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List of British monarchs

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Note

This article is about monarchs of Great Britain (1707–1800) and the United Kingdom (1801–). For earlier monarchs, see List of legendary kings of Britain, List of English monarchs, and List of Scottish 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 informal 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 British monarchs do not include monarchs who held both the title of Monarch of England and Monarch of 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. However, James VI of Scotland inherited the monarchy of England (becoming James VI and I) from his cousin Elizabeth I, meaning that the two independent countries shared 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 at Westminster. 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'. The style was used on coins, stamps, and elsewhere; however the Parliament of England did not allow the title to be used officially, nor did they consider him the King of a single unified country.

Anne ascended the throne on 8 March 1702 upon the death of her brother-in-law William III, becoming Queen of England and Queen of Scotland. 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.

Despite having eighteen pregnancies, Anne did not produce an heir that survived her or to adulthood. 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. However, Scotland had passed its own law, the Act of Security 1704, which allowed its parliament to choose an heir upon Anne's death. 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.

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. All but two monarchs died in the United Kingdom: George I died while he was still King, during a trip to his birth place; 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. The longest reigning monarch was Elizabeth II who reigned for 70 years and 214 days between 1952 and 2022; the shortest reigning monarch was Edward VIII, who reigned for 326 days between January and December 1936. Only eleven of the thirteen monarchs have been crowned as a monarch of Great Britain or the United Kingdom: Anne was crowned in 1702 before the Treaty of Union; and Edward VIII abdicated before he could be crowned.

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.

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. 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. Since 1949, the monarch has instead been the ceremonial Head of the Commonwealth. 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, and Duke of Normandy, which has been a secondary title of the monarch since 1106.

List

Monarch	Life	Reign	House	Ref.	Name	Portrait	Coat of arms	Birth	Spouse	Death	Accession	Ended	Anne
[[File:Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) (after) - Queen Anne (1665–1714) - 1129216 - National Trust.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of Queen Anne in a long dress, holding the orb in her left hand and the sceptre in her right hand, leaning against her shoulder; she is also wearing the Tudor crown.	251px]]	[[File:Royal Arms of Great Britain (1707-1714).svg	frameless	87x87px	alt=A coat of arms that comprises a shield in four quadrants.]]	6 February 1665		1 August 1714	1 May 1707	1 August 1714	Stuart
[[File:George I, 1660 - 1727. Reigned 1714 - 1727.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of George I in his coronation robes, holding the orb in his right hand and an unknown sword in his left hand. On the table to his right is the Imperial State Crown of George I.	246px]]	[[File:Royal Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg	frameless	87x87px	alt=A coat of arms that comprises a shield in four quadrants. The bottom right quadrant is its own coat of arms that is split into three equal sections with a crown in the centre.]]	28 May 1660		28 May 1727	1 August 1714	28 May 1727	Hanover
[[File:Studio of John Shackleton (d. 1767) - George II (1683-1760) - RCIN 405310 - Royal Collection.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of George II in his coronation robes, holding the sceptre in his right hand. On the table to his right is the Imperial State Crown of George I.	256px]]	30 October 1683		25 October 1760	28 May 1727	25 October 1760
[[File:Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735-1811) - George III (1738–1820) - 138273 - National Trust.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of George III in his coronation robes. On the table to his left is the Imperial State Crown of George I, which his left hand is leaning on.	244px]]	[[File:Royal_Arms_of_United_Kingdom_(1801-1816).svg	87x87px	alt=A coat of arms that comprises a shield in four quadrants. There is a second smaller shield in the centre of the four quadrants, which itself contains three sections and a crown in the centre, as well as a crown on top of the inner shield.]](1801–1816)	24 May 1738		29 January 1820	25 October 1760	29 January 1820
[[File:Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) - George IV (1762-1830) - RCIN 405918 - Royal Collection.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of George I in his coronation robes. On the table to his right is the Imperial State Crown of George I.	221px]]	[[File:Royal Arms of United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg	frameless	87x87px	alt=A coat of arms that comprises a shield in four quadrants. There is a second smaller shield in the centre of the four quadrants, which itself contains three sections and a crown in the centre, as well as a crown on top of the inner shield.]]	12 August 1762	Maria Fitzherbert	26 June 1830
Windsor Castle	29 January 1820	26 June 1830
[[File:WilliamIVbyBeechey 2.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of William IV in his coronation robes. On the table to his left is the Crown of St Edward.	211px]]	21 August 1765		20 June 1837	26 June 1830	20 June 1837
[[File:Queen Victoria - Winterhalter 1859.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of Queen Victoria sitting on a chair in a long coronation dress covering the chair and part of the floor. On a table behind her is the Imperial State Crown, and she is wearing an encrusted tiara.	231px]]	[[File:Arms of the United Kingdom (since 1837).svg	frameless	87x87px	alt=A coat of arms that comprises a shield in four quadrants.]]	24 May 1819	Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	22 January 1901	20 June 1837	22 January 1901
[[File:Samuel Luke Fildes (1843-1927) - King Edward VII (1841-1910) - RCIN 404553 - Royal Collection.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of Edward VII in his coronation robes and holding the sceptre in his right hand, the bottom of which is leaning on a table to his right. Sitting on that table is also the Imperial State Crown.	235px]]	9 November 1841	Alexandra of Denmark	6 May 1910	22 January 1901	6 May 1910	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
[[File:Frederick Howard Michael (1865–1936) - George V (1865–1936) (copy after Samuel Luke Fildes) - 0-775 - Government Art Collection.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of George V in his coronation robes, and holding a sword in his left hand. On a table to his left is the Imperial State Crown and the Orb.	231px]]	3 June 1865	Mary of Teck	20 January 1936	6 May 1910	20 January 1936	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
[[File:His_Majesty_King_Edward_VIII_in_his_Coronation_Robes.jpg	frameless	238px]]	23 June 1894	Wallis Simpson	28 May 1972	20 January 1936	11 December 1936	Windsor
[[File:King George VI.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of George VI in purple coronation robes and holding the sceptre in his right hand. He is facing slightly rightwards, and away from the table to his left that holds the Imperial State Crown.	230px]]	14 December 1895	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon	6 February 1952	11 December 1936	6 February 1952
[[File:Queen Elizabeth II in Coronation Robes.jpg	frameless	alt=An oil portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in a white dress and her coronation robes, which flow over a chair on her left which is engraved EɪɪR. Her right hand is touching the sceptre, which is resting on a table in front of the Imperial State Crown.	242px]]	[[File:Arms of the United Kingdom.svg	frameless	87x87px	alt=A coat of arms that comprises a shield in four quadrants.]]	21 April 1926	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947; died 2021)	8 September 2022	6 February 1952	8 September 2022
[[File:King Charles (enthroned) 2024.jpg	frameless	alt=A colour photograph of Charles III during his coronation, showing him on a holden chair wearing his coronation robes and the Imperial State Crown, while also holding some document in his hands.	250px]]	14 November 1948	Diana Spencer	—	8 September 2022	—	—
Camilla Parker Bowles

Timeline

The timeline of each British monarch's reign:

|styleStuarts-boxcolour=#F55D42 |styleStuarts-border=none;border:1px solid #000000

|styleHanovers-boxcolour=#F7C000 |styleHanovers-border=none;border:1px solid #000000

|styleSaxeCoburgs-boxcolour=#219C31 |styleSaxeCoburgs-border=none;border:1px solid #000000

|styleWindsors-boxcolour=#8A2EB8 |styleWindsors-border=none;border:1px solid #000000

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

Sources

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Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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