England Royal Family: Every King and Queen Since 1066
The England royal family from William I to Charles III: all 42 monarchs by house, how each reign began, the disputed claims, and today's royal family.
Last updated September 2026
Contents10
- The England royal family today
- Kings and queens of the England royal family, 1066-1399
- Lancaster, York and Tudor, 1399-1603
- Stuarts to Windsor, 1603 to today
- Records outside the count of 42
- Edward V: counted, but never crowned
- How the crown passed
- Before 1066
- Pages in the England and Britain section
- Verdict: the England royal family in one list
The England royal family has passed the crown from house to house since the Norman Conquest of 1066, from Normandy to Windsor. This hub lists all 42 monarchs in order, with reign years, royal house and the way each reign began. It also sets out the claims that most lists leave out, and it links every page in the England and Britain section.
TL;DR: 42 kings and queens have reigned since 1066, from William I to Charles III. The houses run Normandy, Blois, Plantagenet, Lancaster, York, Tudor, Stuart, Hanover, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Windsor. Empress Matilda (1141), Lady Jane Grey (1553) and the Interregnum (1649-1660) sit outside the count and are shown separately below.
The England royal family today
The reigning monarch is King Charles III. He became king on 8 September 2022, when his mother, Elizabeth II, died at Balmoral. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023, with Queen Camilla crowned beside him.
The senior working members of the family are the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
The first places in the line of succession follow the rules of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. That Act ended male preference for anyone born after 28 October 2011.
| Place | Person | Relation to the King |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | William, Prince of Wales | Elder son |
| 2 | Prince George of Wales | Grandson |
| 3 | Princess Charlotte of Wales | Granddaughter |
| 4 | Prince Louis of Wales | Grandson |
| 5 | Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex | Younger son |
Scroll for more →
The full rules, and how they changed over nine centuries, are on the succession to the British throne page.
Kings and queens of the England royal family, 1066-1399
The table gives each monarch's house, reign years and how the reign began. "Inheritance" means the crown passed by the normal rule of the day. Every row is checked against the Royal Family's list of kings and queens since 1066 and Britannica's list of British monarchs.
| Monarch | House | Reign | How the reign began | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William I | Normandy | 1066-1087 | Conquest | Reviewed |
| William II | Normandy | 1087-1100 | Named heir by his father | Reviewed |
| Henry I | Normandy | 1100-1135 | Took the throne ahead of his elder brother Robert | Reviewed |
| Stephen | Blois | 1135-1154 | Took the throne; contested by Empress Matilda (see below) | Reviewed |
| Henry II | Plantagenet (Angevin) | 1154-1189 | Agreed succession (Treaty of Wallingford, 1153) | Reviewed |
| Richard I | Plantagenet | 1189-1199 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| John | Plantagenet | 1199-1216 | Inheritance, over his nephew Arthur's claim | Reviewed |
| Henry III | Plantagenet | 1216-1272 | Inheritance, aged nine | Reviewed |
| Edward I | Plantagenet | 1272-1307 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| Edward II | Plantagenet | 1307-1327 | Inheritance; deposed | Reviewed |
| Edward III | Plantagenet | 1327-1377 | Father deposed | Reviewed |
| Richard II | Plantagenet | 1377-1399 | Inheritance from his grandfather; deposed | Reviewed |
Scroll for more →
Lancaster, York and Tudor, 1399-1603
| Monarch | House | Reign | How the reign began | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry IV | Lancaster | 1399-1413 | Deposed Richard II | Reviewed |
| Henry V | Lancaster | 1413-1422 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| Henry VI | Lancaster | 1422-1461, 1470-1471 | Inheritance, aged nine months; restored once | Reviewed |
| Edward IV | York | 1461-1470, 1471-1483 | Took the throne twice | Reviewed |
| Edward V | York | 1483 | Inheritance; never crowned (see below) | Reviewed |
| Richard III | York | 1483-1485 | Took the throne after his nephews were declared illegitimate | Reviewed |
| Henry VII | Tudor | 1485-1509 | Conquest at Bosworth | Reviewed |
| Henry VIII | Tudor | 1509-1547 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| Edward VI | Tudor | 1547-1553 | Inheritance, aged nine | Reviewed |
| Mary I | Tudor | 1553-1558 | Inheritance; displaced Lady Jane Grey | Reviewed |
| Elizabeth I | Tudor | 1558-1603 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
Scroll for more →
The Tudor years, with the full family line, are on the House of Tudor page. For further reading on the dynasty, our Tudor books list picks eight.
