List of British monarchs

For legendary sovereigns, see List of legendary kings of Britain. For medieval monarchs, see List of English monarchs and List of Scottish monarchs. For the current British king, see Charles III.

There have been 13 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. The first British monarch was Anne and the current monarch is Charles III. Although the informal style of "King of Great Britain" had been in use since the personal union of England and Scotland on 24 March 1603, the official title came into effect legislatively in 1707.

British monarchs

Anne became the first British monarch in 1707.

Edward VIII had the shortest reign at 326 days

Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, the longest of any monarch

Charles III is the current King of the United Kingdom.

On 1 January 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged, creating first the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon the secession of southern Ireland in the 1920s.

Background

Further information: Union of the Crowns

Before 1603, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were independent countries with different monarchs. However, James VI of Scotland inherited the monarchy of England (becoming James VI and I) from his cousin Elizabeth I, meaning that the two independent countries shared a monarch. However, between November 1606 and July 1606 negotiations between the two countries resulted in certain concessions but not a complete unification; the resulting situation became known as the Union of the Crowns.^[1]

In October 1604, James VI and I declared himself to be the 'King of Great Britain' rather than the simultaneous monarch of both.^[1] The style was used on coins, stamps, and elsewhere, however the Parliament of England refused its official use or him legally becoming the King of a single unified country.^[2][3]

Anne ascended the throne on 8 March 1702 upon the death of her brother-in-law William III, becoming Queen of England and Queen of Scotland.^[4][5] In November that year, Anne began negotiations with the Parliament of Scotland about a possible union of the two countries, but by 1704 they had ended without a deal.^[5]

In 1706, a new proposal was debated that involved shared unity rather than Scotland joining England under a new country called 'Great Britain', which was more preferable to Scotland. A final version of the proposal was presented to Anne in July that year. In January and March 1707, the Treaty of Union was passed by the Scottish and English parliaments respectively, with the union beginning from May.^[5]

Despite having eighteen pregnancies, Anne did not produce an heir that survived her or to adulthood.^[6] England had passed the Act of Settlement 1701 which defined Sophia of Hanover and her heirs as the successor to Anne and disqualified Catholics from becoming monarch.^[7] However, Scotland had passed its own law, the Act of Security 1704, which allowed its parliament to choose an heir upon Anne's death.^[8] On Union, Great Britain adopted the English succession and the Act of Security was repealed. When Anne died in 1714, she was succeeded by George I, Sophia of Hanover's eldest son.^[7] However, those who believed Scotland should have chosen the exiled Catholic James Francis Edward Stuart (known as 'The Old Pretender') instead rebelled in the Jacobite rising of 1715, which was quashed by Great Britain.^[8]

Other titles

Between George I and William IV, all monarchs had the additional office of Elector of Hanover (later King of Hanover). Hanover was a separate Kingdom with its own government and army, which the British government were often forced to help defend;^[9] during the 18th century, the French army invaded the territory whenever it declared war with Great Britain. In 1806, George III even declared war on Prussia after King Frederick William III, under heavy pressure from Napoleon, had annexed George III's German possessions.^[10] When Victoria acceded to the throne in 1837, she could not become the Queen of Hanover suo jure as it followed Salic law, meaning that it was no longer held in personal union with the British monarchy. Instead, her uncle Ernest Augustus became King of Hanover.^[11]

As well as being the monarch of Great Britain (1707–1801) or the United Kingdom (1801–), monarchs have held various other titles ex officio. On 1 May 1876, Victoria accepted the title of Empress of India from then-Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.^[12] Monarchs held this title until George VI issued a Royal Proclamation renouncing it on 22 June 1948; this was an independent event from India's secession from the United Kingdom.^[13] Both India and Pakistan are independent republics within the Commonwealth of Nations.^[14] Since 1949, the monarch has instead been the ceremonial Head of the Commonwealth.^[15]

Statistics

The thirteen monarchs consist of ten Kings and three Queens.^[16] Only two monarchs were born outside of the United Kingdom, George I and George II in Hanover, Germany.^[17][18] All but two monarchs died in the United Kingdom; George I died at Schloss Osnabrück [de] on a trip to Hanover whilst he was monarch;^[19] Edward VIII (by then Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor) died in Villa Windsor, Paris, while living in exile in France.^[20] The longest reigning monarch was Elizabeth II who reigned for 70 years and 214 days between 1952 and 2022;^[21] the shortest reigning monarch was Edward VIII, who reigned for 326 days between January and December 1936.^[22]

Edward VIII was the only monarch to not be married at any point during his reign;^[23] George IV lacked a consort as he banned his wife Caroline from attending his coronation and being crowned Queen consort.^[24] Only George I and Charles III have divorced their wives,^[25][26] of which only Charles III remarried, making him the only monarch to have had more than one spouse.^[26] Camilla Parker Bowles is also the first divorcée to be a royal consort,^[27] and Wallis Simpson's status as a twice-divorcée was what caused the constitutional crisis that led to the abdication of Edward VIII.^[28]

List

Old Style and New Style dates are used in line with the calendar of the time. George II acceded to the throne during Old Style dates and died during New Style dates, which is taken to account in the 'Reigned for' column.

