list of English monarchs

{{For|earlier monarchs of Wessex|List of monarchs of Wessex}}

{{Main|House of Wessex}}

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Alfred{{Cite book |last=Pratt |first=David |title=The political thought of King Alfred the Great |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80350-2 |series=Fourth Series |volume=67 |page=106}}; {{Cite web |title=Kings and Queens of England |url=http://www.britroyals.com/rulers.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206070811/http://britroyals.com/rulers.htm |archive-date=6 February 2015 |access-date=4 February 2015 |website=britroyals.com}}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Alfred 'The Great' (r. 871–899) |url=https://www.royal.uk/alfred-great-r-871-899 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001031708/https://www.royal.uk/alfred-great-r-871-899 |archive-date=1 October 2017 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
Alfred the Great
{{Small|(King of Wessex from 871)}}
{{Circa|886}}
–
26 October 899
(13 years)

| 100px

| 849

| Ealhswith of Gainsborough
868
5 children

| 26 October 899
Aged about 50

| Son of Æthelwulf of Wessex

|-

| Edward the Elder{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Edward 'The Elder' (r. 899–924) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-elder-r-899-924 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015916/https://www.royal.uk/edward-elder-r-899-924 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
26 October 899
–
17 July 924
({{Age in years and days|26 October 899|17 July 924|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| {{Circa|874}}

| {{Gray|(1)}} Ecgwynn
{{Circa|893}}
2 children

| 17 July 924
Aged about 50

| Son of Alfred

|}

There is some evidence that Ælfweard of Wessex may have been king in 924, between his father Edward the Elder and his half-brother Æthelstan, although he was not crowned. A 12th-century list of kings gives him a reign length of four weeks, though one manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says he died only 16 days after his father.{{Cite book |last=Yorke |first=Barbara |title=Bishop Æthelwold: His Career and Influence |date=1988 |publisher=Woodbridge |page=71 |author-link=Barbara Yorke}} However, the claim that he ruled is not accepted by all historians. Also, it is unclear whether—if Ælfweard was declared king—it was over the whole kingdom or of Wessex only. One interpretation of the ambiguous evidence is that when Edward died, Ælfweard was declared king in Wessex and Æthelstan in Mercia.

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Ælfweard{{Cite book |last=Yorke |first=Barbara |title=Bishop Æthelwold: His Career and Influence |date=1988 |publisher=Woodbridge |page=71; f. 9v |author-link=Barbara Yorke}} cited by Yorke.; {{PASE|67734|Ælfweard 4|cw=1}}
{{Circa|17 July 924}}
–
2 August 924{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Sean |title=The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England |date=2001 |editor-last=Lapidge |editor-first=Michael |page=16 |chapter=Æthelstan}}
({{Age in years and days|17 July 924|2 August 924}})

| 100px

| {{Circa|901}}{{Cite book |last=Keynes |first=Simon |title=Edward, King of the Anglo-Saxons |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Higham |editor-first=N. J. |pages=50–51 |chapter=Edward the Elder |author-link=Simon Keynes |editor-last2=Hill |editor-first2=D. H.}}

{{Main|House of Knýtlinga}}

England came under the control of Sweyn Forkbeard, a Danish king, after an invasion in 1013, during which Æthelred abandoned the throne and went into exile in Normandy.

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Sweyn{{Cite web |title=Sweyn (Forkbeard) |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/swen.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016193752/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/swen.php |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=27 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}
Sweyn Forkbeard
Autumn/winter 1013
–
3 February 1014

| File:Sweyn Forkbeard.jpg

| 17 April 963
Denmark

| {{Gray|(1)}} Gunhild of Wenden
{{Circa|990}}
7 children

| 3 February 1014
Gainsborough
Aged 50

| Right of conquest
{{Small|(great-grandson of a king of Northumbria)}}

|}

Following the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Æthelred the Unready returned from exile and was again proclaimed king. His son succeeded him after being chosen king by the citizens of London and a part of the Witan, despite ongoing Danish efforts to wrest the crown from the West Saxons.

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| (2nd reign)
Æthelred the Unready{{R|ArchontologyEthelredUnready}}{{R|royal.gov.uk}}
early 1014
–
23 April 1016

| File:EthelUn.jpg

| {{Circa|966}}

| {{Gray|(1)}} Ælfgifu of York
991
9 children

| 23 April 1016
London
Aged about 50

| Son of Edgar the Peaceful

|-

| Edmund Ironside{{Cite web |title=Eadmund (Edmund the Ironside) |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/edmund2.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317142153/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/edmund2.php |archive-date=17 March 2007 |access-date=17 March 2007 |website=archontology.org}}{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Edmund II 'Ironside' (r. Apr – Nov 1016) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edmund-ii-ironside-r-apr-nov-1016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015422/https://www.royal.uk/edmund-ii-ironside-r-apr-nov-1016 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
after 23 April 1016
–
30 November 1016

| File:Edmund Ironside - MS Royal 14 B VI.jpg

| {{Circa|990}}

| Edith of East Anglia
2 children

| 30 November 1016
Glastonbury
Aged 26

| Son of Æthelred

|}

Following the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016, King Edmund signed a treaty with Cnut (Canute) under which all of England except for Wessex would be controlled by Cnut.{{Cite web |title=Edmund II (king of England) |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/179341/Edmund-II |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122075300/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/179341/Edmund-II |archive-date=22 November 2010 |access-date=25 March 2010 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica }} Upon Edmund's death just over a month later on 30 November, Cnut ruled the whole kingdom as its sole king for nineteen years.

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

| Cnut{{Cite web |title=Cnut (Canute) |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/canut.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315160734/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/canut.php |archive-date=15 March 2007 |access-date=21 March 2007 |website=archontology.org}}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Canute 'The Great' (r. 1016–1035) |url=https://www.royal.uk/canute-great-r-1016-1035 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020144/https://www.royal.uk/canute-great-r-1016-1035 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
Cnut the Great
after 23 Apr 1016
–
12 November 1035

| 100px

| {{Circa|995}}

| {{Gray|(1)}} Ælfgifu of Northampton
2 sons

| 12 November 1035
Shaftesbury
Aged about 40

| Son of Sweyn

|-

| Harold Harefoot{{Cite ODNB | id=12359 | title= Harold I }}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Harold Harefoot (r. 1035–1040) |url=https://www.royal.uk/harold-harefoot-r-1035-1040 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015959/https://www.royal.uk/harold-harefoot-r-1035-1040 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}{{R|ArchontologyHaroldHarefoot}}
after 12 November 1035
–
17 March 1040{{Efn|Harold was only recognised as Regent until 1037, when he was recognised as king.{{Cite web |title=Harold (Harefoot) |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/harold1.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016193734/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/harold1.php |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=27 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}}}

| 100px

| {{Circa|1016}}

| {{Em|Ælfgifu?
1 son?}}

| 17 March 1040
Oxford
Aged about 24

| Son of Cnut the Great

|-

| Harthacnut{{Cite ODNB|id=12252 |title=Harthacnut}}; {{Cite web |title=Harthacnut |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/harthacnut.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016193744/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/harthacnut.php |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=28 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Hardicanute (r. 1035–1042) |url=https://www.royal.uk/hardicanute-r-1035-1042 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020022/https://www.royal.uk/hardicanute-r-1035-1042 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
after 17 March 1040
–
8 June 1042

| 100px

| 1018

| Unmarried

| 8 June 1042
Lambeth
Aged about 24

| Son of Cnut the Great

|}

After Harthacnut, there was a Saxon Restoration between 1042 and 1066.

