The first person to assume the title Rex Anglorum (King of the English) was Offa of Mercia, though his power did not survive him. In the 9th century the kings of Wessex, who conquered Kent and Sussex from Mercia in 825, became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England. The continuous list of English monarchs traditionally begins with Egbert of Wessex in 829. Alfred the Great and his son Edward the Elder used the title "King of the Anglo-Saxons." After Athelstan conquered Northumbia in 927, he adopted the title Rex Anglorum. Starting with Henry II (1154), the title became Rex Angliae (King of England).

The Principality of Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 and, in 1301, Edward I invested his eldest son, Edward II, as Prince of Wales. Since that time, with the exception of Edward III, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Elizabeth I of England in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were united under James I and VI. By royal proclamation James titled himself 'king of Great Britain'. Since the accession of James, as heir to both kingdoms with a dual inheritance via his parents, the title King or Queen of England is incorrect, though it has remained in popular usage to the present day. England underwent legislative union with Scotland in 1707 to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Since 1707, there has been no separate legislature for England, although recent devolution has provided for Scotland. In 1801 the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been under English rule since Henry II, became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland following the Act of Union, which lasted until the secession of Ireland in 1922 and the subsequent renaming of the state to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

House of Mercia

According to some sources the first ruler to assume the title King of the English is said to have been Offa in 774, who had been King of Mercia since 757, but this claim is based on charters apparently forged in the 10th century. However, on some of his coins Offa describes himself as Of Rx A, believed to stand for Offa Rex Anglorum. This probably had a different meaning at the time than it acquired later, i.e. king of the Angles, and not necessarily the Saxons.

|width=auto| Offa
(+OFFA•REX+)
774–796 ||

Offa

|| born circa 747 || Cynethryth
five children || 26 or 29 July 796
aged 58
|}

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.. Retrieved 7 September 2007. He defeated the Mercians in 825 and became Bretwalda in 829, although he later lost control of Mercia. Alfred the Great and his son Edward the Elder used the title "king of the Anglo-Saxons." After Athelstan conquered Northumbria in 927, he adopted the title rex Anglorum (King of the English).

There is some evidence that Ælfweard of Wessex may have been king for four weeks in 924, between his father Edward the Elder and his brother Athelstan, although he was not crowned. However this is not accepted by all historians.

|width=auto| Egbert
(Ecgberht)
829–839 ||

Egbert

|| c.775
son of Ealhmund of Kent || Redburga
three children || 4 February 839
aged about 64
|-
|width=auto| Æthelwulf
(Æþelwulf)
5 February
839–856 ||

Æthelwulf

|| Aachen born 795
son of Egbert and Redburga|| (1) Osburga
six children
(2) Judith of Flanders
1 October 853
no children || 13 January 858
62 or 63
|-
|width=auto| Æthelbald
(Æþelbald)
856–860 || || c.834
son of Æthelwulf and Osburga || Judith of Flanders
no children || 20 December 860

|-
|width=auto| Æthelberht
(Æþelberht)
21 December
860–865 ||

King Æthelberht from All Souls College Chapel

|| c.835
son of Æthelwulf and Osburga || unknown
two children || 865
aged about 30
|-
|width=auto| Æthelred
(Æþelræd)
865–871 ||

Coin of Æthelred

|| c.837
son of Æthelwulf and Osburga || Wulfrida
868
two children || 23 April 871
aged about 34
|-
|width=auto| Alfred the Great
(Ælfræd)
24 April
871–899. Retrieved 15 March 2007. || 100px|Statue of Alfred the Great in Wantage || c.849
Wantage
son of Æthelwulf and Osburga || EalhswithWinchester
868
six children || 26 October 899
aged about 50
|-
| Edward the Elder
(Eadweard)
27 October
899–924. Retrieved 15 March 2007. ||

Edward the Elder

|| c.871–877
son of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith || (1) Ecgwynn
893
three children
(2) Aelffaed
c.902
ten children
(3) Edgiva of Kent
905
four children || 17 July 924
Farndon, Cheshire
aged about 50
|-
| Athelstan the Glorious
(Æþelstan)
3 August
924–939. Retrieved 15 March 2007. ||

