Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain: Classified

Normans

Dates		Name		Spouse		Cause of death		Successor		Buried at
1066–1087		William I		Matilda of Flanders		Riding injury		Eldest son		Caen
1089–1100		William II		(None)		Hunting accident		Brother		Winchester Cathedral
1100–1135		Henry I		Matilda of Scotland		Fever		Nephew		Reading Abbey

House of Blois

1135–1141		Stephen		Matilda of Boulogne		N/A		Cousin		N/A
1141(–8)		Matilda		Geoffrey of Anjou		?		Cousin		Bec Abbey, Normandy
1141–1154		Stephen		Matilda of Boulogne		Heart attack		Cousin		Faversham Abbey

House of Anjou

The house of Anjou is named after Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (1113–51) – nicknamed Plantagenet, from his custom of wearing a sprig of broom in his hat; the Latin name for broom is planta genista, and its French name is genêt. Geoffrey married Matilda, the daughter of Henry I (known as the Empress Matilda, as she'd previously been married to the Holy Roman Emperor George V).

It was only after a long period of military conflict, known as the Anarchy, that Geoffrey and Matilda's eldest son came to the throne. The three kings in the Anjou dynasty are also known as the Angevins ('those from Anjou'); the name Plantagenet was first used some 300 years later, and applied to them retrospectively (more details below).

1154–1189		Henry II		Eleanor of Aquitaine		Fever		Son		Fontevraud Abbey, Anjou
1189–1199		Richard I		Berengaria of Navarre		Arrow wound		Brother		Fontevraud Abbey, Anjou
1199–1216		John		Isabella of Gloucester (1189–99)		Dysentry		Son		Worcester Cathedral
				Isabella of Angoulême (1200–16)

Plantagenets

The name Anjou persisted until the reign of Geoffrey's grandson (see below), but by this time the family had lost most of their continental possessions and so they became known by the name Plantagenet. The first member of the English royal family to use this name officially was Richard, the 3rd Duke of York (1411–1460) – a great–grandson of Edward III, and the father of both Edward IV and Richard III. The name has been retrospectively applied to English kings from Henry II onwards.

Please note that although the houses of York and Lancaster are listed separately here, they were in fact cadet branches of the Plantagenet dynasty. The last Plantagenet King of England was Richard III.

1216–1272		Henry III		Eleanor of Provence		Old age		Son		Westminster Abbey
1272–1307		Edward I		Eleanor of Castile		?		Son		Westminster Abbey
1307–1327		Edward II		Isabella (of France)		Murdered		Son		Gloucester Cathedral
1327–1377		Edward III		Philippa of Hainault		Old age		Grandson		Westminster Abbey
1377–1399		Richard II		Anne of Bohemia (1382–94)		(Neurasthaemia)		Cousin		Westminster Abbey
				Isabella of Valois (1396–9)

Lancaster 

1399–1413		Henry IV		Mary de Bohun		Eczema/gout		Son		Canterbury Cathedral
1413–1422		Henry V		Catherine of Valois		Dysentery		Son		Westminster Abbey
1422–1461		Henry VI		Margaret of Anjou		N/A		Third cousin		N/A

It was during the reign of the third Lancastrian king that the house of York began to assert its claim to the throne, in the conflict that would later come to be known as the Wars of the Roses (1455–87). During this time the throne changed hands three times – four times, if you include Henry Tudor's victory over Richard III (the last Yorkist king, and indeed the last Plantagenet), which ended the conflict.

There is a common misconception that the Wars of the Roses were between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Although I have no problem with cricket matches between those two counties being known by analogy as 'the Roses Match', the original Wars of the Roses were between the houses of York and Lancaster (and their respective supporters). They had little or no connection with the actual counties, and (unless I'm much mistaken) to represent the Wars of the Roses as Lancashire folk fighting Yorkshire folk – as people often do – is well wide of the mark.

