English Monarchs Flashcards
English Monarch - 1066-1087
William the Conqueror (1028-1087), or William I - First Norman King of England - Son of the unmarried Robert I, Duke of Normandy, by his mistress Herleva, y called William the Bastard - Married Matilda of Flanders in 1050 - Defeated the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 - Commissioned the Domesday Book in 1086 - Died at age 59, while leading an expedition against the French
1087-1100 EM
William II (William the Red / William Rufus) - No offspring - Died while hunting
1100-1135 EM
Henry I (Henry Beauclerc) - Son of William I - Died after feasting on lampreys - Succeeded by his nephew Stephen of Blois
1135-1154 EM
Stephen (of Blois) - Grandson of Wm I - King during The Anarchy civil war against his cousin Empress Matilda
1141 EM
Empress Matilda (Disputed) - Daughter of Henry I - Was Holy Roman empress 1114-1125 - Fought Stephen during The Anarchy
1154-1189 EM
Henry II (Henry FitzEmpress) - Son of Empress Matilda - Married Eleanor of Aquitaine - House of Plantagenet
1189-1199 EM
Richard I (Lionheart) - Son of Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine - Commander during the Third Crusade against Saladin - Spent perhaps 6 months actually in England, mostly in France.
1199-1216 EM
John (Lackland) - Son of Henry II - Signed Magna Carta - Died of dysentery.
1216-1272 EM
Henry III - Son of King John - House of Plantagenet - Took throne at age 9 during the First Barons’ War - Unpopular, and reign characterized by constant fighting with barons and France - 4th longest reign.
1272-1307 EM
Edward I (Longshanks / Hammer of the Scots) - Son of Henry III - Conquered Wales - Started war with Scotland - Expelled all Jews from England in 1290.
1307-1327 EM
Edward II - Son of Edward I - Married Princess Isabella of France in 1308 - Lost war with Scotland, signed peace with Robert the Bruce - In 1326 Isabella turned on him and invaded from France - Forced to relinquish crown in 1327, and murdered.
1327-1377 EM
Edward III - Son of Edward II, crowned at age 14 after Edward II deposed by Roger Mortimer - Overthrew Mortimer in 1330 - Started Hundred Years War in 1337 by trying to claim French throne.
1377-1399 EM
Richard II - Grandson of Edward III, son of Edward the Black Prince - Suppressed Peasants Revolt of 1381 - Exiled Henry of Bolingbroke, who returned and deposed Richard - Murdered in captivity - Shakespeare play Richard II
1399-1413 EM
Henry IV (Henry of Bolingbroke) - Grandson of Edward III, cousin of Richard II - From the Lancaster branch of the Plantagenets - Died of illness
1413-1422 EM
Henry V - Son of Henry IV, second from House of Lancaster - Success in Hundred Years War led to him becoming heir to French throne - Died suddenly in France at age 35.
1422-1461 / 1471-1471 EM
Henry VI - Son of Henry V, succeeded to throne at 9-mos old - King of France 1422-1453 - King during Wars of the Roses between House of York and House of Lancaster - Peaceful and insane - Last Lancaster King
1461-1470 / 1471-1483 EM
Edward IV - Was Duke of York, took throne in War of Roses - 1st King from House of York
1483 EM
Edward V - Son of Edward IV, became King at age 13 - Reigned from April to June, never crowned - Locked in Tower of London by his uncle, the Lord Protector: Richard, Duke of Gloucester; who took the throne after Edward’s “disappearance.”
1483-1485 EM
Richard III - Brother of Edward IV - Locked Edward V in the Tower to take the throne - Fought Henry Tudor and died in battle; last king to do so - Last of York and Plantagenet - Skeleton found under a car park in 2012
1485-1509 EM
Henry VII - Seized throne after defeating Richard III in battle, during Wars of the Roses; last to become king through battle - 1st from House of Tudor
1509-1547 EM
Henry VIII - Son of Henry VII, 2nd from Tudor - Married 6 times - Established C of E - Used divine right to execute enemies - Many failed continental wars
1547-1553
Edward VI - Son of Henry VIII, crowned at age 9 - Died of illness at age 15 - Reign marked by economic problems and riots - 1st Protestant King - Named cousin Jane Grey as his heir.