King Athelstan from All Souls College Chapel

|| 895
son of Edward the Elder and Ecgwynn || unmarried || 27 October 939
aged about 44
|-
| Edmund the Magnificent
(Eadmund)
28 October
939–946. Retrieved 17 March 2007. ||

Imaginary portrait of Edmund I

|| c.921
son of Edward the Elder and Edgiva of Kent || (1) Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
three children
(2) Æthelflæd of Damerham
944
no children || 26 May 946
Pucklechurch
aged about 25 (murdered)
|-
| Eadred
(Eadred)
27 May
946–955 ||

Imaginary line engraving of Edred made by un unknown engraver after an unknown artist

|| c.923
son of Edward the Elder and Edgiva of Kent. Retrieved 17 March 2007. || unmarried || 23 November 955
Frome
aged about 32
|-
| Eadwig
(Eadwig)
24 November
955–959. Retrieved 17 March 2007. ||

Line engraving of Edwy made by an unknown engraver after an unknown artist

|| c.940
son of Edmund the Magnificent and Ælfgifu || Ælfgifu || 1 October 959
aged about 19
|-
| Edgar the Peaceable
(Eadgar)
2 October
959–975 ||

King Edgar of England

|| c.943
Wessex
son of Edmund the Magnificent and Elgiva. Retrieved 17 March 2007. || (1) Æthelflæd
c.960
1 son
(2) Ælfthryth
c.964
2 sons || 8 July 975
Winchester
aged about 32
|-
| Saint Edward the Martyr
(Eadweard)
9 July
975–978. Retrieved 17 March 2007. ||

St. Edward the Martyr

|| c.962
son of Edgar the Peaceable and Æthelflæd || unmarried || 18 March 978
Corfe Castle
aged about 16 (assassinated)
|-
| Æthelred the Unready
(Æþelræd Unræd)
19 March
978–1013 & 1014 - 1016Æthelred 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. . Retrieved 17 March 2007. ||

Image of Æthelred II with an oversize sword from the illuminated manuscript "The Chronicle of Abingdon"

|| c.968
son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ælfthryth || (1) Ælflaed of Northumbria
four children
(2) Aelgifu
991
six children
(3) Emma of Normandy
1002
three children || 23 April 1016
London
aged about 48
|-
| Edmund Ironside
(Eadmund)
24 April –
30 November 1016. Retrieved 17 March 2007. ||

Edmund Ironside

|| c.993
son of Æthelred the Unready and Ælflæd of Northumbria || Edith of East Anglia
two children. Retrieved 17 March 2007. || 30 November 1016
Glastonbury
aged about 23
|}

House of Denmark

England came under the rule of Danish kings during and following the reign of Æthelred the Unready.

| Sweyn Forkbeard
(Svend Tveskæg)
25 December
1013–1014 ||

Sweyn Forkbeard, from an architectural element in the Swansea Guildhall, Swansea, Wales

|| c.960
Denmark
son of Harald Bluetooth and Gyrid Olafsdottir || (1) Gunhilda of Poland
c.990
seven children
(2) Sigrid the Haughty
c.1000
1 daughter || 3 February 1014
Gainsborough
aged about 54
|-
| Canute
(Knútr)
1 December
1016–1035. Retrieved 21 March 2007. || || c.995
son of Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhilda of Poland || (1) Aelgifu of Northampton
two children
(2) Emma of Normandy
1017 || 12 November 1035
Shaftesbury
aged about 40
|-
| Harold Harefoot
(Harald)
13 November
1035–1040Harold 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
1040–1042 || || 1018
son of Canute and Emma of Normandy || unknown || 8 June 1042
Lambeth
aged about 24
|}

House of Wessex (restored)

After Harthacanute, there was a brief Saxon Restoration between 1042 and 1066. After the Battle of Hastings, a decisive point in British history, William of Normandy became king of England.

