Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons


England United Once the Scandinavian Kingdom of York had finally fallen, Eadred of Wessex ruled a united kingdom. The main work of uniting it had already been achieved by Athelstan, while the initial groundwork had been laid down by Alfred nearly a century before. The early Anglo-Saxon kings still had their powerbase in Wessex, and still spent much of their time there.


Anglo-Saxon Kings The Wessex-based Anglo-Saxon kings of this period were at the height of their power, ruling the 'Anglo-Saxon Empire' of a united England, with the Scots and Welsh also under their command. (Additions by Mick Baker.)
954 - 955	Eadred		First (recognised) King of United England.
955 - 959	Successional rift between Edred's two sons, Edwy (Eadwig the Fair) and Edgar. The latter takes control of Mercia and Northumbria, while Edwy rules in the south until his death in AD 959. Edgar then seizes complete control and becomes the second King of England.
959 - 975	Edgar the Peaceful		The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon England.
973	At Easter, Edgar is ritually anointed as the head of the 'Anglo-Saxon Empire' at Bath.
975	Edgar unexpected death at the age of 32 throws the kingdom into turmoil. A period of instability and in-fighting follows. Edward is a teenager when he gains the throne, and soon proves himself to be violent, unstable and quick-tempered.
975 - 978/9	Edward the Martyr		Son. Murdered.
978/9	Retainers of Queen Aelfthryth murder Edward. Aelfthryth secures the throne for her ten year-old son, Ethelred.
978/9 - 1013	Ethelred II Unraed (Ill-Advised)		Half-brother. Popularly known as Ethelred the Unready.
1013	Viking raiders kill Alphege, archbishop of Canterbury, before being bought off with a huge bribe.
1013 - 1014	Ethelred's reign is a relative disaster, as he fails to prevent Danish incursions into the kingdom which were at least partially prompted by his massacre of Danes not of the Danelaw in 1002, which apparently included Sweyn Forkbeard's sister. A Danish occupation by King Sweyn Forkbeard takes place as Ethelred seeks exile in Normandy. The occupation ends with Sweyn Forkbeard's death on 2 February 1014. Ethelred is summoned back where he fights with limited success to expel Sweyn's son, Canute. But, with rumours of betrayal in the air, and his son Edmund deciding to fight the war his own way, Ethelred retires to London and dies there on 23 April 1016. Edmund is proclaimed king.
1013-1014	Sweyn Forkbeard		King of Norway and Denmark.
1014	Canute (Cnut) the Great		Son. King of Norway and Denmark. Expelled.
1014-1016	Ethelred II Unraed (Ill-Advised)		Restored.
1016	Edmund II Ironsides		Ruled from April to November.
1016	Edmund fights strongly to prevent the Danish control of England, but after a series of successes, one disastrous defeat achieved through the treachery of his Mercian ally is enough to end his resistance. After a treaty with Canute, he dies suddenly - or is murdered.


Danish Kings
1017 - 1035	Canute (Cnut) the Great		King of Norway and Denmark.
1035 - 1040	Harold I Harefoot		Brother.
1040 - 1042	Hardicanute		Son of Canute. King of Denmark.


Anglo-Saxon Kings
1042 - 1066	Edward the Confessor		Last of the Cerdicingas to rule.
1066	Harold II Godwinson		January to October. Died at Hastings.
1066	Harold is narrowly defeated at Hastings (14th October), and the Anglo-Saxon line of kings comes to an end. (However, Harold's daughter, Gytha, had already married Vladimir II, Grand Prince of Kiev. Her descendants lead to Margaret of Oldenburg, who marries James III of Scotland. All British monarchs from James I of England are descended from Harold II.) Edgar, grandson of Edmund Ironsides, contests William's claim, but is ultimately unsuccessful. There is evidence for the widespread emigration of Englishman in the dark days of the late 1060s and early 1070s, as many leave for Scotland, Denmark, and even Constantinople.
1066	Edgar Atheling (the Prince)		October to December. Uncrowned.