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Edward the Confessor{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Edward III 'The Confessor' (r. 1042–1066) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-iii-confessor-r-1042-1066 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015707/https://www.royal.uk/edward-iii-confessor-r-1042-1066 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
8 June 1042
–
5 January 1066
({{Age in years and days|8 June 1042|5 January 1066|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| {{Circa|1003}}
Islip

| Edith of Wessex
23 January 1045
No children

| 5 January 1066
Westminster Palace
Aged about 63

| Son of Æthelred

|}

{{Main|House of Godwin}}

{{Nobility table header|extra column= Claim}}

|-

| Harold II{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Harold II (r. Jan – Oct 1066) |url=https://www.royal.uk/harold-ii-r-jan-oct-1066 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015630/https://www.royal.uk/harold-ii-r-jan-oct-1066 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
Harold Godwinson
6 January 1066
–
14 October 1066
({{Age in years and days|6 January 1066|14 October 1066|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| {{Circa|1022}}

| {{Gray|(1)}} Edith Swannesha
5 children

| 14 October 1066
Hastings
Died in the Battle of Hastings aged 44

| Named heir by Edward the Confessor

|}

After King Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings, the Witan elected Edgar Ætheling as king, but by then the Normans controlled the country and Edgar never ruled. He submitted to King William the Conqueror.

{{Nobility table header|extra column= Claim}}

|-

| (Title disputed)
Edgar Ætheling{{R|group=|ArchontologyEdgarAtheling|page1=|q1=||}}{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Edgar Atheling (r. Oct – Dec 1066) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edgar-atheling-r-oct-dec-1066 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020244/https://www.royal.uk/edgar-atheling-r-oct-dec-1066 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
15 October 1066
–
17 December 1066{{Efn|After reigning for approximately 9 weeks, Edgar Atheling submitted to William the Conqueror, who had gained control of the area to the south and immediate west of London.{{Cite web |title=Eadgar (the Ætheling) |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/edgar2.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016193659/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/anglosaxon/edgar2.php |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=26 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}}}
({{Age in years and days|15 October 1066|17 December 1066|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| {{Circa|1051}}

| No known marriage

| 1125 or 1126
Aged about 75

| Grandson of Edmund Ironside

|}

{{Main|House of Normandy}}

In 1066, several rival claimants to the English throne emerged. Among them were Harold Godwinson (recognised as king by the Witenagemot after the death of Edward the Confessor), Harald Hardrada (King of Norway who claimed to be the rightful heir of Harthacnut) and Duke William II of Normandy (vassal to the King of France, and first cousin once-removed of Edward the Confessor). Harald Hardrada and William both invaded separately in 1066. Godwinson successfully repelled the invasion by Harald Hardrada, but ultimately lost the throne of England in the Norman conquest of England.

After the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, William the Conqueror made permanent the recent removal of the capital from Winchester to London. Following the death of Harold Godwinson at Hastings, the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot elected as king Edgar Ætheling, the son of Edward the Exile and grandson of Edmund Ironside. The young monarch was unable to resist the invaders and was never crowned. William was crowned King William I of England on Christmas Day 1066, in Westminster Abbey, and is today known as William the Conqueror, William the Bastard or William I.

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| William I{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=William I 'The Conqueror' (r. 1066–1087) |url=https://www.royal.uk/william-i-conqueror-r-1066-1087 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015730/https://www.royal.uk/william-i-conqueror-r-1066-1087 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=34}}.
William the Conqueror{{Efn|Sometimes William the Bastard}}
25 December 1066
–
9 September 1087
({{Age in years and days|25 December 1066|9 September 1087|duration=yes}})

| File:William the Conqueror in the Brief Abridgement of the Chronicles of England.jpg

| {{Circa|1028}}
Falaise Castle

| Matilda of Flanders
Normandy
1053
9 children

| 9 September 1087
Rouen
Aged about 59{{Efn-lg|William I was buried at the Abbey of Saint-Étienne ({{Langx|fr|Abbaye aux Hommes}}) in France.}}

| Supposedly named heir in 1052 by Edward the Confessor

|-

| William II{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=William II (Known as William Rufus) (r. 1087–1100) |url=https://www.royal.uk/william-ii-known-william-rufus-r-1087-1100 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020304/https://www.royal.uk/william-ii-known-william-rufus-r-1087-1100 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=35}}.
William Rufus
26 September 1087{{Efn-lr|William II was crowned on 26 September 1087.}}
–
2 August 1100
({{Age in years and days|26 September 1087|2 August 1100|duration=yes}})

| File:William II of England.jpg

| {{Circa|1056}}
Normandy

| Unmarried

| 2 August 1100
New Forest
Shot with an arrow aged 44

| Son of William I

|-

| Henry I{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Henry I 'Beauclerc' (r. 1100–1135) |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-i-beauclerc-r-1100-1135 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015856/https://www.royal.uk/henry-i-beauclerc-r-1100-1135 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=35}}.
Henry Beauclerc
5 August 1100{{Efn-lr|Henry I was crowned on 5 August 1100.}}
–
1 December 1135
({{Age in years and days|5 August 1100|1 December 1135|duration=yes}})

| File:Henry1.jpg

| September 1068
Selby

| {{Gray|(1)}} Matilda of Scotland
Westminster Abbey
11 November 1100
2 children

| 1 December 1135
Saint-Denis-en-Lyons
Aged 67{{Efn-lg|Henry I was buried at Reading Abbey.}}

| Son of William I

|}

{{Main|House of Blois}}

Henry I left no legitimate male heirs, his son William Adelin having died in the White Ship disaster of 1120. This ended the direct Norman line of kings in England. Henry named his eldest daughter, Matilda (Countess of Anjou by her second marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, as well as widow of her first husband, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor), as his heir. Before naming Matilda as heir, he had been in negotiations to name his nephew Stephen of Blois as his heir. When Henry died, Stephen travelled to England, and in a coup d'etat had himself crowned instead of Matilda. The period which followed is known as The Anarchy, as parties supporting each side fought in open warfare both in Britain and on the continent for the better part of two decades.