| Saint Edward the Confessor
(Eadweard)
9 June
1042–1066 || || c.1003
Islip, Oxfordshire
son of Æthelred 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 Swannesha
six children
(2) Edith of MerciaYork
c.1064
two sons
|| 14 October 1066
Hastings
aged about 46 (died in battle)
|-
| Edgar the Atheling
(Eadgar Æþeling)
15 October–17 December 1066.
Proclaimed, but never crowned.After reigning for approximately 9 weeks, Edgar the Atheling submitted to William the Conqueror, who had gained control of the area to the south and immediate west of London (). || 100px || c.1053
Hungary
son of Edward the Exile and Agatha || unmarried || c.1125
aged about 72
|}

House of Normandy

In 1066, William II, Duke of Normandy (vassal to the King of France and relative of Queen Emma), conquered the Anglo-Saxons, Northumbrians, Danes (cf. Pagans) and Cornish (cf. Britons), all of whom were individually included in the royal styles of the old establishment based at Winchester, but the new establishment had redefined England from London and rule by absentee landlords from Normandy. The Normans and their Angevin descendants added new lands in conjunction to the Kingdom of the English, of a different orientation than those Nordic homelands under English tutelage via Canute the Great. Normandy's traditional anti-French, pre-Rollo biases (see Ragnar Lodbrok) which were based in Scandinavian piracy along the Seine and Loire, amongst elsewhere, were later resurrected and magnified by use of England to conquer France itself. England was previously allied to France, from the time of conversion to Christianity and throughout the Viking attacks on both countries. The Normans, like the Danes themselves already in England, shared ambivalent antipathy and thirst for conquest of Roman Christian nations, beginning with Hygelac, Gudfred and Harald Klak in Frisia, whom all, despite religious differences, shared common ethnic heritage with the English. This was contrasted with the Franks who held most of them in tributary or satellite status more often than not, much like the position of Britain vis a vis Gaul under the Classical Romans, whom they sought to emulate through the annexationist Holy Roman Empire. England's subjection to France by proxy, was in future, paralleled by the election of Eric of Pomerania in Denmark, the Danes becoming officially ruled by proxy from Germany (eventually through Oldenburg), although previous kings had fiefs in Frisia and Wendland.

It was only with the reign of William and his descendents, that monarchs took regnal numbers in the French fashion, though the earlier custom of distinguishing monarchs by nicknames did not die out by consequence.

| William I the Conqueror/the Bastard
(Guillaume le Bâtard)
25 December
1066–1087 ||

William the Conqueror depicted at the Battle of Hastings, on the Bayeux Tapestry

|| c.1028
Falaise Castle
son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and Herleva || Matilda of Flanders
Chapel Notre Dame of the castle in Eu, Normandy
1053
ten children || 9 September 1087
St. Gervais in Rouen
aged about 59. Buried at Saint Etienne Abbey (Abbaye aux Hommes) of Caen
|-
| William II Rufus
(Willelm le Roux)
26 September
1087–1100 ||

William Rufus depicted in the Stowe Manuscript

|| 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
1100–1135 ||

Henry I

|| September 1068
Selby
son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders || (1) Edith of ScotlandWestminster Abbey
11 November 1100
four children
(2) Adeliza of LouvainWindsor Castle
29 January 1121
no children || 1 December 1135
Castle of Lyons-la-Forêt (Saint-Denis-en-Lyons)
aged 67. Buried at Reading Abbey
|-
| Stephen
(Étienne de Blois)
22 December
1135–1154 ||

Stephen

|| c.1096
Blois
son of Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy || Matilda of BoulogneWestminster
1125
five children || 25 October 1154
Dover Castle
aged about 58
|}

---

Disputed claimant

| Matilda
(Mathilde ou
Mahaut l'emperesse)
7 April–1 November 1141Matilda ruled at the same time as Stephen, but her reign was disputed. Title disputed ||