Norman Kings Despite having a shaky claim to the throne, in October 1066, the duke of Normandy led a force which narrowly defeated Harold's Saxon army in battle near Hastings. For three months, William of Normandy faced the remaining Saxon forces under the leadership of Edgar Atheling, until the former was crowned in Westminster Abbey in December. Revolts continued in the north, the most memorable being that of Hereward the Wake. The last of the revolts ended in 1076, when the execution of Waltheof of Northumbria finished the 'Revolt of the Earls'. (Additions by Mick Baker.)
1066 - 1087	William I the Conqueror		Crowned in London in December.
1087 - 1100	William II Rufas		Son. Died in a 'hunting accident'.
1090	The Normans conquer the Welsh kingdom of Gwent (and Glamorgan), giving them control of all of South East Wales.
1100 - 1135	Henry I Beauclerke		Died 1 Dec of food poisoning from eating 'a surfeit of lampreys'.
	William Adelin		Son. Died on the White Ship in 1120.
1119	Henry I defeats an invasion of his Norman lands by Louis VI of France at the Battle of Br�mule.
c.1126	Dividing control of his treasury from the other main duties in his court, Henry creates the position of Lord High Treasurer in the early English Parliament.
1135	Upon the death of Henry I, Matilda, the Lady of England, Henry's only living legitimate child, becomes de jure monarch, as stipulated in his will. In 1114 she had been married to Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, but when he died in 1125 she had been recalled to England. In 1127 she married Prince Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou and Maine in order to secure an heir. Unfortunately, she is in Anjou when her father dies, and her quick-moving cousin secures the throne for himself with the support of the barons, who do not relish having an Anjou baron as their king. So begins a long civil war known as the Anarchy.
1135 - 1141	Stephen		Nephew of Henry I. Captured at the Battle of Lincoln.
1141	Matilda		Declared queen at Winchester, but uncrowned.
1141	Stephen is captured at the Battle of Lincoln in February 1141 and Matilda is declared queen, or the Lady of England, at Winchester, with the support of Nigel, the deposed First Lord High Treasurer. However, she alienates the citizens of London with her arrogant manner. She fails to secure her coronation and the Londoners join a renewed push from Stephen's queen and lay siege to the empress at Winchester. She manages to escape to the west, but while commanding her rearguard, her brother is captured by the enemy. Matilda is obliged to swap Stephen for Robert on 1 November 1141. Stephen re-imposes his authority. In 1148, after the death of her half-brother, Matilda finally returns to Normandy, leaving her son, Henry Plantagenet, to fight on in England.
1141 - 1154	Stephen		Restored.
1153	The death of his eldest son, Eustace, knocks the fight out of Stephen, and he agrees to adopt Henry Plantagenet as his heir. The barons are very supportive of this scheme, as it ends two decades of civil war. Stephen, suddenly feeling the full weight of his approximately fifty-eight years in age, dies the following year.


House of Plantagenet / Angevin Empress Matilda had married Prince Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou in 1127, joining together the French house with the very powerful Norman one. Their son, Henry Anjou, inherited the crown of England from his uncle, having already married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152. Following the reaching of an agreement with Stephen that Henry would succeed him, Henry came to the throne not only as the ruler of England, Anjou, and Normandy, but also of most of the rest of France through his wife. It was during the fourteenth century that St George, a former Roman army officer, became the patron saint of England in place of the Saxon king, Edward the Confessor.
1154 - 1189	Henry II Plantagenet		Son of Matilda. Lord of Ireland (1175).
1170 - 1183		Henry the Young King	Son. Co-reigned with his father 14 June-11 June. Died.
1189 - 1199	Richard I Coeur de Lion (the Lionheart)		Son.
1189 - 1192	Richard leads the Third Crusade in Palestine, seizing Cyprus from the Byzantine Empire along the way and gifting it to the king of Jerusalem.
1199 - 1216	John Lackland		Brother. Daughter Joan m Llywelyn Fawr, Prince of Wales.
1202 - 1214	John becomes involved in the 'War' of Bouvines. Defeat at the Battle of Bouvines on 27 July 1214 loses John the duchy of Normandy and his other French possessions to the French crown. His return to England sees him forced to sign Magna Carta by the disaffected barons on 15 June 1215.
1216 - 1217	On his deathbed, John persuades William Marshal to act as regent of England for his young son. With enemies all around, William takes Henry III into his care and ensures his coronation. The following year, Philip II of France sends his son, Louis, and the Count de Perche to invade England via Dover. The Battle of Lincoln sees William lead the charge, and he personally kills de Perche (accidentally, as he wants him as a prisoner for the ransom he would raise). The defeated French noblemen are led to a ship bound for France.
1216 - 1272	Henry III		Son.
1216 - 1219		William Marshal	Regent. Greatest melee tournament knight of his day.
1236	The Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth is subjugated by the Plantagenets, giving them mastery of all of South Wales. North Powys is also taken.
1272 - 1307	Edward I		Defeated last independent Welsh. Hammer of the Scots.
1302	In his attempts to keep down William Wallace and Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence, Edward I builds a fortress at Linlithgow.
1307 - 1327	Edward II		First English Prince of Wales. Weak king. Died mysteriously.
1314	Edward II's defeat at Bannockburn by the Scottish under Robert the Bruce sees the start of a period in which the certainty of Scottish independence from England become more and more established. The drawing up of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 involves the Pope, John XXII, in negotiations.
1327 - 1330	Isabella		Strong wife of Edward II. May have 'removed' her husband.
1327 - 1330		Mortimer	The queen's lover.
1328	The Treaty of Northampton, in which England renounces its claim to Scotland, is signed.
1330 - 1377	Edward III		Overthrew Isabella and Mortimer.
1330 - 1376		Edward	Son. Prince of Wales: 'The Black Prince'.
1330 - 1376	Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, later becomes popularly known as the Black Prince (a term first used well after his time). He is the eldest son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, and father of Richard II. Edward is an effective military leader, and is very popular during his lifetime. He is the first Englishman to be created a duke (of Cornwall in 1337), and he serves as a symbolic regent for periods in 1339, 1340, and 1342 while Edward III is on campaign. His early life sees a rise in fashion sense, with Edward taking a fancy to red and purple velvet cloaks and hats, and an early love for tournaments at the expense of learning, like his father. He also develops a recklessness with money and leads successful campaigns against the French in the Hundred Years War, perfecting the use of English and Welsh longbowmen. In his later years, campaigning on behalf of Pedro the Cruel of Castile ruins Edward's health and finances, and a lingering illness causes his death one year before that of his father, and so he never rules (the first English Prince of Wales to suffer that fate). The throne passes instead to his son, a minor.
1337 - 1453	The Hundred Years War between England and France begins when France confiscates Gascony from Edward III. Edward invades France to press his own claim to the throne. In 1346, Edward crushes the army of Philip VI of France at the Battle of Crecy.
1377 - 1399	Richard II		Son of the Black Prince. Deposed. d.1400.
1386	England and Portugal sign the Treaty of Windsor on 9 May, the oldest alliance in Europe still in force.


