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Article History
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government. The reigning king or queen is the countryโs head of state. All political power rests with the prime minister (the head of government) and the cabinet, and the monarch must act on their advice.
The table provides a chronological list of the sovereigns of Britain.
Kings of Wessex (West Saxons) | |||
---|---|---|---|
name | dynasty or house | reign | |
1Athelstan was king of Wessex and the first king of all England. | |||
2James VI of Scotland became also James I of England in 1603. Upon accession to the English throne, he styled himself "King of Great Britain" and was so proclaimed. Legally, however, he and his successors held separate English and Scottish kingships until the Act of Union of 1707, when the two kingdoms were united as the Kingdom of Great Britain. | |||
3The United Kingdom was formed on January 1, 1801, with the union of Great Britain and Ireland. After 1801 George III was styled "King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." | |||
4Oliver and Richard Cromwell served as lords protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the republican Commonwealth. | |||
5William and Mary, as husband and wife, reigned jointly until Mary's death in 1694. William then reigned alone until his own death in 1702. | |||
6George IV was regent from February 5, 1811. | |||
7In 1917, during World War I, George V changed the name of his house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. | |||
8Edward VIII succeeded upon the death of his father, George V, on January 20, 1936, but abdicated on December 11, 1936, before coronation. | |||
| Egbert | Saxon | 802โ839 |
| Aethelwulf (Ethelwulf) | Saxon | 839โ856/858 |
| Aethelbald (Ethelbald) | Saxon | 855/856โ860 |
| Aethelberht (Ethelbert) | Saxon | 860โ865/866 |
| Aethelred I (Ethelred) | Saxon | 865/866โ871 |
| Alfred the Great | Saxon | 871โ899 |
| Edward the Elder | Saxon | 899โ924 |
Sovereigns of England | |||
name | dynasty or house | reign | |
| Athelstan1 | Saxon | 925โ939 |
| Edmund I | Saxon | 939โ946 |
| Eadred (Edred) | Saxon | 946โ955 |
| Eadwig (Edwy) | Saxon | 955โ959 |
| Edgar | Saxon | 959โ975 |
| Edward the Martyr | Saxon | 975โ978 |
| Ethelred II the Unready (Aethelred) | Saxon | 978โ1013 |
| Sweyn Forkbeard | Danish | 1013โ14 |
| Ethelred II the Unready (restored) | Saxon | 1014โ16 |
| Edmund II Ironside | Saxon | 1016 |
| Canute | Danish | 1016โ35 |
| Harold I Harefoot | Danish | 1035โ40 |
| Hardecanute | Danish | 1040โ42 |
| Edward the Confessor | Saxon | 1042โ66 |
| Harold II | Saxon | 1066 |
| William I the Conqueror | Norman | 1066โ87 |
| William II | Norman | 1087โ1100 |
| Henry I | Norman | 1100โ35 |
| Stephen | Blois | 1135โ54 |
| Henry II | Plantagenet | 1154โ89 |
| Richard I | Plantagenet | 1189โ99 |
| John | Plantagenet | 1199โ1216 |
| Henry III | Plantagenet | 1216โ72 |
| Edward I | Plantagenet | 1272โ1307 |
| Edward II | Plantagenet | 1307โ27 |
| Edward III | Plantagenet | 1327โ77 |
| Richard II | Plantagenet | 1377โ99 |
| Henry IV | Plantagenet: Lancaster | 1399โ1413 |
| Henry V | Plantagenet: Lancaster | 1413โ22 |
| Henry VI | Plantagenet: Lancaster | 1422โ61 |
| Edward IV | Plantagenet: York | 1461โ70 |
| Henry VI (restored) | Plantagenet: Lancaster | 1470โ71 |
| Edward IV (restored) | Plantagenet: York | 1471โ83 |
| Edward V | Plantagenet: York | 1483 |
| Richard III | Plantagenet: York | 1483โ85 |
| Henry VII | Tudor | 1485โ1509 |
| Henry VIII | Tudor | 1509โ47 |
| Edward VI | Tudor | 1547โ53 |
| Mary I | Tudor | 1553โ58 |
| Elizabeth I | Tudor | 1558โ1603 |
Sovereigns of Great Britain and the United Kingdom2, 3 | |||
name | dynasty or house | reign | |
| James I (VI of Scotland)2 | Stuart | 1603โ25 |
| Charles I | Stuart | 1625โ49 |
Commonwealth (1653โ59) | |||
| โOliver Cromwell, Lord Protector4 | 1653โ58 | |
| โRichard Cromwell, Lord Protector4 | 1658โ59 | |
| Charles II | Stuart | 1660โ85 |
| James II | Stuart | 1685โ88 |
| William III and Mary II5 | Orange/Stuart | 1689โ1702 |
| Anne | Stuart | 1702โ14 |
| George I | Hanover | 1714โ27 |
| George II | Hanover | 1727โ60 |
| George III3 | Hanover | 1760โ1820 |
| George IV6 | Hanover | 1820โ30 |
| William IV | Hanover | 1830โ37 |
| Victoria | Hanover | 1837โ1901 |
| Edward VII | Saxe-Coburg-Gotha | 1901โ10 |
| George V7 | Windsor | 1910โ36 |
| Edward VIII8 | Windsor | 1936 |
| George VI | Windsor | 1936โ52 |
| Elizabeth II | Windsor | 1952โ2022 |
| Charles III | Windsor | 2022โ |
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.