List of British monarchs
There have been 13 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which occurred on 1 May 1707 upon the commencement of the Acts of Union. The first British monarch was Anne, who reigned between 1707 and 1714; the current monarch is Charles III, who acceded to the throne in September 2022. Although the style of "King of Great Britain" had been in use since the personal union of England and Scotland on 24 March 1603 under James VI and I, the official title came into effect legislatively in 1707 and therefore, apart from Anne, this list of British monarchs does not include the four earlier kings and one queen who ruled as monarchs of England and Scotland at the same time.
On 1 January 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This later became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon the secession of the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) in the 1920s. British monarchs have also held various other titles reflecting their claims outside of the United Kingdom, including King of Hanover, Emperor of India, and Head of the Commonwealth. The title of monarch also comes with various secondary titles for land within the United Kingdom, such as the Duchy of Lancaster.
Background
Before 1603, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were independent states with different monarchs. Upon James VI of Scotland inheriting the monarchy of England from his cousin Elizabeth I, however, the two independent countries began sharing a monarch in a personal union known as the Union of the Crowns. Between November 1606 and July 1607 unification between the two countries was discussed in Parliament. While the English Parliament agreed to certain concessions to the Scots, it refused union. In October 1604, James VI and I declared himself to be the 'King of Great Britain'.[1] The style was used on coins, stamps, and elsewhere, but the Parliament of England did not use it officially, nor did they consider him the King of a single unified country.[2][3]
Anne ascended both thrones 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. In 1706, a new proposal was debated that involved the merger of Scotland and England into a new country called 'Great Britain'. 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] Before union, England had passed the Act of Settlement 1701 which defined Anne's cousin Sophia of Hanover and her heirs as Anne's successor in England and Ireland 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]
Statistics
The thirteen monarchs consist of ten kings and three queens. Only two monarchs were born outside of the United Kingdom; these were George I and George II, who were both born in Germany.[9] All but two monarchs died in the United Kingdom: George I died while he was still King, during a trip to his birth place;[10] Edward VIII (by then Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor) died in Villa Windsor, Paris, while living in exile in France having abdicated over 35 years beforehand.[11] The longest reigning monarch was Elizabeth II, who reigned for 70 years and 214 days between 1952 and 2022;[12] the shortest reigning monarch was Edward VIII, who reigned for 326 days between January and December 1936. Only two of the thirteen monarchs have not been crowned as a monarch of Great Britain or the United Kingdom: Anne was crowned in 1702 before the Treaty of Union;[13] and Edward VIII abdicated before he could be crowned.[14]
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. 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 could only be inherited by men through the male-line. Instead, her uncle Ernest Augustus became King of Hanover.[15]
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.[16] Monarchs held this title until George VI issued a Royal Proclamation renouncing it on 22 June 1948, in line with India's independence from the United Kingdom.[17] Since 1949, the monarch has instead been the ceremonial Head of the Commonwealth.[18] The monarch also holds all titles that have been merged into the Crown, such as Duke of Lancaster, which has been a secondary title of the monarch since 1399,[19] and Duke of Normandy, which has been a secondary title of the monarch since 1106.[20]
List
| Monarch | Life | Reign[a] | House | Ref.[b] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Portrait | Coat of arms | Birth | Spouse | Death | Accession
|
Ended | ||
| Anne | 6 February 1665 | 1 August 1714 | 1 May 1707[21]
—[c] |
1 August 1714 | Stuart | [23] | |||
| George I
George Louis |
28 May 1660
Osnabrück, Hanover |
28 May 1727
Osnabrück, Hanover |
1 August 1714
20 October 1714 |
28 May 1727 | Hanover | [25] | |||
| George II
George Augustus |
30 October 1683
Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover |
25 October 1760 | 28 May 1727
|
25 October 1760 | [26] | ||||
| George III
George William Frederick |
(1801–1816)[d] | 24 May 1738 | 29 January 1820 | 25 October 1760
|
29 January 1820 | [28] | |||
| George IV
George Augustus Frederick |
12 August 1762 | Maria Fitzherbert
(married illegally 1785; died 1837)[e] |
26 June 1830 Windsor Castle |
29 January 1820
|
26 June 1830 | [30] | |||
| William IV
William Henry |
21 August 1765 | 20 June 1837 | 26 June 1830
|
20 June 1837 | [31] | ||||
| Victoria
Alexandrina Victoria |
24 May 1819 | Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(m. 1840; died 1861) |
22 January 1901 | 20 June 1837
|
22 January 1901 | [32] | |||
| Edward VII
Albert Edward |
9 November 1841 | Alexandra of Denmark
(m. 1863–1910) |
6 May 1910 | 22 January 1901
|
6 May 1910 | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha[33] | [34] | ||
| George V
George Frederick Ernest Albert |
3 June 1865 | Mary of Teck
(m. 1893–1936) |
20 January 1936 | 6 May 1910
|
20 January 1936 | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha[33]
|
[36] | ||
| Edward VIII
Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David |
23 June 1894 | Wallis Simpson
(m. 1937–1972) |
28 May 1972 | 20 January 1936
—[g] |
11 December 1936[h] | Windsor[33] | [38] | ||
| George VI
Albert Frederick Arthur George |
14 December 1895 | Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
(m. 1923–1952) |
6 February 1952 | 11 December 1936
|
6 February 1952 | [39] | |||
| Elizabeth II
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary |
21 April 1926
17 Bruton Street, Mayfair |
Philip of Greece and Denmark (m. 1947; died 2021)[12] | 8 September 2022 | 6 February 1952
|
8 September 2022[12] | [40] | |||
| Charles III
Charles Philip Arthur George |
14 November 1948 | Diana Spencer | — | 8 September 2022[41]
|
— | — | |||
| Camilla Parker Bowles | |||||||||
Timeline
The timeline of each British monarch's reign:
See also
- Family tree of the British royal family
- List of British royal consorts
- List of current British princes and princesses
- List of legendary kings of Britain
- List of monarchs in Britain by length of reign
- Lists of monarchs in the British Isles
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ Old Style and New Style dates are used in line with the calendar of the time.
