List of British monarchs

See also: List of British consorts.

The Royal Arms of the United Kingdom (as displayed outside Scotland) since the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, featuring the arms of England in the first and fourth quarters, Scotland in the second, and Ireland in the third.

There have been 12 monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed on 1 May 1707 with the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which had been in personal union under the House of Stuart since 24 March 1603. On 1 January 1801 Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After most of Ireland left the union on 6 December 1922, on 12 April 1927 its name was amended to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

British monarchs

House of Stuart

England and Scotland entered into legislative and governmental union on 1 May 1707 under the Acts of Union 1707.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Anne 1 May 1707–1714 England and Scotland 8 March 1702-1707		6 February 1665 St James's Palace daughter of James II and Anne Hyde[1]	George of Denmark St James's Palace 28 July 1683 17 children[1]	1 August 1714 Kensington aged 49[1]

House of Hanover

The Hanoverian succession came about as a result of the Act of Settlement 1701, passed by the English Parliament. In return for access to the English plantations in North America, the Hanoverian succession and the Union were ratified by the Scottish Parliament in 1707.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
George I 1 August 1714–1727		28 May 1660 Leineschloss son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of Hanover[2]	Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lueneburg-Celle 21 November 1682 2 children[2]	11 June 1727 Osnabrück aged 67[2]
George II 11 June 1727–1760		30 October 1683 Herrenhausen son of George I and Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lueneburg-Celle[3]	Caroline of Ansbach 22 August 1705 8 children[3]	25 October 1760 Kensington Palace aged 76[3]
George III 25 October 1760–1820		4 June 1738 Norfolk House son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha[4]	Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz St James's Palace 8 September 1761 15 children[4]	29 January 1820 Windsor Castle aged 81[4]
George IV 29 January 1820–1830		12 August 1762 St James's Palace son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz[5]	(1) Maria Anne Fitzherbert Park Lane 15 September 1785 (2) Caroline of Brunswick St James's Palace 8 April 1795 1 daughter[5]	26 June 1830 Windsor aged 67[5]
William IV 26 June 1830–1837		21 August 1765 Buckingham Palace son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz[6]	Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen Kew Palace 13 July 1818 2 children[6]	20 June 1837 Windsor Castle aged 71[6]
Victoria 20 June 1837–1901		24 May 1819 Kensington Palace daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld[7]	Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha St James's Palace 10 February 1840 9 children[7]	22 January 1901 Osborne House aged 81[7]

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Although he was the son and heir of Victoria, Edward VII inherited his father's names and is therefore counted as inaugurating a new royal house.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Edward VII 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910		9 November 1841 Buckingham Palace son of Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha[8]	Alexandra of Denmark St George's Chapel 10 March 1863 6 children[8]	6 May 1910 Buckingham Palace aged 68[8]

House of Windsor

The house name Windsor was adopted in 1917, during the First World War. It was changed from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha because of wartime anti-German sentiment.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
George V 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936		3 June 1865 Marlborough House son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark[9]	Mary of Teck 6 July 1893 St James's Palace 6 children[9]	20 January 1936 Sandringham House aged 70[9]
Edward VIII 20 January – 11 December 1936[10] (Abdicated)		23 June 1894 White Lodge son of George V and Mary of Teck[10]	Wallis Warfield Simpson Château de Candé 3 June 1937 no children[10]	28 May 1972 Bois de Boulogne aged 77[10]
George VI 11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952		14 December 1895 Sandringham son of George V and Mary of Teck[10]	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Westminster Abbey 26 April 1923 2 children[10]	6 February 1952 Sandringham House aged 56[10]
Elizabeth II 6 February 1952 – present		21 April 1926 Mayfair daughter of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon[11]	Philip of Greece and Denmark Westminster Abbey 20 November 1947 4 children[11]

Timeline of British Monarchs

Regnal numbering

Following the Acts of Union, regnal numbering of subsequent monarchs followed on from those of England, William IV, Edward VII, Edward VIII, and Elizabeth II all taking the next number in the English sequence. As a result of Scottish opposition to the use of the style Elizabeth II, it was suggested by Winston Churchill that all future monarchs should take the next number from either the English or Scottish sequence, whichever was higher.^[12] This new rule was consistent, in that had it been applied since the Union, it would not have changed the regnal numbers of any previous post-union monarch.

Notes and references

See also

• List of monarchs in the British Isles
• Line of Succession to the British Throne (a list of people)
• Succession to the British Throne (historical overview and current rules)
• Alternate successions of the English crown
• English and French monarchs overlap chart
• List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death
• Demise of the Crown
• Mnemonic verse of monarchs in England
• British monarchs' family tree

External links

• English Monarchs - A complete history of the Kings and Queens of England
• Britannia: Monarchs of Britain
• Archontology
• Kings of England

v • d • e Monarchs of the United Kingdom   Kingdom of Great Britain 1707–1801 Anne1 · George I1 · George II1 · George III1 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801–1927 George III · George IV · William IV · Victoria · Edward VII · George V United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 1927 George V · Edward VIII · George VI · Elizabeth II 1Also ruler of Ireland