Matilda

|| 7 February 1102
Sutton Courtenay
only legitimate daughter of Henry I and Edith of Scotland || (1) Henry V, Holy Roman EmperorMainz
6 January 1114
no children
(2) Geoffrey V, Count of AnjouLe Mans Cathedral
22 May 1128
three children || 10 September 1167
Notre Dame du Pré in Rouen
aged 65
|}
Empress Matilda was declared heir presumptive by her father, Henry I, and acknowledged as such by the barons. However, upon Henry I's death, the throne was seized by Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois. The Anarchy followed, with Matilda being a de facto ruler for a few months in 1141, but she was never crowned and is rarely listed as monarch of England. It is notable that Stephen, although properly French and from a different dynasty with ties to Champagne, did not form his own royal house of England distinct from the Normans, for he himself was not head of his family's house, nor held those lands in conjunction to England. Stephen and Geoffrey's mutual entrance to English politics at this time is remarkable in that they had no direct ties to England of an ethnic sort, only dynastically through the Normans, who acted as their literal and figurative bridge between England and France, a cultural inheritance the Channel Islands retain today.

House of Plantagenet

Stephen came to an agreement in November 1153, with the signing of the Treaty of Wallingford where Stephen recognised Henry, son of Matilda, as his heir to the throne in lieu of his own son.

Rather than ruling among the Normans, the Plantagenets ruled from Aquitaine and accumulated more territories in France, but likewise 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: the Angevins, the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The transition from a French focus to expansion throughout the British Isles, is noted in the use of Lancastrian and Yorkist to denote the difference and the forward outlook on their frontier with the King of Scots, who claimed Northumbria (see Auld Alliance), as well as names for the rival Plantagenet factions. The Plantagenets destroyed themselves and the Welsh Tudors took advantage of this, but affirmed the Lancastro-Portuguese link (essential to maintaining Aquitaine) with Castile in two Spanish marriages, before resentful, anti-Tudor "treason" by the previously feuding Northumberland-Westmorland faction handed England into the hands of the Francophile Stuarts of Lennox in Scotland, who were originally based at Aubigny-sur-Nère, France. The Scottish dynasty would rely on French support to maintain authoritarian rule over their newfound English subjects whom they were often at war with, before and after taking their Crown, before the Hundred Years' War Yorkist-Burgundian alliance would be revived under William III of Orange, in what was called the Second Hundred Years' War.

The Plantagenets formulated England's royal coat of arms, which usually showed other kingdoms held or claimed by them or their successors, although without representation of Ireland for quite some time.

Angevins

In addition to the kings listed below, Prince Louis of France briefly ruled about half of England from 1216 to 1217 at the conclusion of the First Barons' War against King John. However in signing the Treaty of Lambeth he conceded that he had never been the legitimate king of England.

| Henry II
(Henri Court-mantel)
19 December
1154–1189 ||

Henry II

|| 5 March 1133
Le Mans
son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda || Eleanor of AquitaineBordeaux Cathedral
18 May 1152
eight children || 6 July 1189
Château Chinon
aged 56. Buried at Fontevraud Abbey
|-
|Henry the Young King(Henri le Jeune Roy)
(coregent with his father)
14 June
1170–1183 ||

Henry

|| 28 February 1155
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
|| Marguerite of FranceWinchester Cathedral
27 August 1172
one child
|| 11 June 1183
Martel, Limoges
aged 28. Buried at Rouen Cathedral (Notre-Dame)
|-
| Richard I The Lionheart
(Richard Cœur de Lion)
3 September
1189–1199 ||

Richard the Lionheart, an illustration from a 12th century codex

|| 8 September 1157
Beaumont Palace
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine || Berengaria of NavarreLimassol
12 May 1191
no children || 6 April 1199
Chalus
aged 41. Buried: Heart at Rouen Cathedral. Body at Fontevraud Abbey
|-
| John
(Jean Sans Terre)
27 May
1199–1216 ||

