hardicanute


Norman Rulers

The Norman ruler of England began in 1066 when William, Duke of Normandy, invaded and defeated Harald Godwinson. This was the last successful invasion of England, and all English monarchs since have descended from him.

The end of the dynasty is a bit blurred. Matilda was the daughter of Henry I. When his son (William Adelin, Matilda's brother) died in 1120, Henry I put forward Matilda as his heir, but was unsuccessful.

Stephen was his nephew, and as the nearest male heir to Henry I, he was installed on the throne at Henry's death. Matilda and her supporters considered this a usurpation and a long civil war, called The Anarchy, was fought between 1135 and 1153. The Treaty of Westminster ended the fighting, and Matilda's son, Henry FitzEmpress was designated as Stephen's heir.

While technically still a Norman, Henry FitzEmpress founded the Plantagenet dynasty as Henry II.

The Norman rulers of England

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Plantagenet Rulers

The first Plantagenet Rulers of England can be considered to be the Angevin kings, though the name was not adopted by the family until Richard of York in the 15th century, but has been retroactively applied.

The last Angevin Ruler, John, lost most of the continental empire that had given the House of Anjou that name. His son, Henry III, is therefore considered here the first Plantagenet rather than an Angevin.

Plantagenet Rulers of England

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Lancastrian Rulers

The House of Lancaster was descended from John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III. Henry IV ousted his cousin Richard II (descended from Edward III's second son) and Richard's son Edmund Mortimer to seize the throne.

The reign of Henry VI was interrupted during the Wars of the Roses.

Lancastrian Rulers of England

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Yorkist Rulers

Vying with the House of Lancaster for the throne during the Wars of the Roses. With the death of Henry VI in 1471, the Yorkists regained the throne in the person of Edward IV.

Yorkist Rulers of England

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Tudor Rulers

The House of Tudor came to the throne of England, Wales and the Lordship of Islands in 1485, and reigned until 1603. The dynasty included some of the most influential and most remembered monarchs in English history. It also included England's first, and second, queens that reigned in their own right.

The Tudors came to the throne following the Plantagenets and were followed by the Stuarts.

Monarchs in the House of Tudor

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Stuart Rulers

The Stuarts came to the throne in England in 1603, at the death of the last Tudor monarch, the childless Elizabeth I. The Stuarts united the crowns of Scotland and England, though the two nations were not formally united until 1707.

They also were twice removed from the throne, Charles I was beheaded in the English Civil War, and James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution.

Stuart Rulers

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Commonwealth Rulers

The Commonwealth of England was a period of Interregnum (1649–1660), where there was no monarch recognized in England. It lasted from the execution of Charles I (Stewart) in 1649 to the restoration of Charles II (Stewart) in 1660.

The head of the Commonwealth of England was called the Lord Protector.

Despite not being a monarch, the rule of the country was passed down from father to son.

Rulers of the Interregnum in England

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Stuart Rulers

The Stuarts came to the throne in England in 1603, at the death of the last Tudor monarch, the childless Elizabeth I. The Stuarts united the crowns of Scotland and England, though the two nations were not formally united until 1707.

They also were twice removed from the throne, Charles I was beheaded in the English Civil War, and James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution.

Stuart Rulers

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Hanoverarian Rulers

The House of Hanover came to the throne in 1714 when Queen Anne died without living children.

Though more distant than some other possible successors, George of Hanover, great grandson of James I and VI (Stuart) was the nearest living non-Catholic candidate. Catholics have been barred from the British throne by the Act of Settlement in 1701.

Hanovarian Rulers of Great Britain

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Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Rulers

The House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha was made the royal house in 1901 when Queen Victoria died and Edward VII (Albert Edward), who used his fathers family name and herediatary house as his own.

 
Edward VII

Edward VII, Queen Victoria's eldest son, was the first Saxe-Coburg-Gotha monarch. He ascended on 22 January 1901. In the beginning of his reign, he reintroduced rituals such as the State Opening of Parliament that his mother had eliminated. In 1904, a remarkable achievement, the Entente Cordiale, allying Britain and France occurred and ended the "Splendid Isolation" of Britain from Continental politics. Due to this, Edward is popularly known as the Peacemaker. His later reign was marked by the constitutional crisis over the People's Budget proposed by Prime Minister H.H. Asquith. The budget introduced by the Commons was vetoed by the Lords in November 1909, causing an election in January 1910. The new Parliament made plans to remove the Lords' veto power, and did with the passage of the Parliament Act of 1911. However, Edward did not live to see this, dying on 6 May 1910 at Buckingham Palace. His funeral on 20 May was attended by nine European monarchs, almost all related to the man known as the "Uncle of Europe".