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Stephen{{Sfn|Fryde|1996|page=35}}{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Stephen and Matilda (r. 1135–1154) |url=https://www.royal.uk/stephen-and-matilda-r-1135-1154 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015616/https://www.royal.uk/stephen-and-matilda-r-1135-1154 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
Stephen of Blois
22 December 1135{{Efn-lr|Stephen was crowned on 22 December 1135.}}
–
25 October 1154
({{Age in years and days|22 December 1135|25 October 1154|duration=yes}})

| File:Stepan Blois.jpg

| {{Circa|1096}}
Blois

| Matilda of Boulogne
Westminster
1125
6 children

| 25 October 1154
Dover Castle
Aged about 58

| Grandson of William I

|}

Matilda was declared heir presumptive by her father, Henry I, after the death of her brother on the White Ship, and acknowledged as such by the barons. Upon Henry I's death, the throne was seized by Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois. During the ensuing Anarchy, Matilda controlled England for a few months in 1141. She was the first woman to do so, but was never crowned and is rarely listed as a monarch of England.{{Efn|Matilda is not listed as a monarch of England in many genealogies within texts, including {{Cite book |last=Carpenter |first=David |title=A Struggle for Mastery |date=2003 |page=533}}; {{Cite book |last=Warren |first=W.L. |url=https://archive.org/details/henryii00warr |title=Henry II |date=1973 |publisher=Berkeley |isbn=9780520022829 |page=[https://archive.org/details/henryii00warr/page/176 176] |url-access=registration}}; and {{Cite book |last=Gillingham |first=John |title=The Angevin Empire |date=1984 |page=x}}.}}

{{Nobility table header|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Matilda{{R|Stephen and Matilda}}{{Cite web |title=Matilda (the Empress) |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_england/matilda.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016193944/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_england/matilda.php |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=27 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}
Empress Matilda
7 April 1141
–
1 November 1141
({{Age in years and days|7 April 1141|1 November 1141|duration=yes}})

| File:Empress Mathilda.png

| 7 February 1102
Sutton Courtenay Manor House

| {{Gray|(1)}} Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire
Mainz
6 January 1114
No children

| 10 September 1167
Rouen
Aged 65

| Daughter of Henry I

|}

Count Eustace IV of Boulogne (c. 1130 – 17 August 1153) was appointed co-king of England by his father, King Stephen, on 6 April 1152, in order to guarantee his succession to the throne (as was the custom in France, but not in England). The Pope and the Church would not agree to this, and Eustace was not crowned. Eustace died the next year aged 23, during his father's lifetime, and so never became king in his own right.{{Cite book |last=Ashley |first=Mike |title=The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens |date=1999 |publisher=Robinson Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-84119-096-9 |location=London |page=516}}

{{Main|House of Plantagenet}}

The House of Plantagenet takes its name from Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, husband of Empress Matilda and father of Henry II. The name Plantagenet itself was unknown as a family name per se until Richard of York adopted it as his family name in the 15th century. It has since been retroactively applied to English monarchs from Henry II onward. It is common among modern historians to refer to Henry II and his sons as the "Angevins" due to their vast continental empire, and most of the Angevin kings before John spent more time in their continental possessions than in England.

{{Main|Angevin Empire|Angevin kings of England}}

King Stephen came to an agreement with Matilda in November 1153 with the signing of the Treaty of Wallingford, in which Stephen recognised Henry, son of Matilda and her second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, as the designated heir. The royal house descended from Matilda and Geoffrey is widely known by two names, the House of Anjou (after Geoffrey's title as Count of Anjou) or the House of Plantagenet, after his sobriquet. Some historians prefer to group the subsequent kings into two groups, before and after the loss of the bulk of their French possessions, although they are not different royal houses.

The Angevins (from the French term meaning "from Anjou") ruled over the Angevin Empire during the 12th and 13th centuries, an area stretching from the Pyrenees to Ireland. They did not regard England as their primary home until most of their continental domains were lost by King John. The direct, eldest male line from Henry II includes monarchs commonly grouped together as the House of Plantagenet, which was the name given to the dynasty after the loss of most of their continental possessions, while cadet branches of this line became known as the House of Lancaster and the House of York during the Wars of the Roses.

The Angevins 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. Dieu et mon droit was first used as a battle cry by Richard I in 1198 at the Battle of Gisors, when he defeated the forces of Philip II of France.{{Cite book |last=Norris |first=Herbert |title=Medieval Costume and Fashion |date=1999 |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |isbn=978-0-486-40486-8 |edition=illustrated, reprint |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xiqahsJPHSgC&pg=PA312 312]}} It has generally been used as the motto of English monarchs since being adopted by Edward III.{{Cite book |last=Pine |first=Leslie Gilbert |title=A Dictionary of mottoes |date=1983 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7100-9339-4 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dHE9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]}}

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Henry II{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Henry II 'Curtmantle' (r. 1154–1189) |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-ii-curtmantle-r-1154-1189 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102013038/https://www.royal.uk/henry-ii-curtmantle-r-1154-1189 |archive-date=2 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=36}}.
Henry Curtmantle
19 December 1154{{Efn-lr|Henry II was crowned on 19 December 1154 with his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine.}}
–
6 July 1189
({{Age in years and days|19 December 1154|6 July 1189|duration=yes}})

| File:Henry II Illumination.jpg

| File:Royal Arms of England (1154-1189).svg

| 5 March 1133
Le Mans

| Eleanor of Aquitaine
Bordeaux Cathedral
18 May 1152
8 children

| 6 July 1189
Chinon
Aged 56{{Efn-lg|Henry II was buried at Fontevraud Abbey.}}

| Grandson of Henry I

|-,

| colspan=99 | Henry II named his son, Henry the Young King (1155–1183), as co-ruler with him but this was a Norman custom of designating an heir, and the younger Henry did not outlive his father and rule in his own right, so he is not counted as a monarch on lists of kings.

|-

| Richard I{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Richard I Coeur de Lion ('The Lionheart') (r.1189–1199) |url=https://www.royal.uk/richard-i-coeur-de-lion-lionheart-r1189-1199 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020118/https://www.royal.uk/richard-i-coeur-de-lion-lionheart-r1189-1199 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=36}}.
Richard the Lionheart
3 September 1189{{Efn-lr|Richard I was crowned on 3 September 1189.}}
–
6 April 1199
({{Age in years and days|3 September 1189|6 April 1199|duration=yes}})

| File:Richard I of England in the Brief Abridgement of the Chronicles of England.jpg