House of Lancaster In 1399, the exiled Henry Bolingbroke, heir to the duchy of Lancaster, returned to reclaim his lands, raising an army and marching meet the king. Despite having military intentions, Henry and his ally, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, actually met the king to discuss the restitution of Henry's lands, but at the meeting Richard was arrested and deposed, so snatching the throne away from him in a coup. Richard's former First Lord High Treasurer is also executed as the new regime takes control.
1399 - 1413	Henry IV		Cousin. Formerly the exiled Duke of Lancaster.
1400	Henry and Archbishop Arundel conspire to kill Richard II. Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales, is a close friend of Richard's. He is married to Henry IV's sister and had been court poet under Richard. During the reign of Richard there was a flowering of English literature (despite Shakespeare's later dramatic claims to the contrary), but Henry's reign witnesses a heavy level of censorship. People who cross Arundel could find themselves burnt as a heretic. Chaucer, outspoken in his mockery of powerful prelates who coveted worldly possessions (including Arundel), could well be a victim of this oppressive new order. He disappears just two months after Richard's death. None of his original works survive him, and all mention of him ceases for seven years after his probable death.
1403	While dealing with many rebellions throughout the kingdom, in one of his few notable victories in relation to the widespread Welsh rebellion, Henry IV defeats Henry Percy ('Harry Hotspur'), a rebel and ally of Owain Glyndwr, Prince of Wales, at the Battle of Shrewsbury.
1413 - 1422	Henry V
1420	Charles VI cedes France to Henry V in the Treaty of Troyes, after Henry's victory at Agincourt.
1422 - 1461	Henry VI		Deposed.
1455 - 1485	The Wars of the Roses begin with Richard, Duke of York's victory at the Battle of St Albans. Lancastrians are pitched against Yorkists in England for the next thirty years.


House of York
1461 - 1470	Edward IV		Third cousin. Flees the country upon Henry VI's restoration.
	New evidence points to Edward IV's mother, Cecily, daughter of the First Earl of Westmorland, having had a liaison with a tall, well-built archer at the Rouen garrison while her royal husband is campaigning against the French. Edward is conceived at a time in 1441 when his father, Richard, Duke of York, great-grandson of Richard II, is nowhere near his mother. Edward is born in April 1442. Edward's brother, George, later the Duke of Clarence, is legitimate. The third child, Richard III is also legitimate, and fully resembles his slightly-built, thin-faced father in stature and appearance.


House of Lancaster (Restored)
1470 - 1471	Henry VI		Murdered in prayer at the Tower of London.
1470 - 1471	While Edward IV and Richard have to flee from England, their brother George, Duke of Clarence, joins the winning side in 1470. The following year, Yorkist forces defeat the Lancastrians at the Battle of Barnet, restoring Edward IV to the throne.


