Royal History

One of the biggest draws for travellers to the UK is the royal family. Love them, hate them or indifferent to them, the Royal Family are an important part of Britain’s heritage. 

House of Wessex 

When it comes to a list of monarchs, historians generally start with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England.  
Starting with Alfred the Great, who took the throne in 886, the House of Wessex was continued with his son, Edward the Elder, who reigned for around 24 years. He was possibly followed by a number of his sons before the House of Denmark took the throne. England came under control of the Danish King, Sweyn Forkbeard after the invasion of 1013, so began a decades long swapping between both Houses until Edward the Confessor in 1042, who reinstated the House of Wessex.  

House of Normandy 

Before the Battle of Hastings saw William the Conqueror, aka William I, take the throne, it was briefly held by Harold Godwinson of the House of Godwin. Other than that, the House of Normandy held the throne from 1066 until 1135. Henry I, the son of William I died with no children. His nephew Stephen of Blois and his daughter, Matilda, Countess of Anjou, both claimed the throne and there was a period of fighting as each won and lost the throne. Technically Matilda was the first female monarch, though some historians discount her. The pair eventually came to an agreement, bringing in the age of the House of Anjou/Plantagenet, who ruled from 1272 until 1377.  

The War of the Roses 

The War of the Roses is perhaps the best known fight for the English crown. Fought between the Yorkist and the Lancastarians, both houses had claims on the throne and it did indeed pass back and forth between the two houses for several decades, until Richard III was defeated in battle by Henry Tudor, beginning the start of the Tudor dynasty. Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII, had a claim on the throne on the Lancaster side. Following his win at the Battle of Bosworth, Henry married Elizabeth of York, bringing the two houses together.  

The Tudors and the unification of Britain’s monarchs  

Probably the most famous of Britain’s Kings is Henry VIII, son of Henry VII, and his many wives. His six wives produced three legitimate heirs, Edward VI succeeded his father. He named his cousin, Jane Grey, as his heir, but she only remained queen for 9 days before Mary I, aka Bloody Mary, became Queen. Mary didn’t have any children, leaving the throne to her half sister, Elizabeth I. She also didn’t have children and named her cousin, James VI of Scotland as her heir, which united the Scottish and English thrones.  

The English Civil War  

The English Civil War and the execution of King Charles I saw a brief end of the British monarchy. Oliver Cromwell and his son, Richard, were named as Lord Protectors and ruled until the monarchy was restored under Charles II. His brother, James II, was openly Catholic, which caused some tension with parliament and saw James' daughter, Mary II being instated as monarch instead.  

Queen Anne, who reigned for 12 years saw the British monarchy up until the Acts of the Union, which officially joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain.  

Houses of Hanover and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 

Following Queen Anne was the House of Hanover, beginning with George I through to Queen Victoria. George III is probably the best known of the monarchs of these years, he earned the nickname, Mad King George, because of his bouts of mental unwellness. He was succeeded firstly by his sons George and then William, uncle of Queen Victoria, who became the grandmother of Europe, with many of her offspring filling the royal lines across Europe. 

Due to European wars with Germany, the royal family changed their name from Saxe Coburg and Gotha to the more British sounding Windsor.  

House of Windsor 

The current monarchy is of the House of Windsor. Starting with Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1938 in order to marry Wallis Simpson and was succeeded by his brother George VI. His daughter Elizabeth II took the crown in 1952 and ruled until her death in 2022, making her the longest serving British monarch. The current monarch is Charles III, Elizabeth II's oldest son.