List of English monarchs
English monarchs until 1707 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Saxons from about 886, and while he was not the first king to claim to rule all of the English, his rule represents the start of the first unbroken line of kings to rule the whole of England, the House of Wessex.[1]
Monarchy of England | |
---|---|
Details | |
First monarch | Alfred the Great |
Last monarch | Anne |
Formation | late ninth / early tenth centuries |
Abolition | 1 May 1707 (joined by act of union into the Kingdom of Great Britain) |
Residence | Court of St James's |
Arguments are made for a few different kings thought to have controlled enough Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to be deemed the first king of England. For example, Offa of Mercia and Egbert of Wessex are sometimes described as kings of England by popular writers, but it is no longer the majority view of historians that their wide dominions are part of a process leading to a unified England. Historian Simon Keynes states, for example, that "Offa was driven by a lust for power, not a vision of English unity; and what he left was a reputation, not a legacy."[2] This refers to a period in the late 8th century when Offa achieved a dominance over many of the kingdoms of southern England, but this did not survive his death in 796.[3][4] Likewise, in 829 Egbert of Wessex conquered Mercia, but he soon lost control of it.
It was not until the late 9th century that one kingdom, Wessex, had become the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Its king, Alfred the Great, was overlord of western Mercia and used the title King of the Angles and Saxons, but he never ruled eastern and northern England, which was then known as the Danelaw, having earlier been conquered by the Danes from southern Scandinavia. His son Edward the Elder conquered the eastern Danelaw, but Edward's son Æthelstan became the first king to rule the whole of England when he conquered Northumbria in 927, and he is regarded by some modern historians as the first true king of England.[3][4] The title "King of the English" or Rex Anglorum in Latin, was first used to describe Æthelstan in one of his charters in 928. The standard title for monarchs from Æthelstan until John was "King of the English". In 1016 Cnut the Great, a Dane, was the first to call himself "King of England". In the Norman period "King of the English" remained standard, with occasional use of "King of England" or Rex Anglie. From John's reign onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of "King" or "Queen of England".
The Principality of Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and in 1301 King Edward I invested his eldest son, the future King Edward II, as Prince of Wales. Since that time, the eldest sons of all English monarchs, except for King Edward III,[lower-alpha 1] have borne this title.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth I without issue in 1603, her cousin King James VI of Scotland inherited the English crown as James I of England, joining the crowns of England and Scotland in personal union. By royal proclamation, James styled himself "King of Great Britain", but no such kingdom was actually created until 1707, when England and Scotland united during the reign of Queen Anne to form the new Kingdom of Great Britain, with a single British parliament sitting at Westminster. This marked the end of the Kingdom of England as a sovereign state.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfred[5] Alfred the Great (King of Wessex from 871) c. 886 – 26 October 899 (13 years) |
849 Son of Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburh |
Ealhswith of Gainsborough 868 5 children |
26 October 899 Aged about 50 |
Son of Æthelwulf of Wessex Treaty of Wedmore | |
Edward the Elder[6] 26 October 899 – 17 July 924 (24 years, 266 days) |
c. 874 Son of Alfred and Ealhswith |
(1) Ecgwynn c. 893 2 children (2) Ælfflæd c. 900 8 children (3) Eadgifu of Kent c. 919 4 children |
17 July 924 Aged about 50 |
Son of Alfred |
Disputed claimant
There is some evidence that Ælfweard of Wessex may have been king in 924, between his father Edward the Elder and his 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.[7] However, the fact 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.[4]
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ælfweard[8] c. 17 July 924 – 2 August 924[9] (16 days) |
c. 901[10] Son of Edward the Elder and Ælfflæd[10] |
Unmarried? No children |
2 August 924[4] Aged about 23[lower-greek 1] |
Son of Edward the Elder |
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Æthelstan[12] Æthelstan the Glorious 924 King of the Anglo-Saxons (924–927) – King of the English (927–939) 27 October 939 (14–15 years) |
894 Son of Edward the Elder and Ecgwynn |
Unmarried | 27 October 939 Aged about 45 |
Son of Edward the Elder | |
Edmund I[13] Edmund the Magnificent 27 October 939 – 26 May 946 (6 years, 212 days) |
c. 921 Son of Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent |
(1) Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury 2 sons (2) Æthelflæd of Damerham 944 No children |
26 May 946 Pucklechurch Killed in a brawl aged about 25 |
Son of Edward the Elder | |
Eadred[14] 26 May 946 – 23 November 955 (9 years, 182 days) |
c. 923 Son of Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent |
Unmarried | 23 November 955 Frome Aged about 32 |
Son of Edward the Elder | |
Eadwig[15] Eadwig All-Fair 23 November 955 – 1 October 959 (3 years, 313 days) |
c. 940 Son of Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury |
Ælfgifu No verified children |
1 October 959 Aged about 19 |
Son of Edmund I | |
Edgar the Peaceful[16] 1 October 959 – 8 July 975 (15 years, 281 days) |
c. 943 Wessex Son of Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury |
(1) Æthelflæd c. 960 1 son (2) Ælfthryth c. 964 2 sons |
8 July 975 Winchester Aged 31 |
Son of Edmund I | |
Edward the Martyr[17] 8 July 975 – 18 March 978 (2 years, 254 days) |
c. 962 Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Æthelflæd |
Unmarried | 18 March 978 Corfe Castle Murdered aged about 16 |
Son of Edgar the Peaceful | |