Tomb effigy of John

|| 24 December 1166
Beaumont Palace
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine || (1) Isabel of GloucesterMarlborough Castle
29 August 1189
no children
(2) Isabella of AngoulêmeBordeaux Cathedral
24 August 1200
five children
|| 19 October 1216
Newark Castle
aged 49. Buried at Worcester Cathedral
|-
| Henry III
(Henry of Winchester)
28 October
1216–1272 ||

Henry III

|| 1 October 1207
Winchester Castle
son of John and Isabella of Angoulême || Eleanor of ProvenceCanterbury Cathedral
14 January 1236
nine children || 16 November 1272
Westminster Palace
aged 65
|-
| Edward I
(Edward Longshanks)
20 November
1272–1307 || || 17 June 1239
Westminster Palace
son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence || (1) Eleanor of CastileAbbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas
18 October 1254
17 children
(2) Marguerite of France
10 September 1299
three 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. ||

Modern depiction of Edward II

|| 25 April 1284
Caernarfon Castle
son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile || Isabella of FranceBoulogne Cathedral
25 January 1308
five children || 21 September 1327
Berkeley Castle
aged 43 (murdered)
|-
| Edward III
25 January
1327–1377 ||

Edward III

|| 13 November 1312
Windsor Castle
son of Edward II and Isabella of France || Philippa of HainaultYork 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. ||

Richard II, the sol-called 'Westminster Portrait', painted by an unknown artist working in the International Gothic style, 1390s

|| 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 ValoisCalais
4 November 1396
no children
|| 14 February 1400
Pontefract Castle
aged 33
|}

House of Lancaster

This house descended from Edward III's third surviving son, John of Gaunt.
| Henry IV
(Henry Bolingbroke)
30 September
1399–1413 || 100px|Henry IV || 3 April 1366/7
Bolingbroke Castle
son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster || (1) Mary de BohunArundel Castle
27 July 1380
seven children
(2) Joanna of NavarreWinchester Cathedral
7 February 1403
no children
|| 20 March 1413
Westminster Abbey
aged 45 or 46
|-
| Henry V
20 March
1413–1422 ||

Henry V

|| 9 August 1387 (or 16 September)
Monmouth Castle
son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun || Catherine of ValoisTroyes Cathedral
2 June 1420
one son || 31 August 1422
Château de Vincennes
aged 35
|-
| Henry VI
31 August 1422 – 4 March 1461Edward 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.
||

Henry VI

|| 6 December 1421
Windsor Castle
son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
|| Margaret of AnjouTitchfield Abbey
22 April 1445
1 son
|| 21 May 1471
Tower of London
aged 49 (murdered)
|}

House of York

The House of York was descended from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III.

| Edward IV
4 March 1461 – 2 October 1470Edward was briefly deposed during his reign by Henry VI.
||

Edward IV

|| 28 April 1442
Rouen
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville
|| Elizabeth WoodvilleGrafton Regis
1 May 1464
ten children
|| 9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
aged 40
|}

House of Lancaster (restored)

| Henry VI2 October 1470 – 11 April 1471
||

Henry VI

|| 6 December 1421
Windsor Castle
son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
|| Margaret of AnjouTitchfield Abbey
22 April 1445
1 son
|| 21 May 1471
Tower of London
aged 49 (murdered)
|}

House of York (restored)

| Edward IV
11 April 1471 – 9 April 1483
||

Edward IV

|| 28 April 1442
Rouen
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville
|| Elizabeth WoodvilleGrafton Regis
1 May 1464
ten children
|| 9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
aged 40
|-
| Edward V
9 April – 25 June 1483Edward V was deposed by Richard III, who usurped the throne on the grounds that Edward was illegitimate. ||

Edward V

|| 2 November 1470
Westminster
son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville || unmarried || c. 1483
London
aged about 12 (traditionally murdered)
|-
| Richard III
26 June
1483 – 1485 ||

Richard III

|| 2 October 1452
Fotheringhay Castle
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville || Anne NevilleWestminster Abbey
12 July 1472
1 son || 22 August 1485
Bosworth Field
aged 32 (killed in battle)
|}