House of York (Restored) Yorkist forces defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, restoring Edward IV to the throne.
1471 - 1483	Edward IV		Restored.
1478	George, Duke of Clarence, although forgiven for his change of allegiance in 1470, leads an attempted coup against Edward. He is captured and is executed by Edward for treason (by being hung upside down in a barrel of Madeira). George is survived by two children who outlive the House of York. They are the last of the (official) Plantagenets, and the younger of the two is executed by Henry VIII on trumped-up charges, to be sure she cannot apply her legal claim to the throne. But her own sons survive, and the modern-day descendant lives happily in Australia after emigrating in the 1960s. He is Michael, Earl of Louden, and is a potential claimant to the throne. The claim has effectively been lost by right of conquest (in 1485) and later inter-dynastic marriages.
1483	Edward V		Son. Ruled in name as a child for three months. Deposed.
1483	Richard, younger brother of Edward IV, knows that the child king has no legitimate claim to the throne, and immediately captures and imprisons the boy and his younger brother, the new Richard, Duke of York. Richard III claims the throne as the only surviving legitimate son of the previous Duke of York. The princes are held in the Tower of London until their eventual disappearance.
1483 - 1485	Richard III		Brother of Edward IV. Killed at Bosworth Field.
1485	Henry Tudor leads a slightly underwhelming invasion of England, via Milford Haven, from his exile in France and is fortunate to kill Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field.


House of Tudor The Gwyneddian Welsh-descended Tudors played an important role in transforming England from the comparatively weak European backwater that it had become following the collapse of the 'Anglo-Saxon Empire' and the Norman invasion into a powerful state that in the coming centuries would dominate much of the world. The Tudor monarchs also raised the conquered Ireland from a lordship to a kingdom (in 1541), giving them two kingdoms, plus the principality of Wales and the old French lands to claim amongst their titles.
1485 - 1509	Henry VII		Member of the House of Lancaster on his mother's side.
1485	Henry VII is the only major remaining claimant to the throne. He marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and heiress of the House of Plantagenet, to legitimise his somewhat shaky claim, without knowing the question mark over Elizabeth's own royal legitimacy. Henry himself is descended from Ednyfed Fychan, chief minister to Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd, and Owain ap Meredith ap Tewdur, a Welsh squire in Henry V's court. More practically, his marriage unites the Houses of York and Lancaster, ensuring an end to the Wars of the Roses.
1486	Henry VII's heir, Arthur, Prince of Wales, is born.
1486 - 1487	Lambert Simnel		Pretender. Nine year-old caught up in attempt to gain throne.
1487	Henry VII defeats Lambert Simnel's forces at Stoke, in the final battle of the Wars of the Roses.
1490 - 1499	Perkin Warbeck		Pretender. Hanged as a traitor at Tyburn.
1490 - 1499	Warbeck is an impostor, pretending to be Richard of Shrewsbury, First Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV, but is in fact a Fleming born in Tournai in around 1474. He is first noted as claiming the English throne at the court of Burgundy in 1490 and in 1499 he leaves the scene of his most recent failure in Cornwall for London, where he mounts a feeble military challenge to Henry before fleeing. He is captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London alongside a genuine claimant; Edward, Earl of Warwick, with whom he tries and fails to escape in 1499.
1491	Henry VII's wife, Elizabeth of York, gives birth to a son, Henry.
1502	Prince Arthur dies at the young age of fifteen, from uncertain medical circumstances. His wife, Catherine of Aragon, is sick as well, but survives. Henry VII gains a dispensation to marry her to Arthur's younger brother, Henry.
1509 - 1547	Henry VIII		King of Ireland (1541). Broke away from Papal church.
1509 - 1533	From ascending the throne at the age of seventeen, Henry VIII turns out to be one of England's most colourful and pivotal rulers. He marries six times in search of a male heir (and a spare), but only fathers three surviving children, two of them girls. He first marries his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon, and gains a daughter in Mary. After five children which don't survive and a long period without any further progeny Henry secures an annulment (Catherine dies in 1536).
1513	Henry campaigns in France, capturing two towns and beating off the French in the Battle of the Spurs, named for the sight of the spurs of the French cavalry, as they flee at great speed. Catherine of Aragon manages England in Henry's stead. James IV of Scotland takes full advantage by invading England, but Isabella sends an army north. The two forces meet at Flodden and the Scots are annihilated, with around 10,000 casualties, including James himself.
1521	Pope Leo X grants Henry the title 'Defender of the Faith' for a tract defending Catholicism. It is a title he retains, even after his split from the Catholic church.
1533 - 1536	Henry marries the ambitious Anne Boleyn. She immediately gives him another daughter, the red-haired Elizabeth. After three more non-surviving children, Henry has trumped-up charges of adultery levelled against Anne. She is beheaded on 19 May 1536.