(1st reign)[lower-alpha 2] Æthelred the Unready[18][19] 18 March 978 – 1013 (34–35 years) |
c. 966 Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth |
(1) Ælfgifu of York 991 9 children (2) Emma of Normandy 1002 3 children |
23 April 1016 London Aged about 48 |
Son of Edgar the Peaceful |
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.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sweyn[20] Sweyn Forkbeard 25 December 1013 – 3 February 1014 (41 days) |
17 April 963 Denmark Son of Harald Bluetooth and either Tove or Gunhild |
(1) Gunhild of Wenden c. 990 7 children (2) Sigrid the Haughty c. 1000 1 daughter |
3 February 1014 Gainsborough Aged 50 |
Right of conquest (great-grandson of a king of Northumbria) |
Following the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Æthelred the Unready returned from exile and was again proclaimed king on 3 February 1014. His son succeeded him after being chosen king by the citizens of London and a part of the Witan,[21] despite ongoing Danish efforts to wrest the crown from the West Saxons.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(2nd reign) Æthelred the Unready[18][19] 3 February 1014 – 23 April 1016 (2 years, 81 days) |
c. 966 Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth |
(1) Ælfgifu of York 991 9 children (2) Emma of Normandy 1002 3 children |
23 April 1016 London Aged about 48 |
Son of Edgar the Peaceful | |
Edmund Ironside[21][22] 23 April 1016 – 30 November 1016 (222 days) |
c. 990 Son of Æthelred and Ælfgifu of York |
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.[23] Upon Edmund's death just over a month later on 30 November, Cnut ruled the whole kingdom as its sole king for nineteen years.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cnut[24] Cnut the Great 18 October 1016 – 12 November 1035 (19 years, 26 days) |
c. 995 Son of Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhilda of Poland |
(1) Ælfgifu of Northampton 2 sons (2) Emma of Normandy 1017 2 children |
12 November 1035 Shaftesbury Aged about 40 |
Son of Sweyn Treaty of Deerhurst | |
Harold Harefoot[25][26] 12 November 1035 – 17 March 1040[lower-alpha 3] (4 years, 127 days) |
c. 1016 Son of Cnut the Great and Ælfgifu of Northampton |
Ælfgifu? 1 son? |
17 March 1040 Oxford Aged about 24 |
Son of Cnut the Great | |
Harthacnut[27] 17 March 1040 – 8 June 1042 (2 years, 84 days) |
1018 Son of Cnut the Great and Emma of Normandy |
Unmarried | 8 June 1042 Lambeth Aged about 24 |
Son of Cnut the Great |
After Harthacnut, there was a Saxon Restoration between 1042 and 1066.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edward the Confessor[28] 8 June 1042 – 5 January 1066 (23 years, 212 days) |
c. 1003 Islip Son of Æthelred and Emma of Normandy |
Edith of Wessex 23 January 1045 No children |
5 January 1066 Westminster Palace Aged about 63 |
Son of Æthelred |
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harold II[29] Harold Godwinson 6 January 1066 – 14 October 1066 (282 days) |
c. 1022 Son of Godwin of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir |
(1) Edith Swannesha 5 children (2) Ealdgyth c. 1064 2 sons |
14 October 1066 Hastings Died in the Battle of Hastings aged 44 |
Supposedly named heir by Edward the Confessor Brother-in-law of Edward the Confessor Elected by the Witenagemot |
Disputed claimant (House of Wessex)
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.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(Title disputed) Edgar Ætheling[30][31] 15 October 1066 – 17 December 1066[lower-alpha 4] (64 days) |
c. 1051 Son of Edward the Exile and Agatha |
No known marriage | 1125 or 1126 Aged about 75 |
Grandson of Edmund Ironside Elected by the Witenagemot |
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 and William both invaded separately in 1066. Godwinson successfully repelled the invasion by 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.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
William I[32] William the Conqueror[lower-alpha 5] 25 December 1066 – 9 September 1087 (20 years, 259 days) |
c. 1028 Falaise Castle Son of Robert the Magnificent and Herleva |
Matilda of Flanders Normandy 1053 9 children |
9 September 1087 Rouen Aged about 59[lower-greek 2] |
Supposedly named heir in 1052 by Edward the Confessor First cousin once removed of Edward the Confessor Right of conquest | |
William II[33] William Rufus 26 September 1087[lower-roman 1] – 2 August 1100 (12 years, 311 days) |
c. 1056 Normandy Son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders |
Unmarried | 2 August 1100 New Forest Shot with an arrow aged 44 |
Son of William I Granted the Kingdom of England over elder brother Robert Curthose (who remained the Duke of Normandy) | |
Henry I[34] Henry Beauclerc 5 August 1100[lower-roman 2] – 1 December 1135 (35 years, 119 days) |
September 1068 Selby Son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders |
(1) Matilda of Scotland Westminster Abbey 11 November 1100 2 children (2) Adeliza of Louvain Windsor Castle 29 January 1121 No children |
1 December 1135 Saint-Denis-en-Lyons Aged 67[lower-greek 3] |
Son of William I Seizure of the Crown (from Robert Curthose) |
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.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stephen[35][36] Stephen of Blois 22 December 1135[lower-roman 3] – 25 October 1154 (18 years, 308 days) |
c. 1096 Blois Son of Stephen II of Blois and Adela of Normandy |
Matilda of Boulogne Westminster 1125 6 children |
25 October 1154 Dover Castle Aged about 58 |
Grandson of William I Appointment / usurpation |
Disputed claimants
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.[lower-alpha 6]
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death | Claim |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Matilda[36][37] Empress Matilda 7 April 1141 – 1 November 1141 (209 days) |
7 February 1102 Sutton Courtenay Daughter of Henry I and Edith of Scotland |
(1) Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire Mainz 6 January 1114 No children (2) Geoffrey V of Anjou Le Mans Cathedral 22 May 1128 3 sons |
10 September 1167 Rouen Aged 65 |
Daughter of Henry I Seizure of the Crown |
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.[38]