List of British monarchs explained

Style:	width: auto;
Above:	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Below:	Royal coat of arms (common version on the left; Scottish version on the right)

There have been 13 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. England and Scotland had been in personal union since 24 March 1603; while the style, "King of Great Britain" first arose at that time, legislatively the title came into force in 1707.

On 1 January 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged, creating first the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon the secession of southern Ireland in the 1920s.

Union and succession

Queen Anne became monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain after the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. She had ruled England, Scotland, and the Kingdom of Ireland since 8 March 1702. She continued as queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death. Her total reign lasted 12 years and 147 days. Although Anne's great grandfather, James VI and I, the monarch of the Union of the Crowns, proclaimed himself "King of Great Britain", and used it on coinage, stamps and elsewhere, the Parliament of England had refused to use that style in statutory law or address.

Anne's only children died young, so during her reign, Parliament settled the rules of succession in the Act of Settlement 1701, by defining Sophia of Hanover (granddaughter of James VI and I) and her non-Catholic descendants as the future royal heirs. The Crown passed from Queen Anne to Sophia's son, King George I, as Sophia had already died. Queen Anne and King George I were second cousins, as both were great-grandchildren of James VI and I. For a family tree that shows George I's relationship to Anne, see .

List

|-! colspan=8 style="background-color:#ccf" | House of Stuart|-| Anne^[1]

–

| | |
St James's Palace

Daughter of James VII and II
and Anne Hyde| George of Denmark
St James's Palace

5 children
28 October 1708|
Kensington Palace
Aged 49| Daughter of James VII and II

Bill of Rights 1689

Son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover,
and Sophia of the Palatinate| Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle
Celle Castle

2 children
28 December 1694 |
Osnabrück Castle
Aged 67| Great-grandson of James VI and I

Act of Settlement 1701

|-| George II^[3]
George Augustus

–
25 October 1760
| |
Herrenhausen Palace

Son of George I
and Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle| Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Herrenhausen Gardens

8 children
20 November 1737| 25 October 1760
Kensington Palace
Aged 76| Son of George I

Son of Frederick, Prince of Wales,
and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg| Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
St James's Palace
8 September 1761
15 children
17 November 1818| 29 January 1820
Windsor Castle
Aged 81| Grandson of George II

Son of George III
and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz| Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
St James's Palace
8 April 1795
1 daughter
7 August 1821| 26 June 1830
Windsor Castle
Aged 67| Son of George III

|-| William IV^[6]
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 daughters| 20 June 1837
Windsor Castle
Aged 71| Son of George III

Daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn,
and Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld| Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
St James's Palace
10 February 1840
9 children
14 December 1861| 22 January 1901
Osborne House
Aged 81| Niece of William IV

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

|-| Edward VIII^[10]
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 Simpson
Château de Candé
3 June 1937| 28 May 1972
4 route du Champ d'Entraînement
Aged 77| Son of George V

|-| George VI^[11]
Albert Frederick Arthur George
11 December 1936
—
6 February 1952
| | 14 December 1895
York Cottage

Son of George V
and Mary of Teck| Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Westminster Abbey
26 April 1923
2 daughters| 6 February 1952
Sandringham House
Aged 56| Son of George V

His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936

Daughter of George VI
and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon| Philip of Greece and Denmark
Westminster Abbey
20 November 1947
4 children
9 April 2021| 8 September 2022
Balmoral Castle
Aged 96| Daughter of George VI

|-| Charles III^[14]
Charles Philip Arthur George
8 September 2022^[13]
—
present
| | 14 November 1948
Buckingham Palace

Son of Elizabeth II
and Philip of Greece and Denmark| Diana Spencer
St Paul's Cathedral
29 July 1981
2 sons
28 August 1996

Camilla Parker Bowles
Windsor Guildhall
9 April 2005| Living
Age | Son of Elizabeth II

Notes and References

News: 30 December 2015 . Anne (r. 1702–1714) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020033/https://www.royal.uk/anne-r-1702-1714 . 25 January 2018 . 16 January 2018 . The Royal Family. Oram . Kirsty .
News: George I (r. 1714–1727). The Royal Family. 30 December 2015 . 12 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20160507210904/https://www.royal.uk/george-i-r-1714-1727. 7 May 2016. live. Oram . Kirsty .
News: George II (r. 1727–1760). The Royal Family. 31 December 2015 . 12 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20160507222248/https://www.royal.uk/george-ii-r-1727-1760. 7 May 2016. live. Oram . Kirsty .
News: George III (r. 1760–1820). The Royal Family. 31 December 2015 . 12 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180520150812/https://www.royal.uk/george-iii-r-1760-1820. 20 May 2018. live. Oram . Kirsty .
News: King George IV (r. 1820–1830). The Royal Family. 31 December 2015 . 12 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170819063405/https://www.royal.uk/king-george-iv-r-1820-1830. 19 August 2017. live. Oram . Kirsty .
News: William IV (r. 1830–1837). The Royal Family. 15 January 2016 . 12 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170921001850/https://www.royal.uk/william-iv-r-1830-1837. 21 September 2017. live. Berry . Ciara .
News: Victoria (r. 1837–1901). The Royal Family. 31 December 2015 . 12 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015954/https://www.royal.uk/victoria-r-1837-1901. 25 January 2018. live. Oram . Kirsty .
News: Edward VII (r. 1901–1910). The Royal Family. 11 January 2016 . 12 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015924/https://www.royal.uk/edward-vii-r1901-1910. 25 January 2018. live. Berry . Ciara .
News: George V (r. 1910–1936) . The Royal Family . 12 January 2016 . 12 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020319/https://www.royal.uk/george-v-r-1910-1936 . 25 January 2018 . live . Berry . Ciara .
Web site: Edward VIII (Jan–Dec 1936) . royal.gov.uk . 3 August 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160507221901/https://www.royal.uk/edward-viii-jan-dec-1936 . 7 May 2016 . live .
News: George VI (r. 1936–1952) . The Royal Family . 12 January 2016 . 12 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035747/https://www.royal.uk/george-vi-r1936-1952 . 1 December 2017 . live. Berry . Ciara .
Web site: Queen Elizabeth II's Life and Reign . royal.uk . 17 March 2024.
News: Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace announces . 8 September 2022 . BBC News . 8 September 2022 . 8 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220908173308/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61585886 . live .
News: 8 September 2022 . The King . 9 September 2022 . The Royal Family . 11 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220911230654/https://www.royal.uk/the-king . live .

List of British monarchs explained

Union and succession

List

See also

Notes and References