1534	The English Reformation had gained political support when Henry VIII wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. Under pressure from Catherine's nephew, Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Pope Clement VII refuses the annulment and Henry, although theologically a Catholic, decides to become Supreme Head of the Church of England to ensure the annulment of his marriage. Even so, he maintains a strong preference for traditional Catholic practices.
1535 - 1536	The first English translation of the entire Bible is printed, with translations by Tyndale and Coverdale. The next year, the dissolution of the monasteries begins.
1536 - 1537	Henry marries his beloved Jane Seymour. Within a year she gives birth to Edward, but dies from an infection caused by unclean birthing instruments.
1540	The Catholic powers of France and Spain seem certain to establish an alliance with the intention of attacking England. Henry allows his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, to arrange a marriage for him with Anne of Kleve, whose brother, Duke William, is the leader of the Protestant states in western Germany. Anne proves to be a huge disappointment in Henry's eyes. The marriage is never consummated, and an annulment follows within six months (Anne lives out her life in England as a private person, never remarries, and dies in 1557 at the age of forty-two, seemingly content with her lot).
1540 - 1542	Already having a poorly-kept secret affair with her while still married to Anne, Henry's fifth wife is the lady-in-waiting, Catherine Howard. She is executed soon after.
1543 - 1547	Henry's sixth wife is the twice-married Catherine Parr. She outlives him by a year, remarrying and dying in childbirth.
1547 - 1553	Edward VI		Son. Crowned 20 Feb, aged nine. Died at the age of fifteen.
1547 - 1553	Protestantism is established for the first time in England, and in the last battle between English and Scottish royal armies, the Scots are routed at Pinkie, Edinburgh on 10 September 1547 as Edward's uncle and Protector, Edward Seymour attempts to impose Anglican reform north of the border and force the infant Mary, Queen of Scots to marry Edward. In England, Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, implements the Book of Common Prayer. Unfortunately, Edward's reign is marked by increasingly harsh Protestant reforms, the loss of control of Scotland, and an economic downturn. When it becomes clear that Edward's life is to be a short one, his advisors persuade him to attempt to exclude his two half sisters from the line of succession in order to make Lady Jane Grey, the solidly Protestant daughter-in-law of the chief regent, next in line to succeed the king. Following Edward's death a disputed succession re-opens the religious conflicts. Lady Jane is queen for nine days, and reigns in name only before being deposed by Mary. Mary then seeks to undo many of Edward's Protestant reforms, issuing legislation through her Parliamentary sessions.
1553	Lady Jane Grey		Henry's grandniece. Reigned 6-15 July. Deposed, beheaded.
1553 - 1558	Mary I (Bloody Mary)		Dau. of Henry VIII. m Philip II of Spain. Childless.
1553 - 1554	Continually turning to her maternal cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, for advice and support, Mary Tudor accepts his suggestion of marriage to his son, Philip of Spain. However, she makes it clear that she will be queen regnant, and following the wedding in 1554, Philip is given no lands in England, nor is he allowed to make any appointments for fear of upsetting the populace. It is stipulated that if there are no children, Philip's interest in the realm will cease with Mary's death.
1555 - 1558	Following her phantom pregnancy and a period of depression, Mary earns her nickname by having almost three hundred religious dissenters executed in her later years, including archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer. However, her brief attempt at the re-establishment of Roman Catholicism in England is reversed by her successor and half-sister, Elizabeth.
1558 - 1603	Elizabeth I		Dau. of Henry VIII. Childless.
1569	Elizabeth puts down the Catholic-led Northern Rebellion, before finding a new enemy in her former brother-in-law, Philip II, King of Spain.
1571	The Duke of Norfolk is executed following the failed Ridolfi Plot.
1572	Elizabeth makes an alliance with France and begins tentative marriage negotiations which go nowhere and decisively end when the younger Duke of Anjou dies in 1584.
1579 - 1583	The Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland is put down. In the same year, 1583, the first English colony in North America is founded. This later period of Elizabeth Tudor's reign sows the seeds of the British Empire, and is termed 'Gloriana'.
1585 - 1598	The Anglo-Spanish War erupts as relations with Philip of Spain worsen. Mary, Queen of Scots is executed in 1587, while Sir Francis Drake 'singes the king of Spain's beard' by attacking his fleet in the Spanish port of Cadiz. The great 130-ship Spanish Armada is destroyed at the Battle of Gravelines in 1588 while attempting to bring about an invasion of England. The war stalls in 1598 and is only officially ended by the Treaty of London in 1604.
1594 - 1603	The Nine Years' War between England and Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill ends with the surrender of the Irish.