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| 8 September 1157
Beaumont Palace

| Berengaria of Navarre
Limassol
12 May 1191
No children

| 6 April 1199
Châlus
Shot by a quarrel aged 41{{Efn-lg|Richard I was buried at Rouen Cathedral. His body currently lies at Fontevraud Abbey.}}

| Son of Henry II

|-

| John{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=John Lackland (r. 1199–1216) |url=https://www.royal.uk/john-lackland-r-1199-1216 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015904/https://www.royal.uk/john-lackland-r-1199-1216 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=37}}.
John Lackland
27 May 1199{{Efn-lr|John was crowned on 27 May 1199.}}
–
19 October 1216
({{Age in years and days|27 May 1199|19 October 1216|duration=yes}})

| File:John of England (John Lackland).jpg

| 24 December 1166
Beaumont Palace

| {{Gray|(1)}} Isabel of Gloucester
Marlborough Castle
29 August 1189
No children

| 19 October 1216
Newark-on-Trent
Aged 49{{Efn-lg|John was buried at Worcester Cathedral.}}

| Son of Henry II

|}

The future Louis VIII of France briefly won two-thirds of England over to his side from May 1216 to September 1217 at the conclusion of the First Barons' War against King John. The then-Prince Louis landed on the Isle of Thanet, off the north Kent coast, on 21 May 1216, and marched more or less unopposed to London, where the streets were lined with cheering crowds. At a grand ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral, on 2 June 1216, in the presence of numerous English clergy and nobles, the Mayor of London and Alexander II of Scotland, Prince Louis was proclaimed King Louis of England (though not crowned). In less than a month, "King Louis" controlled more than half of the country and enjoyed the support of two-thirds of the barons. However, he suffered military defeat at the hands of the English fleet. By signing the Treaty of Lambeth in September 1217, Louis gained 10,000 marks and agreed he had never been the legitimate king of England.{{Cite web |title=England: Louis of France's Claim to the Throne of England: 1216–1217 |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/uk/england/king_england/01_louis_france.php |access-date=30 May 2012 |publisher=Archontology.org}} "King Louis" remains one of the least known kings to have ruled over a substantial part of England."[https://thecrownchronicles.co.uk/history/the-only-2-louis-in-british-history-uncrowned-king-louis-the-lion-prince-louis-of-cambridge/ The Only Two Louis in British History]". TheCrownChronicles.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2018.

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Louis{{Cite book |last=Hanley |first=Catherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHk8DAAAQBAJ |title=Louis: The French Prince Who Invaded England |date=2016 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-22164-0 |pages=1066, 1208 |language=en}}
Louis the Lion
2 June 1216
–
20 September 1217
(1 year, 111 days)

| 100px

| 75px

| 5 September 1187
Paris

| Blanche of Castile
Port-Mort
23 May 1200
13 children

| 8 November 1226
Montpensier
Aged 39

| Offered by the Barons

|}

It is from the time of Henry III, after the loss of most of the family's continental possessions, that the Plantagenet kings became more English in nature. The Houses of Lancaster and York are cadet branches of the House of Plantagenet.

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Henry III{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Henry III (r. 1216–1272) |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-iii-r-1216-1272 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106174607/https://www.royal.uk/henry-iii-r-1216-1272 |archive-date=6 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=37}}.
Henry of Winchester
28 October 1216{{Efn-lr|Henry III was crowned on 28 October 1216.}}
–
16 November 1272
({{Age in years and days|28 October 1216|16 November 1272|duration=yes}})

| File:HenryIII.jpg

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| 1 October 1207
Winchester Castle

| Eleanor of Provence
Canterbury Cathedral
14 January 1236
5 children

| 16 November 1272
Westminster Palace
Aged 65

| Son of John

|-

| Edward I{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Edward I 'Longshanks' (r. 1272–1307) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-i-longshanks-r-1272-1307 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020307/https://www.royal.uk/edward-i-longshanks-r-1272-1307 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=38}}.
Edward Longshanks
20 November 1272{{Efn-lr|Edward I was crowned on 19 August 1274 with Queen Eleanor.}}
–
7 July 1307
({{Age in years and days|20 November 1272|7 July 1307|duration=yes}})

| File:Edward I - Westminster Abbey Sedilia.jpg

| 17 June 1239
Palace of Westminster

| {{Gray|(1)}} Eleanor of Castile
Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas
18 October 1254
16 children

| 7 July 1307
Burgh by Sands
Aged 68

| Son of Henry III

|-

| Edward II{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Edward II (r. 1307–1327) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-ii-r-1307-1327 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020057/https://www.royal.uk/edward-ii-r-1307-1327 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=39}}.
Edward of Caernarfon
8 July 1307{{Efn-lr|Edward II was crowned on 25 February 1308 with Queen Isabella.}}
–
Abdicated 20 January 1327
({{Age in years and days|8 July 1307|20 January 1327|duration=yes}})

| 75px

| 25 April 1284
Caernarfon Castle

| Isabella of France
Boulogne Cathedral
24 January 1308
4 children

| 21 September 1327
Berkeley Castle
Murdered aged 43{{Efn|The date of Edward II's death is disputed by historian Ian Mortimer, who argues that he may not have been murdered, but held imprisoned in Europe for several more years.{{Cite book |last=Mortimer |first=Ian |title=The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation |date=2008 |publisher=Penguin Random House |isbn=978-0-09-952709-1}}}}

| Son of Edward I

|-

| Edward III{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Edward III (r. 1327–1377) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-iii-r-1327-1377 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020011/https://www.royal.uk/edward-iii-r-1327-1377 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=39}}.
Edward of Windsor
25 January 1327{{Efn-lr|Edward III was crowned on 1 February 1327.}}
–
21 June 1377
({{Age in years and days|25 January 1327|21 June 1377|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| 75px
{{Small|Until 1340,
1360–1369}}

| 13 November 1312
Windsor Castle

| Philippa of Hainault
York Minster
25 January 1328
14 children

| 21 June 1377
Sheen Palace
Aged 64

| Son of Edward II

|-

| Richard II{{Cite web |date=2016-01-12 |title=Richard II (r. 1377–1399) |url=https://www.royal.uk/richard-ii-r-1377-1399 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015943/https://www.royal.uk/richard-ii-r-1377-1399 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=40}}.
Richard of Bordeaux
22 June 1377{{Efn-lr|Richard II was crowned on 16 July 1377.}}
–
29 September 1399
({{Age in years and days|22 June 1377|29 September 1399|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| 75px

| 6 January 1367
Archbishop's Palace of Bordeaux

| {{Gray|(1)}} Anne of Bohemia
14 January 1382
Westminster Abbey
No children

| 14 February 1400
Pontefract Castle
Aged 33

| Grandson of Edward III

|}

{{Main|House of Lancaster}}

This house descended from Edward III's third surviving son, John of Gaunt. Henry IV seized power from Richard II (and also displaced the next in line to the throne, Edmund Mortimer (then aged 7), a descendant of Edward III's second son, Lionel of Antwerp).

