Monarchs of Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government. All political power rests with the prime minister (the head of government) and the cabinet, and the monarch must act on their advice. As the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the prime minister, which are performed in a non-partisan manner.

The reigning king or queen is the country’s head of state and Head of the British Armed Forces. Though the ultimate executive authority over the government is still formally by and through the royal prerogative, these powers may only be used according to laws enacted in Parliament and, in practice, within the constraints of convention and precedent. The Government of the United Kingdom is known as His (Her) Majesty’s Government.

No.	Monarch	House/Dynasty	Reign
Kings of Wessex (West Saxons)
1.	Egbert	Saxon	802-839
2.	Aethelwulf (Ethelwulf)	Saxon	839-856/858
3.	Aethelbald (Ethelbald)	Saxon	855/856-860
4.	Aethelberht (Ethelbert)	Saxon	860-865/866
5.	Aethelred I (Ethelred)	Saxon	865/866-871
6.	Alfred the Great	Saxon	871-899
7.	Edward the Elder	Saxon	899-924
Sovereigns of England
8.	Athelstan¹	Saxon	925-939
9.	Edmund I	Saxon	939-946
10.	Eadred (Edred)	Saxon	946-955
11.	Eadwig (Edwy)	Saxon	955-959
12.	Edgar	Saxon	959-975
13.	Edward the Martyr	Saxon	975-978
14.	Ethelred II the Unready (Aethelred)	Saxon	978-1013
15.	Sweyn Forkbeard	Danish	1013-1014
16.	Ethelred II the Unready (restored)	Saxon	1014-1016
17.	Edmund II Ironside	Saxon	1016-1016
18.	Canute	Danish	1016-1035
19.	Harold I Harefoot	Danish	1035-1040
20.	Hardecanute	Danish	1040-1042
21.	Edward the Confessor	Saxon	1042-1066
22.	Harold II	Saxon	1066-1066
23.	William I the Conqueror	Norman	1066-1087
24.	William II	Norman	1087-1100
25.	Henry I	Norman	1100-1135
26.	Stephen	Blois	1135-1154
27.	Henry II	Plantagenet	1154-1189
28.	Richard I	Plantagenet	1189-1199
30.	John	Plantagenet	1199-1216
31.	Henry III	Plantagenet	1216-1272
32.	Edward I	Plantagenet	1272-1307
33.	Edward II	Plantagenet	1307-1327
34.	Edward III	Plantagenet	1327-1377
35.	Richard II	Plantagenet	1377-1399
36.	Henry IV	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1399-1413
37.	Henry V	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1413-1422
38.	Henry VI	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1422-1461
39.	Edward IV	Plantagenet: York	1461-1470
40.	Henry VI (restored)	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1470-1471
41.	Edward IV (restored)	Plantagenet: York	1471-1483
42.	Edward V	Plantagenet: York	1483-1483
43.	Richard III	Plantagenet: York	1483-1485
44.	Henry VII	Tudor	1483-1509
45.	Henry VIII	Tudor	1509-1547
46.	Edward VI	Tudor	1547-1553
47.	Mary I	Tudor	1553-1558
48.	Elizabeth I	Tudor	1558-1603
Sovereigns of Great Britain and the United Kingdom
49.	James I (VI of Scotland)²	Stuart	1603-1625
50.	Charles I	Stuart	1625-1649
	Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector³ (Republican Commonwealth)		1653-1658
	Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector³ (Republican Commonwealth)		1658-1659
51.	Charles II	Stuart	1660-1685
52.	James II	Stuart	1685-1688
53.	William III and Mary II⁴	Orange/Stuart	1689-1702
54.	Anne	Stuart	1702-1714
55.	George I	Hanover	1714-1727
56.	George II	Hanover	1727-1760
57.	George III⁵	Hanover	1760-1820
58.	George IV⁶	Hanover	1820-1830
59.	William IV	Hanover	1830-1837
60.	Victoria	Hanover	1837-1901
61.	Edward VII	Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	1901-1910
62.	George V⁷	Windsor	1910-1936
63.	Edward VIII⁸	Windsor	1936-1936
64.	George VI	Windsor	1936-1952
65.	Elizabeth II	Windsor	1952-2022
66.	Charles III	Windsor	2022-

Notes:

¹Athelstan was king of Wessex and the first king of all England.
²James VI of Scotland became also James I of England in 1603. Upon accession to the English throne, he styled himself “King of Great Britain” and was so proclaimed. Legally, however, he and his successors held separate English and Scottish kingships until the Act of Union of 1707, when the two kingdoms were united as the Kingdom of Great Britain.
³Oliver and Richard Cromwell served as Lords Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the Republican Commonwealth.
⁴William and Mary, as husband and wife, reigned jointly until Mary’s death in 1694. William then reigned alone until his own death in 1702.
⁵The United Kingdom was formed on January 1, 1801, with the union of Great Britain and Ireland. After 1801 George III was styled “King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”.
⁶George IV was regent from February 5, 1811.
⁷In 1917, during World War I, George V changed the name of his house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.
⁸Edward VIII succeeded upon the death of his father, George V, on January 20, 1936, but abdicated on December 11, 1936, before coronation.

Tags: Royalty