House of Stuart James I was the first ruler of the three kingdoms of Britain: England, Scotland, and Ireland. It was a union that would not be made official until 1707 when the crowns were united as one. During James' reign, and that of his son, piracy in the Caribbean, especially targeting wealthy Spanish colonies such as Hispaniola, became fully established.
1603 - 1625	James I		VI of Scotland (1567-1625). Great-great grandson of Henry VII.
1605	Catholic plotters, unhappy with James' unsympathetic attitude towards their faith (which he also shares) decide to try and blow up Parliament at the state opening, thereby leaving the way open for a Catholic takeover of Britain. The plot is foiled.
1625 - 1649	Charles I		Deposed and executed.
1642 - 1651	Charles raises his standard, declaring war on a Parliament which is determined to force a confrontation. In 1645 the Royalists are routed at the Battle of Philiphaugh, defeating Charles I's cause in Scotland.


Protectorate Commonwealth of Britain Parliament's cause against Charles I simmered for years while it continually blocked the king's attempts to rule absolutely as he believed was his divine right. When a crowd of apprentices rioted at Westminster in 1641, they were dispersed by troops who called them Roundheads thanks to their close-cropped hair. After the commencement of the civil war in the following year, the term came to be applied to the Parliamentary forces, in opposition to the king's cavalier-styled gentlemen-led forces. When Parliament finally won the war, it realised it didn't know what kind of rule to offer the country, even going so far as to offer Oliver Cromwell the crown, as the Puritan (extreme Protestant) forces turned Britain into a kind of police state.
1649 - 1658	Oliver Cromwell		First Lord Protector.
1655	English troops take Jamaica from the Spanish colonial viceroyalty of New Spain, making it a hub for rum production and slave trading.
1657	Parliament offers Oliver Cromwell the title of king in the 'Humble Petition and Advice'. He rejects it.
1658 - 1659	Richard Cromwell		Second Lord Protector. Abdicated. d.1712.
1659	Richard Cromwell, entirely unsuited to his role, abdicates in 1659. Negotiations with Charles II are opened, and the restored king returns to Britain.


House of Stuart Restored Charles II returned from the Netherlands on his birthday to reclaim the throne, along with his Portuguese wife, Catherine of Braganza. Parliament proclaimed him king of England on 8 May 1660. Charles received popular support as he re-opened the theatres, and introduced a relaxed, tolerant rule to a country battered by a decade of extremist Puritan rule.
1660 - 1685	Charles II		Son of Charles I. King in exile (1649-1660).
1665 - 1666	The last Great Plague sweeps through London killing 65,000 (according to official figures), although the real figure is probably closer to as much as 100,000. The following year an accidental fire which starts at a Pudding Lane bakery engulfs almost all of the old Medieval city, with only a few exceptions, one of which is the Tower of London.
1670 - 1671	In a period in which adventurers seem to rule, the privateer Henry Morgan captures the port of Chagres from the Spanish viceroyalty of Peru in 1670 and goes on to destroy the city of Panama in New Granada. On 9 May 1671, the crown jewels are briefly stolen from the Tower of London by Irish adventurer Colonel Thomas Blood.
1685 - 1688	James II		Deposed. Catholic revivalist. Died in 1701 in exile.
1688	Feeling against the blatantly anti-Protestant James flares up when his second wife, Mary of Modena, gives birth to a Catholic heir (commonly believed to be a changeling). William of Orange lands in Britain with a Dutch army. The disaffected British army goes over to him, and a bloodless takeover is effected with the support of the British people, named the Glorious Revolution. James flees London for France on 11 December, and by this act is deemed to have abdicated.
1689	There is an interregnum while events are unfolding. William of Orange and his wife, Mary II, come to the throne with the Declaration of Rights being read before Parliament on 13 February, with Mary declining to be queen regnant, instead preferring to give way to her husband in all matters of state. Nevertheless, she proves to be a worthy regent in his absences.
1689 - 1694	Mary II		Dau. Ruled jointly with husband, William III.
1689 - 1702		William III	Prince of (the House of) Orange.
1690	James II has gained Irish and French support for his cause and James invades Ireland from France, but his attempts are stopped dead at the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July (there can be some confusion over pre-1752 dating, and these days it seems to be the case to refer to historical events keeping the old day and month but updating the year. The dates used here are the accepted ones).
1701 - 1766	James Francis Stuart 'Old Pretender'		Son of James II.
1701	The Act of Settlement on 12 June confirms that it is illegal for a Roman Catholic, or anyone married to a Roman Catholic, to inherit the throne (as set out in the 1689 Bill of Rights). This disqualifies the Catholic Stuart Pretenders from gaining the throne after Anne's death. It also disqualifies the Catholic heirs of Charles I and his sister, Elizabeth of the Palatinate, 'queen of Bohemia', leaving just Sophie, widow of Ernst August of Brunswig-L�neberg, elector of Hanover, and her son, George Ludwig.
1702 - 1714	Anne		Sister of Mary II. Had 17-18 children, but all predeceased her.
1702 - 1715	While Portugal initially supports France during the War of Spanish Succession. Britain alters the situation with the signing of the Methuen Treaty with Portugal on 16 May 1703, which grants mutually beneficial commercial rights for wine and textiles from the two countries. In December 1703 a military alliance between Austria, Britain, and Portugal sees them invade Spain. The allied forces capture Madrid in 1706, although the campaign ends in a defeat at the Battle of Almansa.
1707 - 1708	The Union of the crowns of England and Scotland is enacted. The idea had been recommended by William III and is now approved by Anne as a method of preventing the possibility of Scotland going its own way, as the Scottish Parliament refuses to endorse the Hanoverian succession. The joint kingdoms are governed from a single Parliament at Westminster in London. The following year, an attempted invasion of Scotland by James Francis Stuart at the Firth of Forth is defeated at sea.