Stuarts to Windsor, 1603 to today
From 1603 the same monarch also ruled Scotland. The Acts of Union made the two kingdoms one Great Britain in 1707, and Ireland joined the United Kingdom in 1801.
| Monarch | House | Reign | How the reign began | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James I | Stuart | 1603-1625 | Inheritance (union of the crowns) | Reviewed |
| Charles I | Stuart | 1625-1649 | Inheritance; executed | Reviewed |
| Charles II | Stuart | 1660-1685 | Restoration | Reviewed |
| James II | Stuart | 1685-1688 | Inheritance; fled in 1688 | Reviewed |
| William III | Orange | 1689-1702 | Parliamentary settlement, jointly with Mary II | Reviewed |
| Mary II | Stuart | 1689-1694 | Parliamentary settlement, jointly with William III | Reviewed |
| Anne | Stuart | 1702-1714 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| George I | Hanover | 1714-1727 | Act of Settlement, 1701 | Reviewed |
| George II | Hanover | 1727-1760 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| George III | Hanover | 1760-1820 | Inheritance from his grandfather | Reviewed |
| George IV | Hanover | 1820-1830 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| William IV | Hanover | 1830-1837 | Inheritance from his brother | Reviewed |
| Victoria | Hanover | 1837-1901 | Inheritance from her uncle | Reviewed |
| Edward VII | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 1901-1910 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| George V | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, renamed Windsor in 1917 | 1910-1936 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| Edward VIII | Windsor | 1936 | Inheritance; abdicated | Reviewed |
| George VI | Windsor | 1936-1952 | Brother's abdication | Reviewed |
| Elizabeth II | Windsor | 1952-2022 | Inheritance | Reviewed |
| Charles III | Windsor | 2022- | Inheritance | Reviewed |
Scroll for more →
Records outside the count of 42
Three records do not fit neatly into a numbered list. Sources treat them differently, so each one is shown here on its own rather than folded into a reign.
Empress Matilda, 1141
Empress Matilda, "Lady of the English", 1141.
House: Normandy, by birth; married into Anjou · Status: Disputed. Not counted in the 42.
Note: Henry I's daughter and named heir. Stephen took the throne in 1135. Matilda's forces captured him at Lincoln in February 1141, and she took the title "Lady of the English". She was never crowned, and Londoners drove her out that June.
The Royal Family website treats 1135-1154 as one entry, "Stephen and Matilda". Britannica and most numbered lists count Stephen alone.
Sources: The Royal Family, "Stephen and Matilda"; Britannica, "Matilda, daughter of Henry I".
Lady Jane Grey, 1553
Lady Jane Grey, 10-19 July 1553.
House: Tudor, by descent from Henry VIII's sister Mary · Status: Disputed. Not counted in the 42.
Note: Edward VI named his cousin Jane as heir, passing over his half-sisters. He died on 6 July 1553, and the council proclaimed Jane queen on 10 July. Support moved to Mary, and the council proclaimed Mary queen on 19 July. Jane was executed at the Tower of London on 12 February 1554.
The Royal Family website lists her as a monarch, "r. 10-19 July 1553". Most numbered lists, and the count of 42, leave her out, because her claim rested on Edward's will rather than on the Act of Succession.
Sources: The Royal Family, "Lady Jane Grey"; Historic Royal Palaces, "Lady Jane Grey"; Britannica, "Lady Jane Grey".
The Interregnum, 1649-1660
The Interregnum, 1649-1660.
Rulers: Parliament and the Council of State, then Oliver Cromwell and Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector · Status: Disputed. No monarch; the gap is counted differently.
Note: Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649. Parliament abolished the office of king in March 1649 and ruled as a Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector in December 1653 and held the post until his death in September 1658. His son Richard followed him but resigned in 1659.
Charles II returned in May 1660. His official regnal years were dated from his father's death in 1649, so legal records show no gap, while the actual list of rulers does.
Sources: UK Parliament, "Overview of the Civil War"; UK Parliament, "The end of the Protectorate"; The Royal Family, "United Kingdom Monarchs (1603-present)".
Edward V: counted, but never crowned
The record
Edward V, 9 April to 25 June 1483.
House: York · Status: Reviewed. Counted in the 42.
