The kings and queens of England

Since 1066 there have been 40 monarchs (thirty-five kings, five queens and seven dynasties) in England. The British monarchy is 400 years older than their Parliament. The rule of the monarchy has only been broken once. That was after the English Civil War. Then (between 1649-60) the country was governed by Oliver Cromwell and his Parliament. Only 14 monarchs have stayed on the throne for more than twenty-five years. One of them is Queen Elizabeth II. In over 1000 years, the British monarchy has collected lots of royal customs and traditions. Some are very ancient, some are surprisingly new.

1066-87 William the Conqueror
1087-1100 William II
1100-35 Henry I
1135-54 Stephen
1154-89 Henry II
1189-99 Richard I (the Lionheart)
1199-1216 John
1216-72 Henry III
1272-1307 Edward I
1307-27 Edward II
1327-77 Edward III
1377-99 Richard II
1399-1413 Henry IV
1413-22 Henry V
1422-61 Henry VI
1461-83 Edward IV
1483 Edward V
1483-85 Richard III
1485-1509 Henry VII
1509-47 Henry VIII
1547-53 Edward VI
1553-58 Mary
1558-1603 Elizabeth I
1603-25 James I (James of Scotland)
1625-49 Charles I
1649-60 Civil War ruled by Oliver Cromwell and Parliament
1660-85 Charles II
1685-89 James II
1689-1702 William III and Mary
1702-14 Anne
1714-27 George I
1727-60 George II
1760-1820 George III
1820-30 George IV
1830-37 William IV
1837-1901 Victoria
1901-10 Edward VII
1910-36 George V
1936 Edward VIII
1936-52 George VI
1952- Elizabeth II

Six of these kings and queens changed the history of the country. William I was the first Frenchman to become king of England. He knew exactly how many people, towns, villages and farms England had. He ordered all this information to be written into the DOMESDAY BOOK.

Henry VIII started the Church of England. He left the Roman Church and started a new English church.

While Elizabeth I was Queen, explorers like Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world and soon England began to develop as an empire. It was also an important age for the arts. The most famous writer of her reign was William Shakespeare.

The Civil War in England was between Charles I`s army of `Cavaliers` and Oliver Cromwell’s army of `Roundheads`. After seven years the Roundheads won and in 1649 they executed Charles I. Monarchy was restored in 1660.

Queen Victoria ruled for 64 years. At that time England was the richest and most powerful country in Europe. It traded all over the world and was a huge empire. But by the 19th century Parliament had all the real political power. The Queen was `Head of State` but the Prime Minister was `Head of Government`.

Edward VIII changed royal history in a very unusual way. After just eleven months on the throne he decided to stop being King. He abdicated because the government and the royal family were against his marriage to an American woman.