1553 (9 days) EM
Lady Jane Grey - Reigned for 9 days in July 1553 - Granddaughter of Henry VII and cousin of Edward VI - Locked in the Tower and later executed
1553-1558
Mary I (Bloody Mary) - Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, half-sister of Edward VI - Catholic who executed many Protestants
1558-1603 EM
Elizabeth I (Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Good Queen Bess) - Daughter of Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn - Protestant - Fought Spanish Armada - Era of drama (Shakespeare) and exploration (Drake) - Last from Tudor - No children
1603-1625 EM
James I (James VI of Scotland) - Son of Mary Queen of Scots, great-great-grandson of Henry VII - Crowned in Scotland as an infant - Faced the Gunpowder Plot - Continued Elizabethan golden age - Started American colonization - 1st House of Stuart
1625-1649 EM
Charles I - Son of James I - Fought with Parliament over divine right and Catholicism - Led to English Civil War - Defeated by Cromwell and executed.
1660-1685 EM
Charles II - Son of Charles I - House of Stuart - Secretly Catholic, which led to much suspicion and conspiracy against him.
1685-1688 EM
James II - Brother of Charles II - Catholic, dethroned by his daughter Mary and her husband William
1689-1702 EM
William III & Mary II - Protestant co-monarchs and first cousins - Took throne in Glorious Revolution - Mary was daughter of James II - Died childless
1702-1714 EM
Anne - Sister of Mary II - Queen during unification of England and Scotland into Great Britain in 1707 - Protestant - No children - Last of House of Stuart
1714-1727 EM
George I - 2nd cousin of Anne - Born in Hanover (Germany) - 1st from House of Hanover - Protestant, chosen over 50 closer Catholic relatives - Power of monarchy greatly diminished during his reign
1727-1760 EM
George II - Son of George I - Last EM born outside of Britain (Germany) - Last to lead an army in battle (War of Austrian Succession)
1760-1820 EM
George III - Son of George II - King during Seven Years War, Revolutionary War, and Napoleonic Wars - Suffered mental illness - House of Hanover
1820-1830 EM
George IV - Son of George III - Not popular, and little actual power - Died of obesity
1830-1837 EM
William IV - Brother of George IV - Abolished slavery in British empire - Lived with actress Dorothea Jordan
1837-1901 EM
Victoria - Niece of William IV, granddaughter of George III - Crowned at 18, reigned for 63 years; longest of any EM, and longest female ever - Married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg - Last of House of Hanover
1901-1910 EM
Edward VII - Son of Victoria - Travelled and lived as a playboy, crowned at 60 - Related to many European leaders, including cousin Kaiser Wilhelm - House of Saxe-Coburg
1910-1936 EM
George V - Son of Edward VII - Emperor of India - King during WWI - Changed House name from Saxe-Coburg to Windsor
1936
Edward VIII - King from Jan to Dec 1936 - Abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson
1936-1952 EM
George VI - Son of George V - House of Windsor - King during WWII and decline of British Empire
1952- EM
Elizabeth II - Daughter of George VI - House of Windsor - Longest-lived (88) and 2nd longest reign (Victoria)
Six wives of Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon (1509-33 Anulled) Anne Boleyn (1533-1536 - Executed) Jane Seymour (1536-37 - Childbirth) Anne of Cleves (1540 - Anulled) Catherine Howard (1540-42 Executed) Catherine Parr (1543-47 - His death)
Alfred the Great
849-899 King of Wessex (871-899) - Successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest - Became the dominant ruler in England - Valued education and improved quality of life
Harold Godwinson (Harold II)
1022-1066 - Last Anglo-Saxon king of England (Jan-Oct 1066) - A powerful earl who took throne upon death of Edward the Confessor - Fought off invasion in the north by rival claimant Harold Hardrada of Norway, before falling at the Battle of Hastings against William I