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Henry IV{{Cite journal |last=Mortimer |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Mortimer (historian) |date=2007 |title=Henry IV's date of birth and the royal Maundy |journal=Historical Research |volume=80 |issue=210 |pages=567–576 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2281.2006.00403.x |issn=0950-3471}}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Henry IV (r.1399–1413) |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-iv-r1399-1413 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134420/https://www.royal.uk/henry-iv-r1399-1413 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=40}}.
Henry of Bolingbroke
30 September 1399{{Efn-lr|Henry IV was crowned on 13 October 1399.|name=|group=}}
–
20 March 1413
({{Age in years and days|30 September 1399|20 March 1413|duration=yes}})

| File:Illumination of Henry IV (cropped).jpg

| 75px
{{Small|until 1406}}

| {{circa}} April 1367
Bolingbroke Castle

| {{Gray|(1)}} Mary de Bohun
Arundel Castle
27 July 1380
6 children

| 20 March 1413
Westminster Abbey
Aged 45

| Grandson{{\}}heir male of Edward III

|-

| Henry V{{Cite ODNB| last= Allmand| first = Christopher| author-link = Christopher Allmand| title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography| location = Oxford, England, UK | date = September 2010 | chapter = Henry V (1386–1422) | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/12952| title-link = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography}}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Henry V (r. 1413–1422) |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-v-r-1413-1422 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020240/https://www.royal.uk/henry-v-r-1413-1422 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=41}}.
Henry of Monmouth
21 March 1413{{Efn-lr|Henry V was crowned on 9 April 1413.|name=|group=}}
–
31 August 1422
({{Age in years and days|21 March 1413|31 August 1422|duration=yes}})

| File:Henry V Miniature.jpg

| 75px

| 16 September 1386
Monmouth Castle

| Catherine of Valois
Troyes Cathedral
2 June 1420
1 son

| 31 August 1422
Château de Vincennes
Aged 35

| Son of Henry IV

|-

| (1st reign)
Henry VI{{Cite news |last=Berry |first=Ciara |date=2016-01-14 |title=Henry VI (r.1422–1461 and 1470–1471) |work=The Royal Family |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-vi-r1422-1461-and-1470-1471 |url-status=live |access-date=16 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015450/https://www.royal.uk/henry-vi-r1422-1461-and-1470-1471 |archive-date=25 January 2018}}{{Sfn|Fryde|1996|page=41}}
1 September 1422{{Efn-lr|Henry VI was crowned on 6 November 1429.|name=|group=}}
–
4 March 1461
({{Age in years and days|1 September 1422|4 March 1461|duration=yes}})

| File:Henry VI of England, Shrewsbury book.jpg

| 75px

| 6 December 1421
Windsor Castle

| Margaret of Anjou
Titchfield Abbey
22 April 1445
1 son

| 21 May 1471
Tower of London
Allegedly murdered aged 49

| Son of Henry V

|}

{{Main|House of York}}

The House of York claimed the right to the throne through Edward III's second surviving son, Lionel of Antwerp, but it inherited its name from Edward's fourth surviving son, Edmund of Langley, first Duke of York.

The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) saw the throne pass back and forth between the rival houses of Lancaster and York.

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| (1st reign)
Edward IV{{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Edward IV (r. 1461–1470 and 1471–1483) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-iv-r-1461-1470-and-1471-1483 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015445/https://www.royal.uk/edward-iv-r-1461-1470-and-1471-1483 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
4 March 1461{{Efn-lr|Edward IV was crowned on 28 June 1461.}}
–
3 October 1470
({{Age in years and days|4 March 1461|3 October 1470|duration=yes}})

| File:King Edward IV.jpg

| 75px

| 28 April 1442
Rouen Castle

| Elizabeth Woodville
Grafton Regis
1 May 1464
10 children

| 9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
Aged 40

| Great-great-grandson{{\}}heir general of Edward III

|}

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| (2nd reign)
Henry VI{{R|Henry VI}}
3 October 1470
–
11 April 1471
({{Age in years and days|3 October 1470|11 April 1471|duration=yes}})

| File:Henry VI of England, Shrewsbury book.jpg

| 75px

| 6 December 1421
Windsor Castle

| Margaret of Anjou
Titchfield Abbey
22 April 1445
1 son

| 21 May 1471
Tower of London
Allegedly murdered aged 49

| Son of Henry V

|}

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| (2nd reign)
Edward IV{{R|Edward IV}}
11 April 1471
–
9 April 1483
({{Age in years and days|11 April 1471|9 April 1483|duration=yes}})

| File:King Edward IV.jpg

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| 28 April 1442
Rouen Castle

| Elizabeth Woodville
Grafton Regis
1 May 1464
10 children

| 9 April 1483
Westminster Palace
Aged 40

| Great-great-grandson{{\}}heir general of Edward III

|-

| Edward V{{R|ArchontologyEdwardV}}{{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Edward V (Apr–Jun 1483) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-v-apr-jun-1483 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020046/https://www.royal.uk/edward-v-apr-jun-1483 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=41}}.
9 April 1483
–
25 June 1483{{Efn|Edward V was deposed by Richard III, who usurped the throne on the grounds that Edward was illegitimate. He was never crowned.{{Cite web |title=Edward V |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_england/edward5.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016193830/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_england/edward5.php |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}}}
({{Age in years and days|9 April 1483|25 June 1483|duration=yes}})

| File:King-edward-v.jpg

| 2 November 1470
Cheyneygates, Westminster Abbey

| Unmarried

| Disappeared mid-1483
Tower of London
Allegedly murdered aged 12

| Son of Edward IV

|-

| Richard III{{Cite web |title=Richard III |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_england/richard3b.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016194004/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_england/richard3b.php |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Richard III (r. 1483–1485) |url=https://www.royal.uk/richard-iii-r-1483-1485 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020013/https://www.royal.uk/richard-iii-r-1483-1485 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
26 June 1483{{Efn-lr|Richard III was crowned on 6 July 1483 with Queen Anne.}}
–
22 August 1485
({{Age in years and days|26 June 1483|22 August 1485|duration=yes}})

| File:Richard III portrait.jpg

| 2 October 1452
Fotheringhay Castle

| Anne Neville
Westminster Abbey
12 July 1472
1 son

| 22 August 1485
Bosworth Field
Killed in battle aged 32{{Efn-lg|The body of Richard III was exhumed and reburied in Leicester Cathedral in 2015.}}

| Great-great-grandson of Edward III

|}

{{Main|House of Tudor|Tudor period}}

The Tudors descended in the female line from John Beaufort, one of the illegitimate children of John of Gaunt (third surviving son of Edward III), by Gaunt's long-term mistress Katherine Swynford. Those descended from English monarchs only through an illegitimate child 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.Michael K. Jones and Malcolm G. Underwood, The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 19–20. Parliament did the same in an Act in 1397.Chris Skidmore, The Rise of the Tudors: The Family That Changed English History, (St.Martin's Press, 2013), 22. A subsequent proclamation by John of Gaunt's legitimate son, King Henry IV, also recognised the Beauforts' legitimacy, but declared them ineligible ever to inherit the throne.{{Cite DNBSupp |last=Pollard |first=Albert Frederick |wstitle=Beaufort, John (1373?-1410) |volume=1 |pages=158}} Nevertheless, the Beauforts remained closely allied with Gaunt's other descendants, the Royal House of Lancaster.

John Beaufort's granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort was married to Edmund Tudor. Tudor was the son of Welsh courtier Owain Tudur (anglicised to Owen Tudor) and Catherine of Valois, the widow 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.

