List of British monarchs

The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom since the accession of Queen Victoria, (1837), featuring the arms of England in the first and fourth quarters, Scotland in the second, and Ireland in the third. In Scotland a separate version is used, (shown right), whereby the Arms of Scotland take precedence.^[1]

There have been 12 monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom (see the Monarchy of the United Kingdom). A new 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 (also previously in personal union with Great Britain) to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After most of Ireland left the union on 6 December 1922, its name was amended on 12 April 1927 to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

House of Stuart (1707–1714)

Queen Anne had been queen of England, Scotland and Ireland since 8 March 1702, and so became Queen of Great Britain upon the Union of England and Scotland.

Name	Portrait	Arms	Birth	Marriages	Death	Claim
Anne 1 May 1707 – 1 August 1714			6 February 1665 St James's Palace daughter of James II and VII and Anne Hyde	George of Denmark St James's Palace 28 July 1683 17 pregnancies, but no surviving children	1 August 1714 Kensington Palace aged 49	Daughter of James II and VII (cognatic primogeniture; Bill of Rights 1689); Queen of England and Scotland before the Union; (Treaty of Union and Acts of Union 1707)

House of Hanover (1714–1901)

The Hanoverian succession came about as a result of the Act of Settlement 1701, passed by the Parliament of England, which excluded "Papists" (that is, Roman Catholics) from the succession. In return for access to the English plantations in North America and the West Indies, the Hanoverian succession and the Union were ratified by the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.

After the death of Queen Anne with no living children, George I, the son of Sophia of Hanover, granddaughter of James VI of Scotland and I of England through his daughter Elizabeth of Bohemia, was the closest heir to the throne who was not a Roman Catholic.^[2]

Name	Portrait	Arms	Birth	Marriages	Death	Succession right	References
George I George Louis 1 August 1714 – 11 June 1727			28 May 1660 Leineschloss son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of Hanover	Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle 21 November 1682 2 children	11 June 1727 Osnabrück aged 67	Great-grandson of James VI and I, Act of Settlement, eldest son of Sophia of Hanover	[3]
George II George Augustus 11 June 1727 – 25 October 1760			30 October 1683 Herrenhausen son of George I and Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle	Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach 22 August 1705 8 children	25 October 1760 Kensington Palace aged 76	Son of George I	[4]
George III George William Frederick 25 October 1760 – 29 January 1820			4 June 1738 Norfolk House son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha	Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz St James's Palace 8 September 1761 15 children	29 January 1820 Windsor Castle aged 81	Grandson of George II	[5]
George IV George Augustus Frederick 29 January 1820 – 26 June 1830 (Prince Regent since 1811)			12 August 1762 St James's Palace son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	(1) Maria Anne Fitzherbert Park Lane 15 September 1785 (2) Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel St James's Palace 8 April 1795 1 daughter	26 June 1830 Windsor aged 67	Son of George III	[6]
William IV William Henry 26 June 1830 – 20 June 1837			21 August 1765 Buckingham Palace son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen Kew Palace 13 July 1818 2 children	20 June 1837 Windsor Castle aged 71	Son of George III	[7]
Victoria Alexandrina Victoria 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901			24 May 1819 Kensington Palace daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld	Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha St James's Palace 10 February 1840 9 children	22 January 1901 Osborne House aged 81	Granddaughter of George III	[8]

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1901–1917)

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

House of Windsor (1917–present)

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

Name	Portrait	Arms	Birth	Marriages	Death	Succession right	References
George V George Frederick Ernest Albert 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936			3 June 1865 Marlborough House son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark	Mary of Teck St James's Palace 6 July 1893 6 children	20 January 1936 Sandringham House aged 70	Son of Edward VII	[10]
Edward VIII Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David 20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936 (abdicated)			23 June 1894 White Lodge son of George V and Mary of Teck	Wallis Warfield Simpson Château de Candé 3 June 1937 no children	28 May 1972 Neuilly-sur-Seine aged 77	Son of George V	[11]
George VI Albert Frederick Arthur George 11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952			14 December 1895 Sandringham House son of George V and Mary of Teck	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Westminster Abbey 26 April 1923 2 children	6 February 1952 Sandringham House aged 56	Son of George V	[12]
Elizabeth II Elizabeth Alexandra Mary 6 February 1952 – present			21 April 1926 Mayfair daughter of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon	Philip of Greece and Denmark Westminster Abbey 20 November 1947 4 children	Living	Daughter of George VI	[13]

Timeline of British monarchs

Family tree of monarchs of England and Great Britain since the Norman Conquest

See also

List of British consorts List of monarchs in the British Isles List of monarchs in Britain by length of reign List of British monarchs by longevity List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death British monarchs' family tree

Succession to the British throne Alternative successions of the English crown Demise of the Crown Mnemonic verse of monarchs in England Monarchy of the United Kingdom

Notes and references

1. "Symbols of the Monarchy. Coats of Arms. - The official website of The British Monarchy". Retrieved 2011-05-09.
2. For a family tree showing George's relationship to Anne, see George I of Great Britain#Family tree.
3. "George I". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
4. "George II". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
5. "George III". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
6. "George IV". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
7. "William IV". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
8. "Victoria". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
9. "Edward VII". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
10. "George V". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
11. "Edward VIII". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
12. "George VI". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
13. "Her Majesty The Queen". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2010-08-03.

External links

• English Monarchs – A complete history of the Kings and Queens of England
• Britannia: Monarchs of Britain
• Archontology - British Heads of State from 1707
• British Royal Family History - Kings and Queens