 
George V

Edward was succeeded by his son George, who become George V. George inherited the political situation his father had left behind. Negotiations over the budget eventually broke down, and he was forced to call an election in December 1910. In 1911, the Parliament Act was passed removing the power of the Lords, with few exceptions, to veto bills. The next crisis concerned Irish Home Rule. Legislation was introduced to grant this, but the Conservatives and the Unionists were staunchly opposed. In July 1914, George held a meeting at Buckingham Palace between the political parties to negotiate over the issue. The negotiations were fruitless, but on 18 September the Home Rule Bill was granted assent. However, it was delayed due to World War I. This was a personal crisis for George, as many of his relatives were German and supported Kaiser Wilhelm II, the symbol of German aggression to the British people and George's first cousin. Thus, on 17 July 1917, George, by Royal Proclamation, changed the Royal House and family to be "Windsor" rather than "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha", due to the Germanic reference. He also asked all members of the Extended Royal Family to relinquish their Germanic titles, which was completed by the Duke of Teck (Marquess of Cambridges), Prince of Battenberg (Marquess of Milford Haven) and Count von Gleichen.


Windsor Rulers

The House of Windsor was created in 1917 when George V relinquished all German titles from the British Royal Family and this included changing the families last name from Wettin and house name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor, after the Monarch's ancestral home, Windsor Castle. The Monarchy came from the German house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This also meant relatives that had German titles were created British Peers and relinquished all their German titles. This included the family of Queen Mary, King George's consort. Her family were descendents of Duke of Teck and now were created Marquess of Cambridge, a title recreated in the name Duke of Cambridge, used by Prince William, the son of the Prince of Wales.

 
George V of the United Kingdom

George V was the first Windsor ruler. George V, the first head of the House was the King during the Great War (World War I) and the Irish Uprising. The second longest reign of the House of Windsor. In 1911 he went to India, making him the first King-Emperor to do so. When the War came, the King stayed at home uplifting the hope and spirits of the soldiers, nurses and families affected. This included around 450 visits to the Troops and 300 to various hospitals. During his reign, the Irish Free State was set up and this turned into the Irish Republic. The top 6 counties stayed a part of the United Kingdom. In 1924 George welcomed the first Labour Government. But in 1929 he asked the Government to form a Coalition which would mix all the parties due to the 1929 Crisis. In 1931 the Statute of Westminster was created making the Crown more important. This was due to no Dominion laws having to be linked to the British Parliament. But they were linked to the Crown. In 1932 he started the annual Christmas Broadcast which is a tradition continued until today. In 1935 he celebrated his Silver Jubilee by touring around Britain. It was a great celebration. The King's health declined rapidly and he died on 20 January 1936.

 
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, post-abdication the Duke of Windsor

George was succeeded by his oldest son Edward who was proclaimed Edward VIII. George believed Edward would destroy the country in 12 months. He was proclaimed King at St James Palace on 21 January 1936. He watched the proclamation with Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who he met through Lady Furness. She had been divorced previously (twice) and Edward wanted to marry her and for her to be Queen-Consort. The news of this story was kept out of the press in the UK, but was a large story in America. Frustration grew between Edward, the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin and the Cabinet and the public started to worried about the Constitution Crisis. But it had hit turmoil. Wallis had left Britain for her friends Villa in Southern France. Edward on the 10th December abdicated leaving his Brother, Prince Albert, Duke of York, King. Edward left for France and had to wait for 6 months to marry due to British divorce law. Edward married Wallis on the 3rd June, 1937 at the Chateâu de Candé. No member of the Royal Family were in attendance. Edward was given the title Duke of Windsor, with Wallis as his Duchess, but not with the HRH status. This angered Edward due to Wallis deserving the style of a royal. Edward was a figure who was said to prefer Hitler and like his views. To keep him away from Europe during the War, he was given an appointment as the Governor of the Bahamas. This was an appointment he thought of as a disrespect to his HRH status. Edward after the war lived abroad and only came to London for special events such as the opening of his mothers, Mary of Teck Memorial. He died in Paris on 28 May 1972.

 
George VI of the United Kingdom

Prince Albert, Duke of York succeeded his brother as British Monarch on the abdication of his brother. He presented the model family during a time of despair. He was a former naval officer, who had a steady, simple life. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923. She was the person that kept him stable and peaceful and helped him when he came to the Throne. During World War II, he did not retreat to Windsor and stayed at Buckingham Palace to be with his people and Government. However, he retreated at night to sleep at Windsor. During the War he showed great resilience and was a sign of greatness for the people. He created a great relationship with his War-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In 1940 he created the George Cross and in 1942 he gave this to the nation of Malta for resisting enemy siege. On 8 May 1945, Victory in Europe was declared and the King, Queen and the 2 Princesses joined by Winston Churchill waved to their people on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. In 1947 India and Pakistan gained independence. This made an allegiance to the Crown was no longer common, but to the Crown as Head of the Commonwealth. This was the beginning of the Commonwealth. The War aged the King greatly and could not recover from a lung operation. He died on 6 February 1952 during his sleep of Lung Cancer. His daughter Princess Elizabeth. Duchess of Edinburgh was proclaimed Queen at age 25.