By the late 15th century, the Tudors were the last hope for the Lancaster supporters. Edmund Tudor's son became king as Henry VII after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, winning the Wars of the Roses. King Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, thereby uniting the Lancastrian and York lineages. (See family tree.)

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Henry VII{{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Henry VII (r. 1485–1509) |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-vii-r-1485-1509 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020233/https://www.royal.uk/henry-vii-r-1485-1509 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
22 August 1485{{Efn-lr|Henry VII was crowned on 30 October 1485.}}
–
21 April 1509
({{Age in years and days|22 August 1485|21 April 1509|duration=yes}})

| File:Enrique VII de Inglaterra, por un artista anónimo.jpg

| rowspan=3 | 75px

| 28 January 1457
Pembroke Castle

| Elizabeth of York
Westminster Abbey
18 January 1486
8 children

| 21 April 1509
Richmond Palace
Aged 52

| Great-great-great-grandson of Edward III

|-

| Henry VIII{{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Henry VIII (r.1509–1547) |url=https://www.royal.uk/henry-viii-r1509-1547 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015507/https://www.royal.uk/henry-viii-r1509-1547 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Harvnb|Fryde|1996|page=42}}.
22 April 1509{{Efn-lr|Henry VIII was crowned on 24 June 1509 with Queen Catherine.}}
–
28 January 1547
({{Age in years and days|22 April 1509|28 January 1547|duration=yes}})

| File:After Hans Holbein the Younger - Portrait of Henry VIII - Google Art Project.jpg

| 28 June 1491
Greenwich Palace

| {{Gray|(1)}} Catherine of Aragon
Church of the Observant Friars, Greenwich
11 June 1509
1 daughter

| 28 January 1547
Whitehall Palace
Aged 55

| Son of Henry VII

|-

| Edward VI{{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Edward VI (r.1547–1553) |url=https://www.royal.uk/edward-vi-r1547-1553 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015802/https://www.royal.uk/edward-vi-r1547-1553 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
28 January 1547{{Efn-lr|Edward VI was crowned on 20 February 1547.}}
–
6 July 1553
({{Age in years and days|28 January 1547|6 July 1553|duration=yes}})

| File:Circle of William Scrots Edward VI of England.jpg

| 12 October 1537
Hampton Court Palace

| Unmarried

| 6 July 1553
Greenwich Palace
Aged 15

| Son of Henry VIII

|}

Edward VI named Lady Jane Grey as his heir in his will, overruling the order of succession laid down by Parliament in the Third Succession Act. Four days after his death on 6 July 1553, Jane was proclaimed queen—the first of three Tudor women to be proclaimed queen regnant. Nine days after the proclamation, on 19 July, the Privy Council switched allegiance and proclaimed Edward VI's Catholic half-sister Mary queen. Jane was later executed for treason.

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Jane{{Cite web |title=Lady Jane Grey: Marriage |url=http://www.britannia.com/history/ladyjane/marriage.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016200449/http://britannia.com/history/ladyjane/marriage.html |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=britannia.com}}; {{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Lady Jane Grey (r. 10–19 July 1553) |url=https://www.royal.uk/lady-jane-grey-r-10-19-july-1553 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020212/https://www.royal.uk/lady-jane-grey-r-10-19-july-1553 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
Lady Jane Grey
10 July 1553
–
19 July 1553
({{Age in years and days|10 July 1553|19 July 1553}})

| 100px

| 75px

| 1536 or 1537
Bradgate Park

| Guildford Dudley
Durham House
21 May 1553
No children

| 12 February 1554
Tower Green
Executed aged about 17

| Great-granddaughter of Henry VII

|}

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Mary I{{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Mary I (r.1553–1558) |url=https://www.royal.uk/mary-i-r1553-1558 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020206/https://www.royal.uk/mary-i-r1553-1558 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
19 July 1553{{Efn-lr|Mary I was crowned on 1 October 1553.}}
–
17 November 1558
({{Age in years and days|19 July 1553|17 November 1558|duration=yes}})

| File:Anthonis Mor 001.jpg

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| 18 February 1516
Greenwich Palace

| Philip II of Spain
Winchester Cathedral
25 July 1554
No children

| 17 November 1558
St James's Palace
Aged 42

| Daughter of Henry VIII

|-

| (Jure uxoris)
Philip
25 July 1554{{Efn|Philip was not meant to be a mere consort; rather, the status of Mary I's husband was envisioned as that of a co-monarch during her reign. {{Crossreference|(See Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain.)}} However the extent of his authority and his status are ambiguous. The Act says that Philip shall have the title of king and "shall aid her Highness{{Spaces}}... in the happy administration of her Grace's realms and dominions", but elsewhere says that Mary shall be the sole Queen.}}
–
17 November 1558
({{Age in years and days|25 July 1554|17 November 1558|duration=yes}})

| File:Portrait of King Philip II of Spain (1527–1598), by Antonis Mor (Bilbao Fine Arts Museum).jpg

| 21 May 1527
Palacio de Pimentel

| Mary I of England
Winchester Cathedral
25 July 1554
No children

| 13 September 1598
El Escorial
Aged 71

| Husband of Mary I

|-

| colspan=99 align=left |

Under the terms of the marriage treaty between Philip I of Naples (later Philip II of Spain from 15 January 1556) and Queen Mary I, Philip was to enjoy Mary's titles and honours for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including Acts of Parliament, were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple. An Act of Parliament gave him the title of king and stated that he "shall aid her Highness ... in the happy administration of her Grace's realms and dominions"{{Cite web |title=Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain (1554) |url=http://rbsche.people.wm.edu/H111_doc_marriageofqueenmary.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720115759/http://rbsche.people.wm.edu/H111_doc_marriageofqueenmary.html |archive-date=20 July 2011 |access-date=14 June 2009 |publisher=Document Discovery Project}} (although elsewhere the Act stated that Mary was to be "sole queen"). Nonetheless, Philip was to co-reign with his wife.{{Cite book |last=Montrose |first=Louis Adrian |title=The subject of Elizabeth: authority, gender, and representation |date=2006 |publisher=University of Chicago Press}}{{Efn|As the new King of England could not read English, it was ordered that a note of all matters of state should be made in Latin or Spanish.{{Cite book |last=Pollard |first=A. F. |title=The History of England{{Snd}}From the Accession of Edward VI to the Death of Elizabeth (1547–1603) |date=2007 |publisher=Read Books}}; {{Cite book |last=Groot |first=Wim de |title=The Seventh Window: The King's Window Donated by Philip II and Mary Tudor to Sint Janskerk in Gouda (1557) |date=2005 |publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren}} Coins were minted showing the heads of both Mary and Philip, and the coat of arms of England was impaled with Philip's to denote their joint reign.{{Cite book |title=British heraldry from its origins to c. 1800 |date=1978 |publisher=British Museum Publications Ltd. |editor-last=Marks |editor-first=Richard |editor-last2=Payne |editor-first2=Ann |editor-last3=British Museum |editor-last4=British Library}}; {{Cite book |title=The Numismatist |date=1971 |publisher=American Numismatic Association}} Acts were passed in England and in Ireland which made it high treason to deny Philip's royal authority {{Crossreference|(see Treason Act 1554)}}.{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=Robert Dudley |title=Ireland in the age of the Tudors: the destruction of Hiberno-Norman civilisation |date=1977 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}}}

