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This is a list of rulers of the kingdoms within England prior to its formal unification, during the
Heptarchy.
House of Mercia
The first ruler to assume the title King of the English was Offa in 774, who had been King of Mercia since 757. He was the most powerful of all English kings prior to its formal unification, but his power did not survive him.
Offa
774-796 c.730, son of Thingfrith Cynethryth
House of Wessex
The continuous list traditionally starts with Egbert, King of Wessex from 802, the first King of Wessex to have overlordship over much of
England. He defeated the Mercians and became Bretwalda in 829. Permanent unity was not achieved until 927, under
Athelstan.
Egbert (Ecgberht)
829-839 c.775, son of Ealhmund of Kent Redburga
Ethelwulf (Æþelwulf)
839-856, son of Egbert and Redburga Osburga
Ethelbald (Æþelbald)
856-860 c.83, son of Ethelwulf and Osburga Judith of Flanders
Ethelbert (Æþelberht)
860-865 c.835, son of Ethelwulf and Osburga unknown
Ethelred (Æþelræd)
865-871 c.837, son of Ethelwulf and Osburga Wulfrida
 Alfred the Great
(Ælfræd)
871–899 c.849, son of Ethelwulf and Osburga Ealhswith
Edward the Elder (Eadweard)
899–924 c.871-877, son of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith
Elfward (Ælfweard)
924 c.902,
son of Edward the Elder and Aelffaed
Athelstan, (Æþelstan)
924–939 c.895,
son of Edward the Elder and Ecgwynn unmarried
Edmund the Magnificent (Eadmund)
939–946 c.92,
son of Edward the Elder and Edgiva of Kent
Æthelflæd of Damerham
944-946
Edred (Eadred)
946–955 c.923,
son of Edward the Elder and Edgiva of Kent,
Edwy the Fair (Eadwig)
955–959 c.940,
son of Edmund the Magnificent and Elgiva Elgiva
Edgar the Peaceable, (Eadgar)
959–975 c.943,
son of Edmund the Magnificent and Elgiva
Saint Edward the Martyr, (Eadweard)
975–978 c.962,
son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ethelflaed unmarried
Ethelred the Unready, (Æþelræd Unræd)
978–1016 c.968,
son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ælfthryth
Edmund Ironside (Eadmund)
1016 c.993,
son of Ethelred the Unready and Ælflaed of Northumbria
House of Denmark
England came under the rule of Danish kings following the disastrous reign of Ethelred the Unready. Some, though not all, of these were also kings of Denmark.
Sweyn Forkbeard, (Svend Tjugeskæg)
1013–1014 c.960,
Denmark,
son of Harald Bluetooth and Gyrid Olafsdotti
Canute, (Knud)
1016–1035 c.995,
son of Sweyn Forkbeard
Harold Harefoot, (Harald)
1035–1040 c.1016/7,
son of Canute and Aelgifu of Northampton
Harthacanute, (Hardeknud)
1040–1042, 1018,
son of Canute and Emma of Normandy
House of Wessex (restored)
The old West Saxon line was restored, but Edward the Confessor, who was later
canonised, was more Norman than English in his sympathies.
Saint Edward the Confessor, (Eadweard)
1042–1066 c.1005,
Islip, Oxfordshire,
son of Ethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy
Harold Godwinson,
(Harold Godwinesson)
1066 c.1020,
son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir
Ealdgyth of Mercia
c.1064, died in battle of Hastings aged about 46
Edgar the Atheling, (Eadgar Æþeling)
1066,
son of Edward the Exile and Agatha
House of Normandy
It was only after the Norman Conquest of 1066 that monarchs took regnal numbers in the French fashion, though the earlier custom of distinguishing monarchs by nicknames did not die out immediately.
William I the Conqueror,
(Guillaume le Conquérant
ou le Bâtard)
1066–1087,
son of Robert II, Duke of Normandy and Herleva
William II Rufus,
(Guillaume le Roux)
1087–1100,
son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders
Henry I,
(Henri Beauclerc)
1100–1135,
son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders
Stephen, (Étienne de Blois)
1135–1154,
son of Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy
Matilda, (Mathilde ouMaud l'Impératrice)
1141,
only legitimate daughter of Henry I and Edith of Scotland
House of Plantagenet
The early Plantagenets ruled many territories in France, and did not regard England as their primary home until after most of their French possessions were lost by King John. This long-lived dynasty is usually divided into three houses: the
Angevins, the House of Lancaster, and the House of York.
Angevins
Henry II,
(Henri Court-manteau)
1154–1189,
son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda
Henry the Young King
(co-king with his father)1170–1183,
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Richard I the Lionheart,
(Richard Cœur de Lion)
1189–1199,
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
John Lackland,
(Jean Sans Terre)
1199–1216,
son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Henry III
1216–1272, son of John and Isabella of Angoulême
Edward I Longshanks
1272–1307,son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence
Edward II
1327, 25 April 1284,
son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile
Edward III
1327–1377,
son of Edward II and Isabella of France
Richard II
21 June 1377 –
29 September 1399,
son of Edward, the Black Prince and Joan of Kent
House of Lancaster
Henry IV Bolingbroke
1399–1413,
son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster
Henry V
1413–1422,
son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun
Henry VI
31 August 1422
– 4 March 1461,
30 October 1470 – 11 April 1471,
son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
House of York
Edward IV
4 March 1461 –
3 October 1470,
11 April 1471–1483,
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville
Edward V
9 April–25 June 1483,
son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
Richard III
1483–1485,
son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville
House of Tudor
The Tudors were of partial Welsh ancestry, and in 1536 Wales was fully incorporated into the English state (having been under English control since 1284). With Henry VIII's break from the Roman Catholic Church the monarch became the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Elizabeth I's title became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Henry VII
1485–1509,
son of Edmund Tudor and Lady Margaret Beaufort
Henry VIII
1509–1547,
son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
Edward VI
1547–1553,
son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
Jane,
("The Nine Days' Queen")
10 July–19 July 1553,
daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Lady Frances Brandon
Mary I,
("Bloody Mary")
1553–1558,
daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
Elizabeth I,
("The Virgin Queen")
1558–1603,
daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
House of Stuart
Following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 without issue, the Scottish king, James VI, succeeded to the English throne as James I in what became known as the Union of the Crowns. In 1604 he adopted the title King of Great Britain, although the two kingdoms remained
separate.
James I
1603–1625,
son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots
Charles I,
("Saint Charles the Martyr")
1625–1649,
son of James I and Anne of Denmark
Commonwealth
There was no reigning monarch between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Despite this, from 1653 the following individuals held power as Lords Protector, during the period known as the Protectorate.
Oliver Cromwell
1653–1658,
son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Stewart
Richard Cromwell,
("Tumbledown Dick")
3 September 1658
– 7 May 1659,
son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier
House of Stuart (restored)
Although the monarchy was restored in 1660, no stable settlement proved possible until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when parliament finally asserted the right to choose whomsoever it pleased as monarch.
Charles II
8 May
1660–1685,
son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France
James II
6 February 1685 –
23 December 1688,
son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France
William III of Orange,
(Willem Hendrik,
Prins van Oranje)
13 February
1689–1702,
son of William II, Prince of Orange and Mary Stuart
Mary II
13 February 1689–1694,
daughter of James II and Anne Hyde
Anne
8 March
1702-1707[80]
Great Britain,
1 May 1707-1714,
daughter of James II and Anne Hyde
England and Scotland entered into legislative and governmental union on 1 May 1707 under the Acts of Union 1707, though retained separate legal systems and other attributes thereafter.
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