House of Hanover The Protestant elector of Hanover was invited to take the throne after the death of his distant cousin, Queen Anne, under the Act of Settlement of 1701. The initial beneficiary was to be his mother, Sophie, but she died just days before Anne. George I was the son of the duke of Brunswig-L�neberg, and inherited this title, along with that of the duchy of Saxe-Lauenberg. It was during his reign that the position of prime minister became cemented within Parliament and a recognisably modern government began to emerge.
1714 - 1727	George I		Elector of Hanover. Great-grandson of James I.
1727 - 1760	George II
1766 - 1788	Charles Edward Stuart 'Young Pretender'		Son of James Francis Stuart. Also 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'.
1739	Dick Turpin, probably the famous most English highwayman, is hanged for horse theft at York Knavesmire.
1745 - 1746	In 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie lands at Eriskay in the Hebrides, Scotland, to lay claim to the British throne. Fighting in his still-living father's name, he raises his standard at Glenfinnan, Scotland on 19 August, igniting the Second Jacobite Rebellion. On 21 September, his Jacobite forces defeat English forces at the Battle of Prestonpans. The following year, in the last battle fought on British soil, the Jacobites are routed by the duke of Cumberland at Culloden. The Jacobite cause effective dies, but Charles Edward's claim is passed on, first through his brother, Henry, in 1788, and then the kings of Sardinia from 1807.
1752	Britain switches from the outdated Julian calendar to the Gregorian one, 'losing' twelve days in the process and moving the start of the year from 25 March to 1 January (except for the tax office, which refuses to budge up to and including the present day).
1756 - 1763	The Seven Years' War - the first truly 'global' conflict - erupts as Britain declares war on France. In 1762 the Spanish colony of Cuba is captured by Britain and held for a year before being handed back as part of the peace settlement, in exchange for Florida.
1757 - 1759	In 1757, the British East India Company are victorious over the nawwab of Bengal, an ally of the French, which signals the end of any serious French ambitions in what was Moghul India. Two years later, General James Wolfe claims the Canadian territories for the British Colonies with victory over the French near Quebec.
1760 - 1820	George III		The 'Mad' King.
1770	British navigator and explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover Australia. In the same year, the Boston Massacre takes place in the American colonies.
1775 - 1783	Revolutionaries in the American colonies begin a war with the intention of driving out English rule. It takes the revolutionaries over seven years to force Britain to declare that it will cease hostilities and withdrawn its troops and Hessian allied units.
1787	The 'First Fleet' carrying convicts sets sail for Australia, where it will set up the first penal colony.
1788 - 1807	Henry Benedict Cardinal Stuart		Son of James Francis Stuart. Last Jacobite claimant to throne.
1789	Fletcher Christian leads a successful mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty against the captain, William Bligh.
1793 - 1815	Following the French Revolution, Britain is at war with France almost continuously.
1798	The British East India signs a treaty with the Sultans of Oman & Zanzibar. In the same year, the United Irishmen rebel against British rule in Ireland, but despite French help they are defeated.
1801	The Act of Union with Ireland is passed by Parliament, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Irish Parliament is dissolved (1801-1923).
1814 - 1816	The Anglo-Nepalese War culminates in a treaty which establishes Nepal's modern boundaries.
1815	The Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Dutch-German army defeats Napoleon's French army at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June in conjunction with the Prussian army, ending 25 years of war in Europe.
1820 - 1830	George IV		Son. Prince Regent (1810-1820).
1830 - 1837	William IV		Brother. Childless.
1835	London is excluded from the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act, and various attempts are made thereafter to create a unitary entity.