Note: Edward IV's elder son became king at twelve. His uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, took charge as Protector and lodged Edward and his younger brother in the Tower of London. A petition then declared the boys illegitimate, and Richard took the throne as Richard III on 26 June 1483. Edward was never crowned, and the boys were not seen again. The sources agree that he reigned; what happened to the princes is still debated.
Sources: Britannica, "Edward V"; Historic Royal Palaces, "The Princes in the Tower".
How the crown passed
Most reigns began by inheritance, but the exceptions shaped the rules that apply today.
- Conquest: William I in 1066 and Henry VII in 1485 won the crown in battle.
- Deposition: Edward II (1327), Richard II (1399), Henry VI (1461) and Edward IV (1470) lost the throne while alive.
- Execution and restoration: Charles I was executed in 1649, and Charles II was restored in 1660.
- Parliamentary settlement: Parliament offered the crown to William III and Mary II in 1689. The Act of Settlement of 1701 then passed it to the Protestant heirs of Sophia of Hanover, which brought in George I in 1714.
- Abdication: Edward VIII signed an instrument of abdication on 10 December 1936, and his brother became George VI.
Before 1066
England had kings well before the Normans. The Royal Family website counts Æthelstan, from 927, as the first king of all England. Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings then ruled until Harold II fell at Hastings in October 1066. Those earlier kings are outside this list, because their reign dates rest on thinner sources and most numbered lists begin with William I.
A home DNA test cannot link you to a royal line like this one. Our guide to the best DNA test for ancestry compares five kits and bundles. It also explains what they can and cannot show.
Pages in the England and Britain section
The complete lists
- English monarchs in order, with reign lengths
- Queens of England, regnant and consort
- The shortest-reigning English monarch
- Succession to the British throne
- Britain's monarchy: how the constitutional monarchy works
Plantagenets
- House of Plantagenet, 1154-1485
- Plantagenet: where the name comes from
- Henry Plantagenet, Henry II
- John Plantagenet, King John
Tudors
- House of Tudor, 1485-1603
- Tudor monarchs, reign by reign
- Henry VIII's wives in order
Stuarts
- The Stuarts, the dynasty in Scotland and England
- England under the Stuarts, 1603-1714
Victoria to Windsor
- Queen Victoria's reign
- Queen Victoria's family tree
- House of Windsor
- Elizabeth and the monarchy
- Queen Elizabeth II's family tree
The British Empire
For other countries, start at the lists of monarchs index.
Our guide to the best books about the royal family picks eight for further reading. They cover every era from 1066 to Elizabeth II.
Verdict: the England royal family in one list
The England royal family has had 42 monarchs since 1066, from the House of Normandy to the House of Windsor. The count is stable because the hard cases sit outside it: Matilda never reigned uncontested, Jane Grey's claim failed in nine days, and the Interregnum had no monarch at all. Edward V stays in the count, because he reigned, even though he was never crowned.
Sources checked for this page
- The Royal Family, "Kings and Queens from 1066"
- The Royal Family, "United Kingdom Monarchs (1603-present)"
- Britannica, "List of British monarchs"
- Legislation.gov.uk, Succession to the Crown Act 2013
- The Royal Family, "Accession Council and Principal Proclamation"
- Record-level sources are named in each record box above.
Our picks in this topic
8 picks
8 Best Books About the Royal Family, From the Plantagenets to Elizabeth II, in 2026
Eight books about the royal family of England and Britain, chosen to cover every era from 1066 to Elizabeth II, with the author, publisher and scope of each edition.
8 picks
8 Best Tudor Books, From Henry VII to Elizabeth I, in 2026
Eight Tudor books, from a short introduction and a one-volume history to lives of Henry VIII's wives, children and chief minister, plus the novel that brought Thomas Cromwell back to life.
Questions people also ask
Who was the first king of England?
Æthelstan is usually counted as the first king of all England, from 927. The list on this page starts in 1066, with William I, because that is where most numbered lists of English monarchs begin.
How many monarchs has England had since 1066?
Forty-two, counting William III and Mary II separately and leaving out Empress Matilda and Lady Jane Grey. Charles III is the 42nd.
Who reigned the longest?
Elizabeth II, for 70 years, from 1952 to 2022. Victoria is second, at 63 years, from 1837 to 1901.
Why do some reigns appear twice?
Henry VI and Edward IV each lost the throne and won it back during the Wars of the Roses, so each has two reign intervals in the table.
What is the royal family's surname?
The royal house has been called Windsor since 1917. Since 1960, descendants of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip who need a surname may use Mountbatten-Windsor.