Kings and Queens of Britain

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Aethelwulf, coin, 9th century; in the British Museum

Eadred, shown on a 10th-century silver penny; in the British Museum

Kings and Queens of Britain

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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 country’s 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.

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	802–839
	Aethelwulf (Ethelwulf)	Saxon	839–856/858
	Aethelbald (Ethelbald)	Saxon	855/856–860
	Aethelberht (Ethelbert)	Saxon	860–865/866
	Aethelred I (Ethelred)	Saxon	865/866–871
	Alfred the Great	Saxon	871–899
	Edward the Elder	Saxon	899–924
Sovereigns of England
	name	dynasty or house	reign
	Athelstan¹	Saxon	925–939
	Edmund I	Saxon	939–946
	Eadred (Edred)	Saxon	946–955
	Eadwig (Edwy)	Saxon	955–959
	Edgar	Saxon	959–975
	Edward the Martyr	Saxon	975–978
	Ethelred II the Unready (Aethelred)	Saxon	978–1013
	Sweyn Forkbeard	Danish	1013–14
	Ethelred II the Unready (restored)	Saxon	1014–16
	Edmund II Ironside	Saxon	1016
	Canute	Danish	1016–35
	Harold I Harefoot	Danish	1035–40
	Hardecanute	Danish	1040–42
	Edward the Confessor	Saxon	1042–66
	Harold II	Saxon	1066
	William I the Conqueror	Norman	1066–87
	William II	Norman	1087–1100
	Henry I	Norman	1100–35
	Stephen	Blois	1135–54
	Henry II	Plantagenet	1154–89
	Richard I	Plantagenet	1189–99
	John	Plantagenet	1199–1216
	Henry III	Plantagenet	1216–72
	Edward I	Plantagenet	1272–1307
	Edward II	Plantagenet	1307–27
	Edward III	Plantagenet	1327–77
	Richard II	Plantagenet	1377–99
	Henry IV	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1399–1413
	Henry V	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1413–22
	Henry VI	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1422–61
	Edward IV	Plantagenet: York	1461–70
	Henry VI (restored)	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1470–71
	Edward IV (restored)	Plantagenet: York	1471–83
	Edward V	Plantagenet: York	1483
	Richard III	Plantagenet: York	1483–85
	Henry VII	Tudor	1485–1509
	Henry VIII	Tudor	1509–47
	Edward VI	Tudor	1547–53
	Mary I	Tudor	1553–58
	Elizabeth I	Tudor	1558–1603
Sovereigns of Great Britain and the United Kingdom^{2, 3}
	name	dynasty or house	reign
	James I (VI of Scotland)²	Stuart	1603–25
	Charles I	Stuart	1625–49
	Commonwealth (1653–59)
	Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector⁴		1653–58
	Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector⁴		1658–59
	Charles II	Stuart	1660–85
	James II	Stuart	1685–88
	William III and Mary II⁵	Orange/Stuart	1689–1702
	Anne	Stuart	1702–14
	George I	Hanover	1714–27
	George II	Hanover	1727–60
	George III³	Hanover	1760–1820
	George IV⁶	Hanover	1820–30
	William IV	Hanover	1830–37
	Victoria	Hanover	1837–1901
	Edward VII	Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	1901–10
	George V⁷	Windsor	1910–36
	Edward VIII⁸	Windsor	1936
	George VI	Windsor	1936–52
	Elizabeth II	Windsor	1952–2022
	Charles III	Windsor	2022–

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.