House of Tudor

The Tudors descended matrilineally from John Beaufort, one of the illegitimate children of 14th Century English Prince John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (third surviving son of Edward III of England), by Gaunt's long-term mistress Katherine Swynford. The descendants of an illegitimate child of English Royalty would normally have no claim on the throne, but the situation was complicated when Gaunt and Swynford eventually married in 1396 (25 years after John Beaufort's birth). In view of the marriage, the church retroactively declared the Beauforts legitimate via a papal bull the same year (also enshrined in an Act of Parliament in 1397). A subsequent proclamation by John of Gaunt's legitimate son, King Henry IV, also recognized the Beauforts' legitimacy, but declared them ineligible to ever inherit the throne. Nevertheless, the Beauforts remained closely allied with Gaunt's other descendants, the Royal House of Lancaster.

John Beaufort's granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort, a considerable heiress, was married to Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond. Tudor was the son of Welsh courtier Owain Tewdr (anglicised to "Owen Tudor") and Katherine of Valois, widowed Queen Consort of the Lancastrian King Henry V. Edmund Tudor and his siblings were either illegitimate, or the product of a secret marriage, and owed their fortunes to the goodwill of their legitimate half-brother King Henry VI. When the House of Lancaster fell from power, the Tudors followed.

With Henry VIII's break from the Roman Catholic Church, the monarch became the Supreme Head of the Church of England and of the Church of Ireland. Elizabeth I's title became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

| Henry VII
22 August
1485–1509 ||

Henry VII, by Michel Sittow, 1505

|| 28 January 1457
Pembroke Castle
son of Edmund Tudor and Lady Margaret Beaufort || Elizabeth of YorkWestminster Abbey
18 January 1486
eight children || 21 April 1509
Richmond Palace
aged 52
|-
| rowspan="6" | Henry VIII
21 April
1509–1547 || rowspan="6" | 100px|Henry VIII, by Hans Holbein, c.1536 || rowspan="6" | 28 June 1491
Greenwich Palace
son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York || Catherine of AragonGreenwich
11 June 1509
one daughter
| rowspan="6" | 28 January 1547
Whitehall Palace
aged 55
|-
| Anne BoleynWestminster Palace
25 January 1533
one daughter
|-
| Jane Seymour
Whitehall Palace
30 May 1536
one son

|-
| Anne of Cleves
Greenwich Palace
6 January 1540

|-
| Catherine HowardHampton Court Palace
28 July 1540
|-
| Catherine Parr
Hampton Court Palace
12 July 1543
|-
| Edward VI
28 January
1547–1553 ||

Edward VI, by Hans Eworth

|| 12 October 1537
Hampton Court Palace
son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour || unmarried || 6 July 1553
Greenwich Palace
aged 15
|}

---

Disputed claimant

| Jane
(The Nine Days Queen)
10 July–19 July 1553Jane was deposed in favour of Mary Tudor. title disputed || || October 1537
Bradgate Park
daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Lady Frances Brandon || Lord Guildford DudleyThe Strand
21 May 1553
no children || 12 February 1554
Tower of London
aged 16 (beheaded)
|}

Edward VI named Lady Jane Grey as his heir presumptive. Four days after his death, Jane was proclaimed queen. Nine days after the proclamation, Edward VI's Catholic half-sister Mary had managed to find sufficient support to ride into London in a triumphal procession on 19 July. Jane was executed in 1554, aged 16. Few historians consider her to have been a legitimate monarch.