House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha Victoria was the daughter of Edward, duke of Kent, a younger brother of George IV and William IV who had died within a couple of years of her birth. Her mother was Victoire, the sister of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg (who had been married to Charlotte, daughter of George IV until she died in childbirth). Victoria was to be named after her mother but the name, which was otherwise unknown in Britain, had to be Anglicised first. Victoria acceded to the throne a few weeks after her eighteenth birthday; her uncle, William IV, held onto life just long enough for that, so her controlling mother would not be regent. However, as a woman, Victoria was prevented by Salic Law from also inheriting Hanover, so that passed to the next in line; her uncle, Ernest Augustus, duke of Cumberland. Leopold became the first king of the Belgians in 1831.
1837 - 1901	Victoria		Queen-Empress of India (1876).
1839 - 1840	Although born of the House of Hanover herself, her proposal of marriage to Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha forms a new alignment. The ceremony takes place on 10 February 1840.
1840	Britain unites with Ottoman Turkey to overthrow the Amir of Lebanon.
1843	The protectorate of Basutoland is recognised by Britain.
1848	The USA triggers the Mexican-American War, hoping to annexe all of Texas. Britain, which still holds much of the disputed territory of Oregon, is persuaded not to intervene by an agreement which divides the territory along the 48th parallel. Britain keeps Vancouver to the north of the line (British Columbia), while the US gains Seattle to the south (Washington and Oregon).
1852 - 1853	Britain annexes lower Burma, including Rangoon, following the Second Anglo-Burmese war.
1854 - 1856	Britain and France join the Ottoman empire in the Crimean War against Russia, to halt Russian expansion. The war ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a severe setback to Russian ambitions, although the Prime Minister is blamed for British failings in the war.
1857 - 1858	The Indian Mutiny over British rule erupts, but after some hard fighting in places it is suppressed. The last Moghul emperor is deposed and India is placed under direct control of the British Empire's Viceroys, whilst subject or allied princes rule various small states.
1859 - 1860	The British begin the building of the Suez Canal in Egypt. In 1860, British troops occupy Beijing, effectively ending the Second Opium War and humiliating the Chinese Ch-ing dynasty.
1868	Basutoland becomes one of Britain's High Commission Territories.
1878	Britain leases Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire as a result of the Cyprus Convention, which grants control of the island to Britain in return for its support in the Russo-Turkish War.
1879	The war against the Zulu Nation ends in British victory. Zululand is annexed in 1887.
1882	British occupation of Egypt begins.
1888 - 1899	Kuwait is taken from the Ottoman Empire and a protectorate is created.
1890 - 1893	A British Protectorate is created for Zanzibar in 1890. Between then and 1893 Britain also conquers the Bornu Empire of Chad.
	Alfred		Son. Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1893-1900).
1897 - 1898	Colonial rule of the former Benin Empire begins and lasts until 1960. The following year Sudan is gained under joint Anglo-Egyptian governance.
1900	The Zobier Dynasty in Chad is defeated and Britain gains Borno while Chad goes to France. British troops under Robert Baden-Powell relieve Mafeking in South Africa, after a Boer siege of 215 days. In 1902 The Second Boer War ends with the Treaty of Vereeniging, which gives Britain sovereignty in South Africa.
1901 - 1910	Edward VII the Peacemaker		Son.
1910	The Union of South Africa is formed, ending British control of South Africa and Zululand.
1910 - 1917	George V		Son.
1913	Britain and the Ottoman government sign a treaty recognising the independence of Bahrain, but the country remains under British administration. Britain also annexes Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire.
1916 - 1918	The Arab Revolt liberates much of the Middle East from Ottoman and Il-Khan control, with Britain and the Hashemite Arabs taking control. Britain directly controls Palestine.
1917	With the Great War against Germany raging on, George takes the politically astute decision to sever all familial links with his Teutonic cousins (his cousin in Belgium soon follows suit). The Royal Family's name is changed to Windsor, and all German titles throughout the family are exchanged for British peerages.


House of Windsor
1917 - 1936	George V
1918 - 1946	A British Mandate governs the Hashemite Transjordan and Palestine areas of the Middle East. The state of Jordan is created.
1921 - 1932	A British Mandate governs much of the Middle East which Britain had played a large part in liberating from the ottoman Empire. Under that mandate the kingdom of Greater Syria is created, and then destroyed by France, so the Hashemite kingdom of Iraq is created to replace it. In 1932 the kingdom achieves full independence from Britain.
1923	Southern and Central Ireland are given independence. The north, predominantly Protestant in faith, remains within the Union.
1936	Edward VIII		Son. Abdicated 11 December.
1936 - 1952	George VI		Brother.
1937	Britain separates Burma from India and makes it a crown colony.
1939	The Nazi German invasion of Poland on 1 September is the trigger for the Second World War. With both France and Britain, under Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, pledged to support Poland, both countries have no option but to declare war on 3 September.
1946 - 1947	Britain pulls out of Palestine.
1947	Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, heir to the throne, marries Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, born Prince of Greece and Denmark in Corfu in 1921, and paternal grandson of King George I of Greece, but he renounces his Royal title when he becomes a naturalised British subject in 1947.
1948	Britain grants Burma independence.
1952 - Present	Elizabeth II		Daughter. Christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.
1953	Egypt gains independence from British rule.
1956	Sudan gains independence from British rule.
1960	The former Benin Empire (Nigeria) gains independence, as does Cyprus.
1961	Kuwait is granted full independence.
1963	Zanzibar achieves independence from Britain on 10 December.
1965	Basutoland is granted autonomy, with full independence following in 1966.
1967	The British Protectorate is ended in Oman.
1971	Bahrain declares independence on 15 August and signs a new treaty of friendship with Britain.
2003	An Anglo-American-led action leads to the collapse of Iraq's dictatorial regime after just twenty-one days of fighting.
	Charles III / George VII		Son. Christened Prince Charles Philip Arthur George. Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne.
	William V		Son.

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

Kings of England