 
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth was very young when she became Queen. At the time, she was in Kenya on a Commonwealth tour. She last saw her father before she departed. Her husband told her about her father's death and they went back to London suddenly. They had to wait a day due to bad weather. They arrived in London greeted by her Prime Minister Winston Churchill and members of the Government. 16 months later she was coroneted Queen at Westminster Abbey. Her son, Prince Charles (then Duke of Cornwall) was the Heir Apparent at age 3. Elizabeth saw a lot of things change during her reign. She saw the rise of the Commonwealth Nations, which now has 54 nation members. In 1970's the saw many economic problems and the Royal family were also going in the red. The Queen was given a pay rise to £1,000,000. This made the public angry as many could not find jobs or work. In 1977 she celebrated her Silver Jubilee. This milestone was a turnaround from all the turmoil of the early seventies. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first Female Prime Minister and she clashed with The Queen frequently. In 1982 the Falkland Islands were invaded by the Argentine Government. The country reacted to this and won the battle. In 1992, on her 40th Jubilee, 3 of her 4 children separated and part of Windsor Castle burnt down. She opened the palaces to pay for the reconstruction and started to pay income tax. In August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died in a car accident in Paris and she did not react to the public's call. In this time period 1 out of 4 people wanted to abolish the monarchy. In 2002, in a space of 6 weeks the Princess Margaret (The Queen's sister) and the Queen Mother died. The 2 most closest people to her died leaving her lonely. She also celebrated her Golden Jubilee. In 2005, The Prince of Wales remarried. He married the divorced Camilla Parker-Bowles. They married in the Windsor Guildhall, with a service at Windsor Castle later. The wedding was delayed a day due to the death of Pope John Paul II. In 2012, the Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. She is the second monarch to reach this, the first being Queen Victoria. The Queen was the oldest ever Monarch, dying at the age of 96 on September 8, 2022.


Genealogical Tables

House of Tudor

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Additional Information

This page provides additional information on many of the monarchs discussed in this book.

Alfred the Great

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The Alfred Jewel

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In 1693, a remarkable discovery of a Saxon jewel was made near Athelney, now known as the Alfred Jewel and housed in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. As the Jewel contains no fastening, it is not thought to be a brooch or a clasp. It is probable that it formed the crown of a writing instrument.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began to be compiled in around 890 A.D., at the command of King Alfred the Great (871- 899) and consists of a series of annals written in the Old English language.

Alfred ordered that copies be made of the original manuscripts and distributed to monasteries across the length and breadth of England, which were to be regularly updated. One particular version of the chronicle was still being actively updated in 1154 and dates to the end of King Stephen's reign. Nine versions of the chronicle have survived to the present day. Of these seven are written entirely in the Anglo-Saxon language. Another version survives in Old English with a translation of each annal into Latin. The other, known as the Peterborough Chronicle, is recorded in Old English with the exception of the last entry, which is in early Middle English. Six of these copies are kept at the British Library.

The Chronicle is the oldest history of any European country in a vernacular language. Its early entries are essentially an official history of the Wessex dynasty and it is one of the few literary sources we possess for England's history during the period. Reporting on the reign of King Egbert, it states:-

'The moon darkened on Christmas Eve. That year King Ecgbryht overcame the Mercian kingdom, and all that was south of the Humber. He was the eighth king who was ruler of Britain; the first was Aelle, king of Sussex, who had done this much. The second was Ceawlin, king of Wessex, the third was Aethelbryht, king of Kent, the fourth was Raedwald, king of East Anglia; the fifth was Edwin, king of Northumbria; the sixth, Oswald, who ruled after him; the seventh was Oswald's brother Oswiu. The eighth was Ecgbryht, king of Wessex, and this Ecgbryht led troops to Dore against the Northumbrians. They offered him submission, and a treaty; with that they parted'

The chronicle records the Battle of Hastings:

'Then Count William came from Normandy to Pevensey on Michaelmas Eve, and as soon as they were able to move on they built a castle at Hastings. King Harold was informed of this and he assembled a large army and came against him at the hoary apple tree. And William came against him by surprise before his army was drawn up in battle array. But the king nevertheless fought hard against him, with the men who were willing to support him, and there were heavy casualties on both sides. Then King Harold was killed, and Earl Leofwine his brother, and Earl Grythe his brother, and many good men, and the French remained masters of the field...'

The sufferings of the common people during the Civil War of Stephen and Matilda are also vividly described:

'In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a mild good humored man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes. They had done him homage and sworn oaths of fealty to him, but not one of their oaths was kept. They were all forsworn and their oaths broken. For every great man built him castles and held them against the king; they sorely burdened the unhappy people of the country with forced labor on the castles; and when the castles were built they filled them with devils and wicked men. By night and by day they seized those they believed to have any wealth, whether they were men or women; and in order to get their gold or silver, they put them into prison and tortured them with unspeakable tortures, for never were martyrs tortured as they were. They hung them up by the feet and smoked them with foul smoke. They strung them up by the thumbs, or by the head, and hung coats of mail on their feet. They tied knotted cords round their heads and twisted it until it entered the brain. they put them in dungeons wherein were adders and snakes and toads and so destroyed them.

Many thousands they starved to death. I know not how to, nor am I able to tell of, all the atrocities nor all the cruelties which they wrought upon the unhappy people of this country. It lasted throughout the nineteen years that Stephen was king, and always grew worse and worse. Never did a country endure greater misery, and never did the heathen act more vilely than they did. And so it lasted for nineteen long years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds and men said openly that Christ and his saints slept.'


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