- ^ All information is sourced from the provided pages of Alison Weir's Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy unless other sources are referenced in a cell.
- ^ Anne had been crowned on St George's Day (23 April) 1702 as both Queen of England and Queen of Scotland.[13]
- ^ For his coat of arms before 1801 and after 1816, see the above and below entries in the column
- ^ George's attempted marriage to Maria Fitzherbert was not a legal marriage under the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Royal Marriages Act 1772, and therefore it was considered void.[29]
- ^ George V changed the name of the British royal house from 'Saxe-Coburg and Gotha' to 'Windsor' on 17 July 1917 because of anti-German sentiment caused by World War I. The change was designed to abandon any reference to the royal family's German descent, and replace it with 'Windsor' after the castle of the same name.[35]
- ^ Edward VIII abdicated before his coronation.[14]
- ^ 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.[37]
Citations
- ^ UK Parliament: "Union of the Crowns".
- ^ Croft 2003, pp. 52–54, 61.
- ^ Willson 1963, pp. 249–253.
- ^ Green 1970, p. 90.
- ^ a b UK Parliament: "Key Dates".
- ^ Westminster Abbey: "Queen Anne".
- ^ a b Jones (2026): "Queen Anne and the Union of England and Scotland".
- ^ BBC News (2014): "Scotland's Constitutional Crisis Three-Hundred Years Ago".
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 274, 277.
- ^ Weir 1996, p. 276.
- ^ a b Ziegler 1991, pp. 245, 556–557.
- ^ a b c d Westminster Abbey: "Elizabeth II".
- ^ a b Curtis 1972, p. 97.
- ^ a b Weir 1996, p. 328.
- ^ Packard 1998, pp. 14–15.
- ^ Knight 1968, pp. 488–489.
- ^ London Gazette (1948): "By the King – A Proclamation", p. 3647.
- ^ The Commonwealth: "About Us".
- ^ Duchy of Lancaster: "HM The King, Duke of Lancaster".
- ^ The Royal Household (2018): "Crown Dependencies".
- ^ BBC History (2014): "Anne (1665–1714)".
- ^ Weir 1996, p. 269.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 267–269.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 270–272.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 274–276.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 277–285.
- ^ Westminster Abbey: "George III".
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 285–286, 299.
- ^ Weir 1996, p. 301.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 301–302.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 303, 305.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 305–306, 315.
- ^ a b c d Weir 1996, p. 317.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 319, 321.
- ^ Tomlinson (2017): "A New Name – Windsor".
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 322, 326.
- ^ Heard 1990.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 327–328.
- ^ Weir 1996, pp. 329–330.
- ^ Weir 1996, p. 331.
- ^ a b c d Westminster Abbey: "Charles III".
- ^ BBC News (2004): "Timeline: Diana, Princess of Wales".
Sources
Web sources
- "Union of the Crowns". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- "Key Dates". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 29 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- "Queen Anne". Westminster Abbey. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- "Elizabeth II". Westminster Abbey. Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- "About us". The Commonwealth. Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- "HM The King, Duke of Lancaster". Duchy of Lancaster. Archived from the original on 31 January 2026. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- "Crown Dependencies". The Royal Household. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- "Anne (1665–1714)". BBC History. 2014. Archived from the original on 4 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- "George III". Westminster Abbey. Archived from the original on 19 July 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- "Charles III". Westminster Abbey. Archived from the original on 19 July 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
News sources
- Jones, Neil (16 January 2026). "Queen Anne and the Union of England and Scotland". Discover Britain. Archived from the original on 30 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- "Scotland's Constitutional Crisis Three-Hundred Years Ago". BBC News. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- "By the King – A Proclamation". The London Gazette. No. 38330. 22 June 1948.
- Tomlinson, Georgina (6 July 2017). "A New Name – Windsor". The Postal Museum. Archived from the original on 1 November 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
- "Timeline: Diana, Princess of Wales". BBC News. 5 July 2004. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
Book sources
- Croft, Pauline (2003). King James. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-3336-1395-5 – via Internet Archive.
- Willson, David Harris (1963) [1956]. King James VI & I. Jonathan Cape. OCLC 1035905077 – via Internet Archive.
- Green, David (1970). Queen Anne. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-0021-1693-6 – via Internet Archive.
- Weir, Alison (1996) [1989]. Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (Pimlico ed.). Random House. ISBN 978-0-7126-7448-5 – via Internet Archive.
- Ziegler, Philip (1991). King Edward VIII: The Official Biography. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-57730-2 – via Internet Archive.
- Curtis, Gila (1972). The Life and Times of Queen Anne. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-2979-9571-5 – via Internet Archive.
- Packard, Jerrold M. (1998). Victoria's Daughters. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24496-7 – via Internet Archive.
- Knight, L. A. (1968). "The Royal Titles Act and India". The Historical Journal. XI (3). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00001667 – via JSTOR.
- Heard, Andrew (1990). "Canadian Independence". Simon Fraser University. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
External links
- "Kings and Queens from 1066". UK Royal Family. Archived from the original on 31 December 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- Media related to British monarchs at Wikimedia Commons