British Monarchs since 1 May 1707

Monarch				Life			Reign
Name	Portrait	Arms	Cypher	Birth	Spouse	Death	Reign began	Crowned	Reign ended	Reigned for
House of Stuart[16]
Anne				6 February 1665 St James's Palace[6]	Prince George of Denmark ​ ​ (m. 1863⁠–⁠1708)​ [7]	1 August 1714 Kensington Palace[6]	1 May 1707[29]	—[a]	1 August 1714	7 years, 92 days
House of Hanover[16]
George I George Louis			As Elector of Hanover:	28 May 1660 Hanover[17]	Sophia Dorothea of Celle ​ ​ (m. 1682; div. 1694)​ [25]	11 June 1727 Schloss Osnabrück [de][19]	1 August 1714[30]	20 October 1714[25]	11 June 1727	12 years, 314 days
George II George Augustus				30 October 1683 Herrenhausen Palace[31]	Caroline of Ansbach ​ ​ (m. 1705; died 1737)​ [31]	25 October 1760 Kensington Palace[31]	11 June 1727[16]	11 October 1727[31]	25 October 1760	33 years, 125 days
George III George William Frederick		Until 1801: 1801–1816: From 1816:		4 June 1738[18] Norfolk House	Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ​ ​ (m. 1761; died 1818)​	29 January 1820 Windsor Castle[18]	25 October 1760[16]	22 September 1761	29 January 1820	59 years, 96 days
George IV George Augustus Frederick				12 August 1762 St James's Palace[24]	Caroline of Brunswick ​ ​ (m. 1795; died 1821)​ [24]	26 June 1830[24]Windsor Castle	29 January 1820[24]	19 July 1821[24]	26 June 1830	10 years, 148 days
William IV William Henry				21 August 1765 Buckingham House[32]	Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen ​ ​ (m. 1818⁠–⁠1837)​ [32]	20 June 1837 Windsor Castle[32]	26 June 1830[16]	8 September 1831[32]	20 June 1837	6 years, 359 days
Victoria Alexandrina Victoria				24 May 1819 Kensington Palace[33]	Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (m. 1840; died 1861)[33]	22 January 1901 Osborne House[33]	20 June 1837[34]	28 June 1838[33]	22 January 1901	63 years, 216 days
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha[16]
Edward VII Albert Edward				9 November 1841 Buckingham Palace[35]	Alexandra of Denmark (m. 1863–1910)	6 May 1910 Buckingham Palace[36]	22 January 1901[16]	9 August 1902[35]	6 May 1910	9 years, 104 days
House of Windsor[b]
George V George Frederick Ernest Albert				3 June 1865 Marlborough House	Mary of Teck (m. 1893–1936)[38]	20 January 1936[38] Sandringham House	6 May 1910[16]	22 June 1911[38]	20 January 1936	25 years, 259 days
Edward VIII Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David				23 June 1894[23] White Lodge	Wallis Simpson (m. 1937–1972)[23]	28 May 1972 Villa Windsor[20]	20 January 1936[16]	—[c]	11 December 1936[39][d]	326 days
George VI Albert Frederick Arthur George				14 December 1895 York Cottage	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (m. 1923–1952)[40]	6 February 1952[40] Sandringham House	11 December 1936[16]	12 May 1937[40]	6 February 1952	15 years, 57 days
Elizabeth II Elizabeth Alexandra Mary				21 April 1926[21] 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair	Phillip Mountbatten (m. 1947; died 2021)[21]	8 September 2022 Balmoral Castle[21]	6 February 1952[16]	2 June 1953	8 September 2022	70 years, 214 days
Charles III Charles Phillip Arthur George[41]				14 November 1948 Buckingham Palace[41]	Diana Spencer (m. 1981; div. 1996)[26]	—	8 September 2022[41]	6 May 2023[41]	—	2 years, 353 days
					Camilla Parker Bowles (m. 2005)[41]

Timeline

The timeline of each British monarch's reign:^[16]

See also

• United Kingdom portal
• Royalty portal

• Family tree of the British royal family
• List of monarchs in Britain by length of reign
• Lists of monarchs in the British Isles
• List of British royal consorts
• List of current British princes and princesses

Notes

1. Anne had been crowned on 17 April 1702 as Queen of England and Queen of Scotland
2. George V changed the name of the British royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor on 17 July 1917.^[37] This change was made in response to anti-German sentiment in the British Empire during World War I. Descendants of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II belong to the House of Windsor by Royal Command (9 April 1952 Declaration by Queen Elizabeth II to her Privy Council) although under the usual rules of genealogy they are, by paternal descent, also members of the Glücksburg branch of the House of Oldenburg (the ruling House of Denmark and of the former Kingdom of Greece). Accordingly, King Charles III is the first monarch of the House of Windsor who is a patrilineal descendant of the Glücksburg dynasty, instead of descending from Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in the male line as was the case with the previous monarchs of the House of Windsor.
3. Edward VIII abdicated before his coronation.
4. The instrument of abdication was signed on 10 December, and given legislative form by His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 the following day. The parliament of the Union of South Africa retroactively approved the abdication with effect from 10 December, and the Irish Free State recognised the abdication on 12 December.^[39]