List of British monarchs

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The British monarchy is the direct successor to the monarchies of England and Scotland. For those, see List of English monarchs and List of Scottish monarchs.

See also: List of British consorts.

Image:UK Royal Coat of Arms.svg

The Royal Arms of the United Kingdom (as displayed outside Scotland) since the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, featuring the arms of England in the first and third quarter, Scotland in the second, and Ireland in the fourth

This is a list of the monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed on 1 May 1707 with the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which had been in personal union under the House of Stuart since 24 March 1603. On 1 January 1801 Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After most of Ireland left the union on 6 December 1922, on 12 April 1927 its name was amended to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

1 Act of Union and Regnal numbering
- 1.1 Act of Union
- 1.2 Regnal Numbering
2 British monarchs
3 Notes and references
4 See also
5 External links

Act of Union and Regnal numbering

Act of Union

Main article: Acts of Union 1707

England and Scotland entered into legislative and governmental union on 1 May 1707 under the Acts of Union 1707. English officers of state and organs of government continued as the British ones.^{[citation needed]}

Regnal Numbering

Main article: List of regnal numerals of future British monarchs

Following the Acts of Union, regnal numbering of subsequent monarchs followed on from those of England. William IV, Edward VII, Edward VIII and Elizabeth II all taking the next number in the English sequence. As a result of Scottish opposition to the use of the style Elizabeth II, it was announced that all future monarchs would take the next number from either the English or Scottish sequence, whichever was higher. This new rule was consistent, in that had it been applied since the Union, it would not have changed the regnal numbers of any previous post-union monarch. For the future (for example), should any King James come to the throne, he would be styled James VIII

British monarchs

House of Stuart

Monarch	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Anne 1 May 1707–1714 England and Scotland 8 March 1702-1707		6 February 1665 St James's Palace daughter of James II and Anne Hyde	George of Denmark St James's Palace 28 July 1683 17 children	1 August 1714 Kensington aged 49

House of Hanover

The Hanoverian succession came about as a result of the Act of Settlement 1701, passed by the English Parliament. In return for access to the economically alluring plantations in North America,^{[citation needed]} the Hanoverian succession and ultimately the Union was ratified by the English Parliament and subsequently the Scottish Parliament in 1707.

Monarch	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
George I 1 August 1714–1727	Image:George I of Great Britain.JPG	28 May 1660 Osnabrück son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of Hanover	Sophia of Celle Germany 1 November 1682 2 children	11 June 1727 Osnabrück aged 67
George II 11 June 1727–1760		30 October 1683 Hanover son of George I and Sophia of Celle	Caroline of Ansbach Hanover 22 August 1705 8 children	25 October 1760 Palace of Westminster aged 76
George III 25 October 1760–1820		04 June 1738 Norfolk House son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha	Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz St James's Palace 8 September 1761 15 children	29 January 1820 Windsor Castle aged 81
George IV 29 January 1820–1830		12 August 1762 St James's Palace son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	(2)^[1] Caroline of Brunswick St James's Palace 8 April 1795 1 daughter	26 June 1830 Windsor aged 67
William IV 26 June 1830–1837	Image:William IV of the United Kingdom.jpg	21 August 1765 Buckingham Palace son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen Kew Palace 13 July 1818 2 children	20 June 1837 Windsor Castle aged 71
Victoria 20 June 1837–1901	Image:Queen Victoria 1887.jpg	24 May 1819 Kensington Palace daughter of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld	Albert, Prince Consort St James's Palace 10 February 1840 9 children	22 January 1901 Osbourne House aged 81

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Although he was the son and heir of Victoria, Edward VII inherited his father's names and is therefore counted as inaugurating a new royal house.

Monarch	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
Edward VII 22 January 1901–1910^[2]		9 November 1841 Buckingham Palace son of Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort^[3]	Alexandra of Denmark Windsor 10 March 1863 6 children^[3]	6 May 1910 Buckingham Palace aged 68^[3]

House of Windsor

The house name Windsor was adopted in 1917, during the First World War. It was changed from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha because of wartime anti-German sentiment. The heirs of Elizabeth II, by royal proclamation, will remain part of the House of Windsor (even though their legal surname is Mountbatten-Windsor).

Monarch	Portrait	Birth	Marriages	Death
George V 6 May 1910–1936^[4]		3 June 1865 Marlborough House son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark^[5]	Mary of Teck 6 July 1893 St James's Palace 6 children^[6]	20 January 1936 Sandringham House aged 70^[5]
Edward VIII 20 January – 11 December 1936^[7]		23 June 1894 Richmond son of George V and Mary of Teck^[7]	Wallis, The Duchess of Windsor France 3 June 1937 no children^[7]	28 May 1972 Paris aged 77^[8]
George VI 11 December 1936–6 February 1952^[9]	Image:Georg VI England.jpg	14 December 1895 Sandringham House son of George V and Mary of Teck^[9]	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Westminster Abbey 26 April 1923 2 children^[10]	6 February 1952 Sandringham House aged 56^[11]
Elizabeth II 6 February 1952–present^[12]	Image:Elizabeth II greets NASA GSFC employees, May 8, 2007 edit.jpg	21 April 1926 Mayfair daughter of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon^[13]	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Westminster Abbey 20 November 1947 4 children^[14]