Around forty monarchs have ruled England, and later Britain, since 1066. The list is conventionally organised by royal house, and knowing the houses is enough to place almost any British historical reference.
The houses, in order
Normans (1066-1154)
William I “the Conqueror”, William II, Henry I, Stephen. The Conquest, the Domesday Book, and a disputed succession that produced nineteen years of civil war known as the Anarchy.
Plantagenets (1154-1485)
The longest-running dynasty, and the one that produced most of the famous medieval names: Henry II and the murder of Becket; Richard I “the Lionheart”, who spent almost his entire reign abroad; John, forced to seal Magna Carta in 1215; Edward I, who conquered Wales; Edward III and the Hundred Years’ War; Richard II, deposed; Henry V and Agincourt; and Richard III, killed at Bosworth and found under a Leicester car park in 2012.
The final decades were consumed by the Wars of the Roses between the Plantagenet branches of Lancaster and York.
Tudors (1485-1603)
Henry VII, Henry VIII and his six wives, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. The break with Rome, the Reformation, and the Armada.
Stuarts (1603-1714)
James I — already James VI of Scotland — united the crowns. His son Charles I was executed in 1649 after losing the Civil War, and England was a republic under Oliver Cromwell until 1660. Charles II was restored; James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688; William III and Mary II ruled jointly; and Anne saw the Act of Union with Scotland in 1707.
Hanoverians (1714-1901)
Four Georges, William IV, and Victoria. George I spoke little English and left much of the governing to ministers, which is largely how the office of prime minister came into being. George III lost America and suffered prolonged mental illness. Victoria reigned 63 years over the height of empire.
Windsors (1917-present)
Originally Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, renamed in 1917 during the war with Germany. Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII — who abdicated in 1936 after 326 days to marry Wallis Simpson — George VI, Elizabeth II, and Charles III.
The records
- Longest reign: Elizabeth II, 70 years and 214 days.
- Shortest: Lady Jane Grey, nine days in 1553, executed the following year.
- Youngest: Henry VI, crowned at nine months old.
- Oldest to accede: Charles III, at 73.
Why the numbers seem low
Regnal numbering restarts at 1066, so the Anglo-Saxon kings — including Edward the Elder, Edward the Martyr and Edward the Confessor — are not counted. Scotland numbers separately, which is why Elizabeth II was styled Elizabeth I in Scotland by some, there having been no earlier Scottish Elizabeth.