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The Kingdom United
Once the Scandinavian Kingdom of York had finally fallen,
Eadred of Wessex ruled a united kingdom.
The main work of uniting it was achieved by Athelstan, while the initial
groundwork was laid by Alfred. The early Anglo-Saxon kings still had their
powerbase in Wessex, and still spent much of their time there. |
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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. |
1012 |
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Norman Kings
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.
(Some 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 |
|
1135 |
Upon the death of Henry I, Matilda, the Lady of England becomes de jure
monarch, Henry's only living legitimate child. 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. So begins a long civil war. |
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. 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 1st 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. |
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House of Plantagenet
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 |
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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 |
John loses the duchy
of Normandy to the
French
crown.
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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 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 |
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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 |
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Mortimer |
|
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 |
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Edward |
Son. Prince of Wales: "The Black Prince". |
1330 - 1376 |
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, became popularly known as the Black
Prince (a term first used well after his time). He was the eldest son of
Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, and father of Richard II. Edward was an
effective military leader, and very popular during his lifetime.
He was the first Englishman to be created a duke (of Cornwall in 1337), and
he served as a symbolic regent for periods in 1339, 1340, and 1342 while
Edward III was on campaign. His early life saw 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
developed a recklessness with money and led successful campaigns against the
French in the Hundred Years War, perfecting the use of English and Welsh
longbowmen.
Campaigning on behalf of Pedro the Cruel of
Castille
ruined Edward's health and finances, and a lingering illness caused his
death one year before that of his father, and so he never ruled (the first
English Prince of Wales to suffer that fate). The throne passed instead to
his son, a minor, upon the death of his father. |
1377 - 1399 |
Richard II |
Son of the Black Prince. Deposed. d.1400. |
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House of Lancaster |
1399 - 1413 |
Henry IV |
Cousin. |
1400 |
Henry
IV and his ally, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, had already snatched the
throne in a coup. A year later they conspire to kill Richard. 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 completely
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. |
1413 - 1422 |
Henry V |
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1422 - 1461 |
Henry VI |
Deposed. |
1455 - 1485 |
The Wars of the Roses
pitches Lancastrians against Yorkists in England. |
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House of York |
1461 - 1470 |
Edward IV |
Third
cousin. Flees the country upon Henry VI's restoration. |
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New evidence points to Edward IV's mother, Cecily, daughter of the 1st 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
1485 - 1509 |
Henry VII |
Member
of the House of Lancaster on his mother's side. |
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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. |
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). First Defender of the Faith.
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 fled 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. |
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. |
1536 |
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. 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. |
1553 |
Lady Jane Grey |
Henry's grandniece. Reigned 6-15 July.
Deposed, beheaded. |
1553 - 1558 |
Mary I (Bloody Mary) |
Dau. of Henry VIII. Catholic
revival. m. Philip II of Spain. |
1558 |
Mary earns her nickname by having almost three
hundred religious dissenters executed. However, her brief re-establishment
of Roman Catholicism is reversed by her successor and half-sister,
Elizabeth. |
1558 - 1603 |
Elizabeth I |
Dau.
of Henry VIII. Childless. |
1558 |
Elizabeth Tudor's reign sows the seeds of the
British Empire, with her reign being termed Gloriana. |
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 with the death of the younger Duke of Anjou in 1584. |
1579 - 1583 |
The Second Desmond Rebellion in
Ireland is put down. |
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 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. |
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House of Stuart |
1603 - 1625 |
James I |
VI of
Scotland
(1567-1625). First king of a united Britain (not officially effected until
1707). 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. |
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Protectorate Commonwealth of Britain |
1649 - 1658 |
Oliver Cromwell |
First Lord Protector. |
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. |
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House of Stuart Restored
Parliament proclaimed Charles II king of England on 8 May 1660, restoring the monarchy after
more than a decade. |
1660 - 1685 |
Charles II |
Son of Charles I. King in exile (1649-1660). |
1685 - 1688 |
James II |
Deposed. Catholic revivalist. |
1688 |
Feeling
against the blatantly anti-Protestant James flares up when his second
wife, Mary of Modena, gives birth to a Catholic heir. 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 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 on 13 February. |
1689 - 1694 |
Mary II |
Dau. Ruled jointly with husband, William III. |
1689 - 1702 |
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William III |
Prince of (the House of)
Orange. |
1690 |
James
II has gained Irish and French support for his cause and James fights on for a
short time in Ireland, but his attempts are stopped dead at the Battle of the
Boyne on 11th or 12th 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 |
The Act of Settlement makes it illegal for a Roman Catholic, or anyone married
to a Roman Catholic, to inherit the throne. This disqualifies the Catholic
Stuart Pretenders from gaining the throne after Anne's death. |
1702 - 1714 |
Anne |
Sister
of Mary II. Had 17-18 children, but all predeceased her. |
1707 |
The
Union of England and Scotland. The joint kingdoms are ruled from a single
Parliament at Westminster in London (1707-2000). |
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House of Hanover The elector of
Hanover was invited to take the throne after the death of Queen Anne. George
I was the son of the duke of Brunswick, and inherited this title, along with
that of the duchy of
Saxe-Lauenberg. |
1714 - 1727 |
George I |
Elector of Hanover. Great-grandson of James I. |
1727 - 1760 |
George II |
|
1739 |
Dick
Turpin, probably the famous most English highwayman, is hanged for horse
theft at York Knavesmire. |
1746 |
In
the last battle held on British soil, the Jacobites are routed by the duke
of Cumberland at Culloden. |
1752 |
Britain
switches from the outdated Julian calendar to the Gregorian one, "losing" twelve days in the process. |
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. |
1760 - 1820 |
George III |
The "Mad" King. |
1770 |
British navigator and explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European
to discover Australia. |
1776 - 1783 |
Revolutionaries in the American colonies begin a war with the intention of
driving out English rule. It takes the revolutionaries seven years to force
Britain to declare that it will cease hostilities and withdrawn its troops
and
Hessian allied units. |
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. |
1801 |
The
Act of Union with Ireland. The Irish Parliament is dissolved (1801-1923). |
1814 - 1816 |
The
Anglo-Nepalese War culminates in a treaty which establishes
Nepal's
modern boundaries. |
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. |
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House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha |
1837 - 1901 |
Victoria |
Queen-Empress
of India (1876). |
1839 - 1840 |
Although
born of the House of Hanover herself (her father, who died when Victoria
was a baby, was the younger brother of William IV), 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. |
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. |
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 |
The British begin the building of the Suez Canal in
Egypt. |
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. |
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. |
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. The Royal Family's name is
changed to Windsor, and all German titles
throughout the family are exchanged for British peerages. |
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House of Windsor |
1917 - 1936 |
George V |
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1918 - 1946 |
A
British Mandate governs the Hashemite
Transjordan area 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 11th December. |
1936 - 1952 |
George VI |
Brother. |
1937 |
Britain separates
Burma
from
India and makes it a crown colony. |
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. |
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Charles III / George VII |
Son. Christened Prince Charles Philip Arthur George.
Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne. |
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William V |
Son. |
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