York

1461–1470

Edward IV

Elizabeth Woodville

N/A

Third cousin

N/A

Lancaster 

1470–1471

Henry VI

Margaret of Anjou

Murdered

Third cousin

St. George's Chapel, Windsor

York

1471–1483		Edward IV		Elizabeth Woodville		Pneumonia		Son		Unknown
1483		Edward V		(None)		Murdered?		Uncle		Unknown
1483–1485		Richard III		Anne Neville		Killed in battle		Third cousin		Grey Friars Church, Leicester

Tudors 

1485–1509		Henry VII		Elizabeth of York		Tuberculosis		Son		Westminster Abbey
1509–1547		Henry VIII		Various ...		Natural causes		Son		St. George's Chapel, Windsor
1547–1553		Edward VI		(None)		Tuberculosis		Cousin		Henry VII's Chapel
1553		Jane		Lord Guilford Dudley		Beheaded		Cousin		Tower of London
1553–1558		Mary I		Philip II of Spain		Influenza		Half sister		Henry VII's Chapel
1558–1603		Elizabeth I		(None)		Tonsillar abcess		Cousin		Henry VII's Chapel

Stuarts

1603–1625		James I		Anne of Denmark		Bright's disease		Son		Henry VII's Chapel
1625–1649		Charles I		Henrietta Maria of France		Beheaded		(Son)		St. George's Chapel, Windsor

Interregnum

1649–1660

Interregnum

Stuarts

1660–1685		Charles II		Catherine of Braganza		Uraemia		Brother		Henry VII's Chapel
1685–1688		James II		Anne Hyde (1660–1671)		(Cerebral haemorrhage)		Daughter and son–in–law		See note
				Mary of Modena (1673–1701)
1689–1694		William III		Mary II		N/A		N/A		Henry VII's Chapel
		Mary II		William III		Smallpox		Husband		Henry VII's Chapel
1694–1702		William III		(Widower)		Pleuro–pneumonia		See comment		Henry VII's Chapel
1702–1714		Anne		George of Denmark		Stroke		Second cousin		Henry VII's Chapel

Hanover

1714–1727		George I		Sophia Dorothea of Celle		Stroke		Son		Hanover
1727–1760		George II		Caroline of Brandenburg–Ansbach		See note		Grandson		Henry VII's Chapel
1760–1820		George III		Charlotte of Mecklenberg–Strelitz		Old age		Son		St. George's Chapel, Windsor
1820–1830		George IV		Caroline of Brunswick		Natural causes		Brother		St. George's Chapel, Windsor
1830–1837		William IV		Adelaide of Saxe–Meiningen		Pleuro–pneumonia		Niece		St. George's Chapel, Windsor
1837–1901		Victoria		Albert of Saxe–Coburg–Gotha		Old age		Son		Frogmore (Windsor)

Another common misconception is that Queen Victoria joined the House of Saxe–Coburg and Gotha when she married Prince Albert. The fact is that royal dynasties don't work like this. Victoria was a Hanoverian; her son, Edward VII, was the first monarch of the House of Saxe–Coburg and Gotha.

This misconception has cost me quiz points in the past. (I feel I must point out that it was the question setter, and certain people on the opposing side, that were under the misconception, and not me. Not that I bear a grudge.)

Saxe–Coburg and Gotha

1901–1910

Edward VII

Alexandra of Denmark

Bronchitis

Son

St. George's Chapel, Windsor

Saxe–Coburg and Gotha, later Windsor

1910–1936

George V

Mary of Teck

Bronchitis

Son

St. George's Chapel, Windsor

George V changed the name of the House of Saxe–Coburg and Gotha to Windsor in 1917, because of wartime anti–German sentiment in the United Kingdom.

Windsor

1936		Edward VIII		(Wallis Simpson)		(Throat cancer)		Brother		Frogmore Estate
1936–1952		George VI		Elizabeth Bowes–Lyon		Lung cancer		Daughter		St. George's Chapel, Windsor
1952–2022		Elizabeth II		Philip Mountbatten		(Old age)		Son		St. George's Chapel, Windsor
2022–		Charles III		Camilla Parker–Bowles

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24