---

| Mary I
(Bloody Mary)
19 July
1553–1558 ||

Mary I, by Antonius Mor, 1554

|| 18 February 1516
Greenwich Palace
daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon || Philip II of SpainWinchester Cathedral
25 July 1554
no children || 17 November 1558
St. James's Palace
aged 42
|-
| Philip
25 July 1554 –
17 November 1558
(in the right of his wife)
status unclear; "de jure" claims were nullified by sister-in-law's defeat of the Spanish Armada ||

King Philip of England

|| 21 May 1527
Valladolid, Spain
son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Isabella of Portugal || (2) Mary I of EnglandWinchester Cathedral
25 July 1554
no children
three other marriages
and seven children|| 13 September 1598
El Escorial, Spain
aged 71
|-
| Elizabeth I
(The Virgin Queen)
17 November
1558–1603 ||

Elizabeth I, by Darnley

|| 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. James was descended from the Tudors through his great-grandmother, Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of Henry VII. In 1604 he adopted the title King of Great Britain, although the two kingdoms remained separate.

| James I
24 March
1603–1625 ||

James I, by Paulus van Somer

|| 19 June 1566
Edinburgh Castle
son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary I of Scotland || Anne of DenmarkOslo
23 November 1589
seven children || 27 March 1625
Theobalds House
aged 58
|-
| Charles I
(Saint Charles the Martyr)
27 March
1625–1649 ||

Charles I, by Anthony van Dyck

|| 19 November 1600
Dunfermline Palace
son of James I and Anne of Denmark || Henrietta Maria of FranceSt Augustine's Abbey
13 June 1625
nine children || 30 January 1649
Whitehall Palace
aged 48 (beheaded)
|}

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
(Old Ironsides)
16 December
1653–1658 ||

Oliver Cromwell

|| 25 April 1599
Huntingdon
son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Stewart || Elizabeth Bourchier
St Giles
22 August 1620
nine children || 3 September 1658
Whitehall
aged 59
|-
| Richard Cromwell
(Tumbledown Dick)
3 September 1658
– 7 May 1659 ||

Richard Cromwell, c.1650

|| 4 October 1626
Huntingdon
son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier || Dorothy Maijor
May 1649
nine 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
1660–1685
Royalists dated his reign from 1649 || || 29 May 1630
St. James's Palace
son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France || Catherine of BraganzaPortsmouth
21 May 1662
three legitimate 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 HydeThe Strand
3 September 1660
eight children
(2) Mary of ModenaDover
21 November 1673
seven children
|| 16 September 1701
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
aged 67
|-
| William III(Willem van Oranje)
13 February
1689–1702 || || 4 November 1650
The Hague
son of William II, Prince of Orange and Mary Stuart || rowspan=2 | St. James's Palace
4 November 1677
three children (none survived infancy) || 8 March 1702
Kensington Palace
aged 51
|-
| Mary II
13 February
1689–1694 || || 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
|}

Timeline of English Monarchs

ImageSize = width:1300 height:auto barincrement:12
PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = justify

DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:825 till:1707
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:900
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:25 start:825

Colors =
id:canvas value:rgb(1,1,1)
id:w value:rgb(0.75,0.25,0.75)
id:d value:yellow
id:n value:green
id:a value:rgb(1,0.5,0.5)
id:l value:red
id:y value:rgb(0.75,0,0)
id:t value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1)
id:s value:orange
id:cw value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8)
id:eon value:Black

Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas

BarData =
barset:Rulers
bar:eon

PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(0,-5)
bar:eon color:eon

from: 829 till: 1013 color: w text:Wessex
from: 1013 till: 1042 color: d text:Den.
from: 1042 till: 1066 color: w text:
from: 1066 till: 1154 color: n text:Normandy
from: 1154 till: 1399 color: a text:Angevin
from: 1399 till: 1461 color: l text:Lanc.
from: 1461 till: 1470 color: y text:
from: 1470 till: 1471 color: l text:
from: 1471 till: 1485 color: y text:York
from: 1485 till: 1603 color: t text:Tudor
from: 1603 till: 1653 color: s text:Stuart
from: 1653 till: 1660 color: cw text:
from: 1660 till: 1707 color: s text:
width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
barset:Rulers

