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Between 1952 and 2022, Elizabeth II was the Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, making her the longest serving British monarch in history. She was succeeded by her son Charles III following her death on September 8, 2022.

History of the Crown

With the conquest of the kingdoms Mercia in 827, King Egbert of Wessex became the first ruler of the Anglo-Saxon people. Since this time, there have been 69 rulers of England and (since 1707) Great Britain. The majority of these rulers have inherited their title and crown from a parent, or as a result of family ties, although some monarchs obtained their title through marriage or conquest, while others simply made a claim to the throne that was not always acknowledged by their subjects. The shortest reign on this list belongs to Lady Jane Grey in 1553, who had been named Edward VI's successor in his will, however, Jane was deposed after just nine days by Edward's half-sister Mary I (Bloody Mary), and she was subsequently executed for treason at the age of 16.

Early Ruling Houses

Egbert of Wessex was the first ruler to be named "Bretwalda" (Britain-ruler) in 827CE, although his grandson, Alfred the Great, is regarded by historians to be the first widely-accepted ruler of England following his defeat of the Vikings in the late 9th century. England was ruled mostly by the House of Wessex until William the Conqueror defeated Harold of House Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, marking the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England. Norman rule ushered in a new era of French influence in the British monarchy, and vice-versa. The next three centuries were dominated by the House of Plantagenet, which included the Houses of Lancaster and York, most commonly associated with the Wars of the Roses; Britain's bloodiest civil war.

The Houses of Tudor and Stuart

Among the most famous royal houses is the House of Tudor, which came into power in 1485. This house included Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, whose lives have been widely publicized in popular culture, and it oversaw a period of heavy reform (and anti-reform). Following the Tudors was the House of Stuart, which oversaw most of the seventeenth century, however it was interrupted for a brief period in the 1650s. This interruption came as a result of Charles I's execution, where control passed from the monarchy to parliament, with 'Lord Protector' Oliver Cromwell (and later his son) at its head. The monarchy was re-established with the appointment of Charles II in 1660. The final Stuart monarch was Queen Anne, who was the head of State during the Act of Union in 1707, which brought England and Scotland together as the United Kingdom. Until this point the monarchy of Scotland and England had a complicated history, with many monarchs acting as the heads of both states, however this act now brought these monarchies together.

The Houses of Hanover & Windsor

George I became the King of Britain following the death of Queen Anne in 1714, who died without any legitimate heir, and George was appointed as he was the closest non-Catholic with a claim to the throne (The Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Catholics from becoming the head of state). During the 18^th and 19^th centuries the monarchy gradually transformed into the more ceremonial role that it has today. The British Empire also expanded to all corners of the world during the reigns of the Hanoverians and Windsors, and the heads of state eventually became the king or queen of all of these dominions. The final Hanoverian was Queen Victoria, whose reign of 63 years and 217 days is the second longest in British history, and this time is commonly known as the Victorian period. The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took over the monarchy following the death of Victoria in 1901, however their name was changed to Windsor in 1917, to avoid association with Germany during the First World War.