List of British monarchs

List of British 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 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, apart from Anne, this list of British monarchs does not include the four earlier kings and one queen who ruled as monarchs of England and 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

List of British monarchs

Before 1603, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were independent states with different monarchs. Upon James VI of Scotland inheriting the monarchy of England from his cousin Elizabeth I, however, the two independent countries began sharing 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 in Parliament. 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, but the Parliament of England did not use it officially, nor did they consider him the King of a single unified country.

Anne ascended both thrones 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

List of British monarchs

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 birthplace; 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 two of the thirteen monarchs have not 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

List of British monarchs

<table><thead><tr><th>Monarch</th><th>Life</th><th>Reign</th><th>House</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Portrait</td><td>Coat of arms</td><td>Birth</td><td>Spouse</td><td>Death</td><td>Accession Coronation</td><td>Ended</td></tr><tr><td>Anne</td><td></td><td></td><td>6 February 1665 St James's Palace</td><td>George of Denmark ​ ​(m. 1683⁠–⁠1708)​</td><td>1 August 1714 Kensington Palace</td><td>1 May 1707 —</td><td>1 August 1714</td><td>Stuart</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>George I George Louis</td><td></td><td></td><td>28 May 1660 Osnabrück, Hanover</td><td>Sophia Dorothea of Celle ​ ​(m. 1682; div. 1694)​</td><td>28 May 1727 Osnabrück, Hanover</td><td>1 August 1714 20 October 1714</td><td>28 May 1727</td><td>Hanover</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>George II George Augustus</td><td></td><td>30 October 1683 Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover</td><td>Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach ​ ​(m. 1705; died 1737)​</td><td>25 October 1760 Kensington Palace</td><td>28 May 1727 11 October 1727</td><td>25 October 1760</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>George III George William Frederick</td><td></td><td>(1801–1816)</td><td>24 May 1738 Norfolk House</td><td>Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ​ ​(m. 1761; died 1818)​</td><td>29 January 1820 Windsor Castle</td><td>25 October 1760 22 September 1761</td><td>29 January 1820</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>George IV George Augustus Frederick</td><td></td><td></td><td>12 August 1762 St James's Palace</td><td>Maria Fitzherbert (married illegally 1785; died 1837)</td><td>26 June 1830 Windsor Castle</td><td>29 January 1820 19 July 1821</td><td>26 June 1830</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Caroline of Brunswick ​ ​(m. 1795; died 1821)​</td></tr><tr><td>William IV William Henry</td><td></td><td>21 August 1765 Buckingham House</td><td>Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen ​ ​(m. 1818⁠–⁠1837)​</td><td>20 June 1837 Windsor Castle</td><td>26 June 1830 8 September 1831</td><td>20 June 1837</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Victoria Alexandrina Victoria</td><td></td><td></td><td>24 May 1819 Kensington Palace</td><td>Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (m. 1840; died 1861)</td><td>22 January 1901 Osborne House</td><td>20 June 1837 28 June 1838</td><td>22 January 1901</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Edward VII Albert Edward</td><td></td><td>9 November 1841 Buckingham Palace</td><td>Alexandra of Denmark (m. 1863–1910)</td><td>6 May 1910 Buckingham Palace</td><td>22 January 1901 9 August 1902</td><td>6 May 1910</td><td>Saxe-Coburg and Gotha</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>George V George Frederick Ernest Albert</td><td></td><td>3 June 1865 Marlborough House</td><td>Mary of Teck (m. 1893–1936)</td><td>20 January 1936 Sandringham House</td><td>6 May 1910 22 June 1911</td><td>20 January 1936</td><td>Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Windsor</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Edward VIII Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David</td><td></td><td>23 June 1894 White Lodge</td><td>Wallis Simpson (m. 1937–1972)</td><td>28 May 1972 Villa Windsor</td><td>20 January 1936 —</td><td>11 December 1936</td><td>Windsor</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>George VI Albert Frederick Arthur George</td><td></td><td>14 December 1895 York Cottage</td><td>Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (m. 1923–1952)</td><td>6 February 1952 Sandringham House</td><td>11 December 1936 12 May 1937</td><td>6 February 1952</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Elizabeth II Elizabeth Alexandra Mary</td><td></td><td></td><td>21 April 1926 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair</td><td>Philip of Greece and Denmark (m. 1947; died 2021)</td><td>8 September 2022 Balmoral Castle</td><td>6 February 1952 2 June 1953</td><td>8 September 2022</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Charles III Charles Philip Arthur George</td><td></td><td>14 November 1948 Buckingham Palace</td><td>Diana Spencer (m. 1981; div. 1996)</td><td>—</td><td>8 September 2022 6 May 2023</td><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td>Camilla Parker Bowles (m. 2005)</td></tr></tbody></table>