The monarchy of the Kingdom of England

The monarchy of the Kingdom of England

began with Alfred the Great and ended with Queen Anne, who became Queen of Great Britain when Englandmerged with Scotland to form a union in 1707. For monarchs after Queen Anne, see List of British monarchs.

Arguments are made for a few different kings deemed to control enough of the ancient kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons to be deemed the first King of England. For example Offa, king of Mercia, and Egbert, king of Wessex, are sometimes described as kings of England by popular writers, but not by all historians. In the late eighth century Offa achieved a dominance over southern England which did not survive his death in 796. In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia, but he soon lost control of it. By the late ninth century Wessex was 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 (and starts the list below), but he never ruled eastern and northern England, which was then the Danelaw. 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 king of England.[1][2]

The Principality of Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and in 1301King Edward I invested his eldest son, the future King Edward II, as Prince of Wales. Since that time, with the exception ofKing Edward III, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Queen Elizabeth I without issue, in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were joined in personal union under King James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. By royal proclamation, James titled himself "King of Great Britain", but no such kingdom was created until 1707, when England underwent legislative union with Scotland to form the new Kingdom of Great Britain, during the reign of Queen Anne.[3]

Contents

[hide]

• 1 House of Wessex

• 2 House of Denmark

• 3 House of Wessex (restored, first time)

• 4 House of Denmark (restored)

• 5 House of Wessex (restored, second time)

• 6 House of Normandy

• 7 House of Blois

• 8 House of Anjou

• 9 House of Plantagenet

o 9.1 House of Lancaster

o 9.2 House of York

o 9.3 House of Lancaster (restored)

o 9.4 House of York (restored)

• 10 House of Tudor

• 11 House of Stuart

o 11.1 Commonwealth

o 11.2 House of Stuart (restored)

• 12 Acts of Union

• 13 Timeline of English Monarchs

• 14 Titles

• 15 See also

• 16 Notes

• 17 External links

House of Wessex[edit]

For earlier monarchs of Wessex, see List of monarchs of Wessex.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death

Alfred the Great

(Ælfrēd; Ælfrǣd)

880s–899[4]

849

Son of Æthelwulf (king of Wessex) and Osburh

Ealhswith

868

five children 26 October 899

Aged about 50

Edward the Elder

Eadweard cyning

26 October 899–924 c. 874–877

Son of Alfred andEalhswith

(1) Ecgwynn

two children

(2) Ælfflæd

eight children

(3) Eadgifu

four children 17 July 924

Aged about 46–50

________________________________________

Disputed claimant

There is some evidence that Ælfweard of Wessex may have been king for four weeks in 924, between his father Edward the Elder and his brother Athelstan, although he was not crowned.[5] However this is not accepted by all historians. Also it is unclear whether Ælfweard was declared king of the whole kingdom or of Wessex only: there is evidence that when Edward died, Ælfweard was declared king in Wessex and Æthelstan in Mercia.[6]

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death

Ælfweard

July–August

924[7]

c. 901[8]

Son of Edward the Elder and Ælfflæd[8]

Unmarried?

No children 3 August 924[6]

Aged about 23

Buried at Winchester[9]

________________________________________

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death

Æthelstan

(Æþelstan)

924–939[10]

King of the Anglo-Saxons from 927 895

Son of Edward the Elder and Ecgwynn

Unmarried[10]

27 October 939

Aged about 44[10]

Edmund I

(Eadmund)

28 October

939–946[11]

c. 921

Son of Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent[11]

(1) Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury

two children

(2) Æthelflæd of Damerham

no children[12]

26 May 946

Pucklechurch

Aged about 25

(Killed in a brawl)[11]

Eadred

(Eadred)

27 May

946–955[13]

c. 923

Son of Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent

Unmarried 23 November 955

Frome

Aged about 32[14]

Eadwig

(Eadwig)

24 November

955–959[15]

c. 940

Son of Edmund I andÆlfgifu of Shaftesbury[16]

Ælfgifu[15]

1 October 959

Aged about 19[15]

Edgar the Peaceful

(Eadgar)

2 October

959–975[17]

c. 943

Wessex

Son of Edmund I andÆlfgifu of Shaftesbury

(1) Æthelflæd

c. 960

1 son

(2) Ælfthryth

c. 964

2 sons 8 July 975

Winchester

Aged about 32[18]

Edward the Martyr

(Eadweard)

9 July

975–978[19]

c. 962

Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Æthelflæd Unmarried 18 March 978

Corfe Castle

Aged about 16

(Assassinated)[19]

Æthelred the Unready

(Æþelræd Unræd)

19 March

978–1013 (first reign)[20]

c. 968

Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth (1) Ælfgifu of York

991

nine children

(2) Emma of Normandy

1002

three children[21]

23 April 1016

London

Aged about 48[20]

House of Denmark[edit]

Main article: House of Knýtlinga

England came under the rule of Danish kings during and following the reign of Æthelred the Unready.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death

Sweyn Forkbeard

(Svend Tveskæg)

25 December[22]

1013–1014[23]

c. 960

Denmark

Son of Harald Bluetoothand Gyrid Olafsdottir

(1) Gunhild of Wenden

c. 990

seven children

(2) Sigrid the Haughty

c. 1000

1 daughter 3 February 1014

Gainsborough

Aged about 54

House of Wessex (restored, first time)[edit]

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,[24]despite ongoing Danish efforts in wresting the crown from the West Saxons.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death

Æthelred the Unready

(Æþelræd Unræd)

3 February

1014–1016 (second reign)[20]

c. 968

Son of Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth (1) Aelgifu

991

nine children

(2) Emma of Normandy

1002

three children[21]

23 April 1016

London

Aged about 48[20]

Edmund Ironside

(Eadmund)

24 April –

30 November 1016[24]

c. 990

Son of Æthelred the Unready and Ælfgifu of York[24]

Edith of East Anglia

two children[25]

30 November 1016

Glastonbury

Aged 26[24][25]

House of Denmark (restored)[edit]

Following the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016, King Edmund signed a treaty with Canute in which all of England except for Wessex would be controlled by Cnut.[26] Upon Edmund's death on 30 November, Cnut ruled the whole kingdom as its sole king.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death

Cnut

(Knútr)

18 October 1016 –

12 November 1035[27]

c. 995

Son of Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhilda of Poland[27]

(1) Aelfgifu of Northampton

two children

(2) Emma of Normandy

1017[27]

two children 12 November 1035

Shaftesbury

Aged about 40[27]

Harold Harefoot

(Harald)

13 November 1035 –

17 March 1040[28]

c. 1016/7

Son of Cnut and Ælfgifu of Northampton[28]

Ælfgifu?

1 son?[29]

17 March 1040

Oxford

Aged about 23 or 24[28]

Harthacnut

(Hardeknud)

17 March 1040 –

8 June 1042[30]

1018

Son of Cnut and Emma of Normandy[31]

Unmarried 8 June 1042

Lambeth

Aged about 24[31]

House of Wessex (restored, second time)[edit]

After Harthacanute, there was a brief Saxon Restoration between 1042 and 1066. After the Battle of Hastings, a decisive point in English history, William I, Duke of Normandy became king of England.

Name Portrait Birth Marriages Children Death

...