|-

| Elizabeth I{{Cite web |date=2016-01-14 |title=Elizabeth I (r.1558–1603) |url=https://www.royal.uk/elizabeth-i-r1558-1603 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015719/https://www.royal.uk/elizabeth-i-r1558-1603 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
17 November 1558{{Efn-lr|Elizabeth I was crowned on 15 January 1559.}}
–
24 March 1603
({{Age in years and days|17 November 1558|24 March 1603|duration=yes}})
{{See also|Elizabethan era}}

| File:Elizabeth I in coronation robes.jpg

| 75px

| 7 September 1533
Greenwich Palace

| Unmarried

| 24 March 1603
Richmond Palace
Aged 69

| Daughter of Henry VIII

|}

{{Main|House of Stuart|Stuart period|Jacobean era|Caroline era}}

Elizabeth's cousin, King James VI of Scotland, succeeded to the English throne as James I in the Union of the Crowns. James was descended from the Tudors through his great-grandmother, Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of Henry VII and wife of James IV of Scotland. In 1604, he adopted the title King of Great Britain. However, the two parliaments remained separate until the Acts of Union 1707.{{Cite wikisource |title=Act of Union 1707}}

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| James I{{Cite web |date=2016-02-26 |title=James I (r. 1603–1625) |url=https://www.royal.uk/james-i-r-1603-1625 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020331/https://www.royal.uk/james-i-r-1603-1625 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
24 March 1603{{Efn-lr|James I was crowned on 25 July 1603 with Queen Anne.}}
–
27 March 1625
({{Age in years and days|24 March 1603|27 March 1625|duration=yes}})

| File:JamesIEngland.jpg

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| 19 June 1566
Edinburgh Castle

| Anne of Denmark
Old Bishop's Palace, Oslo
23 November 1589
7 children

| 27 March 1625
Theobalds House
Aged 58

| Great-great-grandson{{\}}heir general of Henry VII

|-

| Charles I{{Cite web |date=2015-12-30 |title=Charles I (r. 1625–1649) |url=https://www.royal.uk/charles-i-r-1625-1649 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315121306/https://www.royal.uk/charles-i-r-1625-1649 |archive-date=15 March 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
27 March 1625{{Efn-lr|Charles I was crowned on 2 February 1626.}}
–
30 January 1649
({{Age in years and days|27 March 1625|30 January 1649|duration=yes}})

| File:King Charles I after original by van Dyck.jpg

| 19 November 1600
Dunfermline Palace

| Henrietta Maria of France
St Augustine's Abbey
13 June 1625
9 children

| 30 January 1649
Whitehall Palace
Executed aged 48

| Son of James I

|}

{{Main|Commonwealth of England|Interregnum (1649–1660)}}

No monarch reigned after the 1649 execution of Charles I. Between 1649 and 1653, there was no single English head of state, as England was ruled directly by the Rump Parliament with the English Council of State acting as executive power during a period known as the Commonwealth of England.

After a coup d'etat in 1653, Oliver Cromwell forcibly took control of England from Parliament. He dissolved the Rump Parliament at the head of a military force and England entered The Protectorate period, under Cromwell's direct control with the title Lord Protector.

It was within the power of the Lord Protector to choose his heir and Oliver Cromwell chose his eldest son, Richard Cromwell, to succeed him.

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes}}

|-

| Oliver Cromwell
16 December 1653
–
3 September 1658{{Cite web |title=Oliver Cromwell 1599–1658 |url=http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/oliver-cromwell.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210842/http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/oliver-cromwell.htm |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=british-civil-wars.co.uk}}
({{Age in years and days|16 December 1653|3 September 1658|duration=yes}})

| File:Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper.jpg

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| 25 April 1599
Huntingdon

| Elizabeth Bourchier
St Giles{{Cite web |title=History of St Giles' without Cripplegate |url=http://www.stgilescripplegate.org.uk/frhistory.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929223348/http://www.stgilescripplegate.org.uk/frhistory.htm |archive-date=29 September 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=stgilescripplegate.org.uk}}
22 August 1620
9 children

| 3 September 1658
Whitehall
Aged 59

|-

| Richard Cromwell
3 September 1658
–
7 May 1659{{Cite web |title=Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector, 1626–1712 |url=http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/richard-cromwell.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012050727/http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/richard-cromwell.htm |archive-date=12 October 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=british-civil-wars.co.uk}}
({{Age in years and days|3 September 1658|7 May 1659|duration=yes}})

| File:Richard Cromwell (1626-1712), by Gerard Soest.jpg

| 4 October 1626
Huntingdon

{{Main|Restoration (England)}}

The Monarchy was restored under the rule of Charles II.

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Charles II{{Cite web |date=2016-02-03 |title=Charles II (r. 1660–1685) |url=https://www.royal.uk/charles-ii-r-1660-1685-0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015538/https://www.royal.uk/charles-ii-r-1660-1685-0 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Cite web |title=Oliver Cromwell (1649–1658 AD) |url=http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon49.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121152029/http://www.britannia.com//history/monarchs/mon49.html |archive-date=21 November 2008 |access-date=28 November 2008 |website=britannia.com}}
29 May 1660{{Efn-lr|Charles II was crowned on 23 April 1661 but had been recognised by Royalists in 1649.}}
–
6 February 1685
({{Age in years and days|29 May 1660|6 February 1685|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| rowspan=2 | 75px

| 29 May 1630
St James's Palace

| Catherine of Braganza
Royal Garrison Church
21 May 1662
No children

| 6 February 1685
Whitehall Palace
Aged 54

| Son of Charles I

|-

| James II{{Cite web |date=2016-02-26 |title=James II (r.1685–1688) |url=https://www.royal.uk/james-ii-r1685-1688 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134431/https://www.royal.uk/james-ii-r1685-1688 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
6 February 1685{{Efn-lr|James II was crowned on 23 April 1685 with Queen Mary.}}
–
23 December 1688
(Overthrown after {{Age in years and days|6 February 1685|23 December 1688}})

| 100px

| 14 October 1633
St James's Palace

| {{Gray|(1)}} Anne Hyde
Worchester House, The Strand
3 September 1660
8 children

| 16 September 1701
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Aged 67

| Son of Charles I

|}

James II was ousted by Parliament less than four years after ascending to the throne, beginning the century's second interregnum. To settle the question of who should replace the deposed monarch, a Convention Parliament elected James' daughter Mary II and her husband (also his nephew) William III co-regents, in the Glorious Revolution.