from:829 till: 839 color:w text:"Egbert"
from:839 till: 856 color:w text:"Æthelwulf"
from:856 till: 860 color:w text:"Æthelbald"
from:860 till: 865 color:w text:"Æthelberht"
from:865 till: 871 color:w text:"Æthelred"
from:871 till: 899 color:w text:"Alfred the Great"
from:899 till: 924 color:w text:"Edward the Elder"
from:924 till: 924 color:w text:"Ælfweard"
from:924 till: 939 color:w text:"Athelstan the Glorious"
from:939 till: 946 color:w text:"Edmund the Magnificent"
from:946 till: 955 color:w text:"Eadred"
from:955 till: 959 color:w text:"Eadwig"
from:959 till: 975 color:w text:"Edgar the Peaceable"
from:975 till: 978 color:w text:"Saint Edward the Martyr"
from:978 till: 1016 color:w text:"Æthelred the Unready"
from:1016 till: 1016 color:w text:"Edmund Ironside"

from:1013 till: 1014 color:d text:"Sweyn Forkbeard"
from:1016 till: 1035 color:d text:"Cnut"
from:1035 till: 1040 color:d text:"Harold Harefoot"
from:1040 till: 1042 color:d text:"Harthacnut"

from:1042 till: 1066 color:w text:"Saint Edward the Confessor"
from:1066 till: 1066 color:w text:"Harold Godwinson"
from:1066 till: 1066 color:w text:"Edgar the Ætheling"

from:1066 till: 1087 color:n text:"William the Conqueror"
from:1087 till: 1100 color:n text:"William II"
from:1100 till: 1135 color:n text:"Henry I"
from:1135 till: 1141 color:n text:"Stephen"
from:1141 till: 1154 color:n text:"Mathilda"

from:1154 till: 1189 color:a text:"Henry II"
from:1170 till: 1189 color:a text:"Henry the Young King"
from:1189 till: 1199 color:a text:"Richard I"
from:1199 till: 1216 color:a text:"John"
from:1216 till: 1272 color:a text:"Henry III"
from:1272 till: 1307 color:a text:"Edward I"
from:1307 till: 1327 color:a text:"Edward II"
from:1327 till: 1377 color:a text:"Edward III"
from:1377 till: 1399 color:a text:"Richard II"

from:1399 till: 1413 color:l text:"Henry IV"
from:1413 till: 1422 color:l text:"Henry V"
from:1422 till: 1461 color:l text:"Henry VI"

from:1461 till: 1470 color:y text:"Edward IV"

from:1470 till: 1471 color:l text:"Henry VI"

from:1471 till: 1483 color:y text:"Edward IV"
from:1483 till: 1483 color:y text:"Edward V"
from:1483 till: 1485 color:y text:"Richard III"

from:1485 till: 1509 color:t text:"Henry VII"
from:1509 till: 1547 color:t text:"Henry VIII"
from:1547 till: 1553 color:t text:"Edward VI"
from:1553 till: 1553 color:t text:"Jane"
from:1553 till: 1558 color:t text:"Mary I"
from:1558 till: 1603 color:t text:"Elizabeth I"

from:1603 till: 1625 color:s text:"James I"
from:1625 till: 1653 color:s text:"Charles I"

from:1653 till: 1658 color:cw text:"Oliver Cromwell"
from:1658 till: 1660 color:cw text:"Richard Cromwell"

from:1660 till: 1685 color:s text:"Charles II"
from:1685 till: 1689 color:s text:"James II"
from:1689 till: 1702 color:s text:"William III"
from:1689 till: 1694 color:s text:"Mary II"
from:1702 till: 1707 color:s text:"Anne"

barset:skip

Acts of Union

The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. The Acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into a single United Kingdom of Great Britain.

The two countries had shared a monarch for about 100 years (since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne from his first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I). Although described as a Union of Crowns, until 1707 there were in fact two separate Crowns resting on the same head. There had been three attempts in 1606, 1667, and 1689 to unite the two countries by Acts of Parliament, but it was not until the early eighteenth century that the idea had the will of both political establishments behind them, albeit for rather different reasons.

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 (King of the Anglosaxons) and Rex Anglorum et Saxonum (King of the Angles and Saxons)

• 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).