Just as James was James 1 and not 6 why is the current Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth numbered as Elizabeth 2 and not Elizabeth 1st?

Answer 1

King James was the first James to rule England, but he was sixth James to rule Scotland. Scotland and England had been ruled separately by the same person (personal union) until Queen Anne became the first Queen of Great Britain. Elizabeth I of England (reigned 1558-1603) was the daughter of Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn . Queen Elizabeth II is the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom and the rest of the Commonwealth Realms. She is the first Elizabeth to rule the UK as a whole, and several other countries, but she is Elizabeth II because of an Act of Settlement which meant that if any of the areas QEII reigns over has had another Monarch with the same name, the next regnal number shall be used. There has never been a King Malcolm of England, but there has been in Scotland. If, for example, the next King of the UK was named Malcolm he would be King Malcolm V, because there was previously a King Malcolm IV of Scotland.