{{Nobility table header|arms=yes|extra column=Claim}}

|-

| Mary II{{Cite web |date=2015-12-30 |title=William III (r. 1689–1702) and Mary II (r. 1689–1694) |url=https://www.royal.uk/william-iii-r-1689-1702-and-mary-ii-r-1689-1694 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015656/https://www.royal.uk/william-iii-r-1689-1702-and-mary-ii-r-1689-1694 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}
13 February 1689{{Efn-lr|name=William and Mary|Mary II and William III were crowned on 11 April 1689.}}
–
28 December 1694
({{Age in years and days|13 February 1689|28 December 1694|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| 75px

| 30 April 1662
St James's Palace

| William III of England
St James's Palace
4 November 1677
No children

| 28 December 1694
Kensington Palace
Aged 32

| Daughter of James II

|-

| William III{{R|William and Mary}}{{Cite web |title=William III |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_grbritain/william3.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029230648/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_grbritain/william3.php |archive-date=29 October 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}
William of Orange
13 February 1689{{Efn-lr|name=William and Mary}}
–
8 March 1702
({{Age in years and days|13 February 1689|8 March 1702|duration=yes}})

| 100px

| 75px

| 4 November 1650
The Binnenhof

| Mary II of England
St James's Palace
4 November 1677
No children

| 8 March 1702
Kensington Palace
Aged 51

| Grandson of Charles I

|-

| Anne{{Cite web |date=2015-12-30 |title=Anne (r. 1702–1714) |url=https://www.royal.uk/anne-r-1702-1714 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020033/https://www.royal.uk/anne-r-1702-1714 |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=royal.gov.uk}}; {{Cite web |title=Anne (England) |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_grbritain/anne.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029230627/http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_grbritain/anne.php |archive-date=29 October 2007 |access-date=25 October 2007 |website=archontology.org}}
8 March 1702{{Efn-lr|Anne was crowned on 23 April 1702.}}
–
1 May 1707
({{Age in years and days|8 March 1702|1 May 1707|duration=yes}})
{{Small|(Queen of Great Britain until
1 August 1714)}}
{{Small|({{Age in years and days|8 March 1702|1 August 1714|duration=yes}})}}

| 100px

| 75px

| 6 February 1665
St James's Palace

| George of Denmark
St James's Palace
28 July 1683
3 children

| 1 August 1714
Kensington Palace
Aged 49

| Daughter of James II

|}

While James and his descendants continued to claim the throne, all Catholics (such as James II's son and grandson, James Francis Edward and Charles respectively) were barred from the throne by the Act of Settlement 1701, enacted by Anne, another of James's Protestant daughters.

With the Acts of Union 1707, England as a sovereign state ceased to exist, replaced by the new Kingdom of Great Britain; see List of British monarchs.

The Acts of Union 1707 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 Treaty of Union agreed on 22 July 1706. The acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate sovereign states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into the Kingdom of Great Britain.{{Cite web |title=Welcome |url=http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015044930/http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/ |archive-date=15 October 2008 |access-date=7 October 2008 |website=parliament.uk}}

England, Scotland, and Ireland had shared a monarch for more than a hundred years, since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones from his first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I.

{{Clear}}

{{Main|Style of the British sovereign}}

The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was {{Lang|la|Rex Anglorum}} ("King of the English"). In addition, many of the pre-Norman kings assumed extra titles, as follows:

• Æthelstan: {{Lang|la|Rex totius Britanniae}} ("King of All Britain")
• Edmund the Magnificent: {{Lang|la|Rex Britanniæ}} ("King of Britain") and {{Lang|la|Rex Anglorum cæterarumque gentium gobernator et rector}} ("King of the English and of other peoples governor and director")
• Eadred: {{Lang|la|Regis qui regimina regnorum Angulsaxna, Norþhymbra, Paganorum, Brettonumque}} ("Reigning over the governments of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons, Northumbrians, Pagans, and British")
• Eadwig the Fair: {{Lang|la|Rex nutu Dei Angulsæxna et Northanhumbrorum imperator paganorum gubernator Breotonumque propugnator}} ("King by the will of God, Emperor of the Anglo-Saxons and Northumbrians, governor of the pagans, commander of the British")
• Edgar the Peaceful: {{Lang|la|Totius Albionis finitimorumque regum basileus}} ("King of all Albion and its neighbouring realms")
• Cnut the Great: {{Lang|la|Rex Anglorum totiusque Brittannice orbis gubernator et rector}} ("King of the English and of all the British sphere governor and ruler") and {{Lang|la|Brytannie totius Anglorum monarchus}} ("Monarch of all the English of Britain")

In the Norman period {{Lang|la|Rex Anglorum}} remained standard, with occasional use of {{Lang|la|Rex Angliae}} ("King of England"). The Empress Matilda styled herself {{Lang|la|Domina Anglorum}} ("Lady of the English").

From the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of {{Lang|la|Rex}} or {{Lang|la|Regina Angliae}}.

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 Queen of Great Britain rather than king).{{Efn|After the personal union of the crowns, James was the first to style himself King of Great Britain, but the title was rejected by the English Parliament and had no basis in law. The Parliament of Scotland also opposed it.Croft, p. 67; Wilson, pp. 249–252. {{Crossreference|(See also Union Flag.)}}}}

{{Div col}}

• Alternative successions of the English and British crown
• Bretwalda
• Demise of the Crown
• Heptarchy
• History of the English monarchy
• Succession to the British throne, a historical overview and current rules
• {{sectionlink|Succession to the British throne|Current line of succession}}, a list of people
• List of English royal consorts
• Family tree of English monarchs
• Family tree of British monarchs
• List of office holders of the United Kingdom and predecessor states
• List of British monarchs
• Lists of monarchs in the British Isles
• List of Irish monarchs
• List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death
• List of monarchs of Wessex, AD 519 to 927
• List of rulers of Wales
• List of Scottish monarchs
• Mnemonic verses of monarchs in England
• List of legendary kings of Britain

{{Div col end}}

{{Notelist|30em}}

{{Notelist-lr|30em}}

{{Notelist-lg|30em}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |title=Handbook of British Chronology |publisher=Royal Historical Society |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-56350-5 |editor-last=Fryde |editor-first=Edmund B. |editor-link=Edmund Fryde |edition=3rd}}

{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Michael |title=In Search of the Dark Ages |title-link=In Search of the Dark Ages |publisher=BBC Books |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-563-52276-8 |edition=2005 Paperback |page=106 |quote=Offa maintained his supremacy until his death. And he did so by personal charisma and energy even though he was now about sixty. |author-link=Michael Wood (historian)}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category|Monarchs of England}}

{{Wikijunior|Kings and Queens of England}}

• {{Cite web |title=Archontology – English Kings/Queens from 871 to 1707 |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/uk/england |website=archontology.org}}

{{English, Scottish and British monarchs}}

{{Kingdom of England}}

*

Category:927 establishments

Monarchs

English