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, [21] despite ongoing Danish efforts to wrest the crown from the West Saxons. Eadweard (Edward the Martyr)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007 . Retrieved 17 March 2007. ; "Edward II 'The Martyr' (r. 975–978)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. a b c d "Oliver Cromwell 1599–1658". british-civil-wars.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 . Retrieved 25 October 2007. Richard I Coeur de Lion ('The Lionheart') (r.1189–1199)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. ; Fryde 1996, p.36.

Marks, Richard; Payne, Ann; British Museum; British Library, eds. (1978). British heraldry from its origins to c. 1800. British Museum Publications Ltd. ; The Numismatist. American Numismatic Association. 1971. An accompanying poster, showing the family trees and dynastic descent of all the kings and queens of England, is also available from the National Portrait Gallery direct.

Join & Support

In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with occasional use of Rex Anglie ("King of England"). The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum ("Lady of the English"). Hanley, Catherine (2016). Louis: The French Prince Who Invaded England. Yale University Press. pp.1066, 1208. ISBN 978-0-300-22164-0. Perhaps the most undignified English king, though, was John. The extent of his indignity was a surprise to me when I was researching my new book about the kings and queens of England, because posterity has focused so much on how bad he was – bad as in dastardly. And he was dastardly – dishonest and brutal. During the reign of his predecessor, his elder brother Richard the Lionheart, he tried to steal the throne by pretending Richard was dead. Once Richard had genuinely died, he murdered the only rival claimant, his nephew Arthur, possibly with his bare hands, which feels like unnecessary attention to detail.

Aethelstan". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007 . Retrieved 15 March 2007. ; "Athelstan (r. 924–939)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. Edward V was deposed by Richard III, who usurped the throne on the grounds that Edward was illegitimate. He was never crowned. [58] The psychological impact of this was particularly tough on Henry VI and, at the news of the collapse of England’s position in France, he too collapsed and was reduced to an inert blob, needing to be fed and washed and moved about for over a year. Worryingly the country was better governed during that year than at any other time during the reign. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum ("King of the English"). In addition, many of the pre-Norman kings assumed extra titles, as follows: Henry VIII (r.1509–1547)". royal.gov.uk. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. ; Fryde 1996, p.42.Henry VII (r. 1485–1509)". royal.gov.uk. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. Eadwig the Fair: Rex nutu Dei Angulsæxna et Northanhumbrorum imperator paganorum gubernator Breotonumque propugnator ("King by the will of God, Emperor of the Anglo-Saxons and Northumbrians, governor of the pagans, commander of the British") a b "Eadgar (the Ætheling)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007 . Retrieved 26 October 2007. In the Introduction, Antonia Fraser quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, saying, "There is no history, only biography," which sums up this book nicely, as it is concerned just with the biographies of the monarchs of England, not with the history around them, and the quote does make a good point that human history is simply made up of biographies of people. But this book is just about the people who worn the British crown from William I to Queen Elizabeth II. Cnut (Canute)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007 . Retrieved 21 March 2007. ; "Canute 'The Great' (r. 1016–1035)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018.

The future Louis VIII of France briefly won two-thirds of England over to his side from May 1216 to September 1217 at the conclusion of the First Barons' War against King John. The then-Prince Louis landed on the Isle of Thanet, off the north Kent coast, on 21 May 1216, and marched more or less unopposed to London, where the streets were lined with cheering crowds. At a grand ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral, on 2 June 1216, in the presence of numerous English clergy and nobles, the Mayor of London and Alexander II of Scotland, Prince Louis was proclaimed King Louis of England (though not crowned). In less than a month, "King Louis" controlled more than half of the country and enjoyed the support of two-thirds of the barons. However, he suffered military defeat at the hands of the English fleet. By signing the Treaty of Lambeth in September 1217, Louis gained 10,000 marks and agreed he had never been the legitimate king of England. [44] "King Louis" remains one of the least known kings to have ruled over a substantial part of England. [45] Name The Angevins (from the French term meaning "from Anjou") ruled over the Angevin Empire during the 12th and 13th centuries, an area stretching from the Pyrenees to Ireland. They did not regard England as their primary home until most of their continental domains were lost by King John. The direct, eldest male line from Henry II includes monarchs commonly grouped together as the House of Plantagenet, which was the name given to the dynasty after the loss of most of their continental possessions, while cadet branches of this line became known as the House of Lancaster and the House of York during the War of the Roses. a b "Stephen and Matilda (r. 1135–1154)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. a b c Montrose, Louis Adrian (2006). The subject of Elizabeth: authority, gender, and representation. University of Chicago Press. Edward 'The Elder' (r. 899–924)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018.

Michael K. Jones and Malcolm G. Underwood, The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 19–20. I wanted to read this to see what might be said about those Shakespearian characters from Richard II through to Richard III. I was surprised that Shakespeare seems to have kept quite well to the overall story. Harold II (r. Jan – Oct 1066)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018.

With the Acts of Union 1707, England as a sovereign state ceased to exist, replaced by the new Kingdom of Great Britain; see List of British monarchs. James II was ousted by Parliament less than four years after ascending to the throne, beginning the century's second interregnum. To settle the question of who should replace the deposed monarch, a Convention Parliament elected James' daughter Mary II and her husband (also his nephew) William III co-regents, in the Glorious Revolution. William III". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007 . Retrieved 25 October 2007.This was a really informative and enjoyable read. Story being the essence of history (of good history, at any rate), this collection of biographical essays chronicling the lives of each of England's rulers (post 1066 - pre Norman monarchs are not dealt with here) makes for a very engaging and illuminating tour of English history as a whole. I got this volume at a used library sale a number of years ago and have frequently skimmed various parts. But after watching The King’s Speech and being also in the midst of working my way through Shakespeare's historical plays (to which this makes an excellent companion), I decided to dive in and read it cover to cover. King Stephen came to an agreement with Matilda in November 1153 with the signing of the Treaty of Wallingford, in which Stephen recognised Henry, son of Matilda and her second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, as the designated heir. The royal house descended from Matilda and Geoffrey is widely known by two names, the House of Anjou (after Geoffrey's title as Count of Anjou) or the House of Plantagenet, after his sobriquet. Some historians prefer to group the subsequent kings into two groups, before and after the loss of the bulk of their French possessions, although they are not different royal houses.