This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Saxons from about 886, and while he was not the first king to claim to rule all of the English, his rule represents the start of the first unbroken line of kings to rule the whole of England, the House of Wessex.
Arguments are made for a few different kings thought to have controlled enough Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to be deemed the first king of England. For example, Offa of Mercia and Egbert of Wessex are sometimes described as kings of England by popular writers, but it is no longer the majority view of historians that their wide dominions were part of a process leading to a unified England. The historian Simon Keynes states, for example, "Offa was driven by a lust for power, not a vision of English unity; and what he left was a reputation, not a legacy." That refers to a period in the late 8th century, when Offa achieved a dominance over many of the kingdoms of southern England, but it did not survive his death in 796. Likewise, in 829 Egbert of Wessex conquered Mercia, but he soon lost control of it.
It was not until the late 9th century that one kingdom, Wessex, had become the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Its king, Alfred the Great, was the overlord of western Mercia and used the title King of the Angles and Saxons though he never ruled eastern and northern England, which was then known as the Danelaw and had been conquered by the Danes, from southern Scandinavia. Alfred's son Edward the Elder conquered the eastern Danelaw. Edward's son Æthelstan became the first king to rule the whole of England when he conquered Northumbria in 927. Æthelstan is regarded by some modern historians as the first true king of England. The title "King of the English" or in Latin, was first used to describe Æthelstan in one of his charters in 928. The standard title for monarchs from Æthelstan until John was "King of the English". In 1016, Cnut the Great, a Dane, was the first to call himself "King of England". In the Norman period, "King of the English" remained standard, with occasional use of "King of England" or . From John's reign onwards, all other titles were eschewed in favour of "King" or "Queen of England".
The Principality of Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and in 1301, King Edward I invested his eldest son, the future King Edward II, as Prince of Wales. Since that time, the eldest sons of all English monarchs, except for King Edward III, have borne this title.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, her cousin King James VI of Scotland inherited the English crown as James I of England, joining the crowns of England and Scotland in personal union. By royal proclamation, James styled himself "King of Great Britain", but no such kingdom was created until 1707, when England and Scotland united during the reign of Queen Anne to form the new Kingdom of Great Britain, with a single British parliament sitting at Westminster. That marked the end of the Kingdom of England as a sovereign state.
House of Wessex (886–1013)
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Succession Alfred; ; Alfred the Great–26 October 899(13 years) 849Son of Æthelwulf of Wessexand Osburh Ealhswith of Gainsborough8685 children 26 October 899Aged about 50 Son of Æthelwulf of WessexTreaty of Wedmore Edward the Elder26 October 899–17 July 924() Son of Alfredand Ealhswith Ecgwynn2 children Ælfflæd8 children Eadgifu of Kent4 children 17 July 924Aged about 50 Son of Alfred
Disputed claimant There is some evidence that Ælfweard of Wessex may have been king in 924, between his father Edward the Elder and his half-brother Æthelstan, although he was not crowned. A 12th-century list of kings gives him a reign length of four weeks, though one manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says he died only 16 days after his father. However, the claim that he ruled is not accepted by all historians. Also, it is unclear whether—if Ælfweard was declared king—it was over the whole kingdom or of Wessex only. One interpretation of the ambiguous evidence is that when Edward died, Ælfweard was declared king in Wessex and Æthelstan in Mercia.
Name Portrait Birth Marriage Death Succession Ælfweard cited by Yorke.; –2 August 924() Son of Edward the Elderand Ælfflæd No children 2 August 924Aged about 23 Son of Edward the Elder
Undisputed
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Succession Æthelstan; 924– 27 October 939(14–15 years) 894Son of Edward the Elderand Ecgwynn Unmarried 27 October 939Aged about 45 Son of Edward the Elder Edmund I; Edmund the Magnificent27 October 939–26 May 946() Son of Edward the Elderand Eadgifu of Kent Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury2 sons Æthelflæd of Damerham944No children 26 May 946PucklechurchKilled in a brawl aged about 25 Son of Edward the Elder Eadred; ; 26 May 946–23 November 955() Son of Edward the Elderand Eadgifu of Kent Unmarried 23 November 955FromeAged about 32 Son of Edward the Elder Eadwig; ; Eadwig All-Fair23 November 955–1 October 959() Son of Edmund Iand Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury ÆlfgifuNo verified children 1 October 959Aged about 19 Son of Edmund I Edgar the Peaceful; 1 October 959–8 July 975() WessexSon of Edmund Iand Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury Æthelflæd1 son Ælfthryth2 sons 8 July 975WinchesterAged 31 Son of Edmund I Edward the Martyr; 8 July 975–18 March 978() Son of Edgar the Peacefuland Æthelflæd Unmarried 18 March 978Corfe CastleMurdered aged about 16 Son of Edgar the Peaceful (1st reign)Æthelred the Unready18 March 978–1013(34–35 years) Son of Edgar the Peacefuland Ælfthryth Ælfgifu of York9919 children Emma of Normandy10023 children 23 April 1016LondonAged about 48 Son of Edgar the Peaceful
House of Denmark (1013–1014)
England came under the control of Sweyn Forkbeard, a Danish king, after an invasion in 1013, during which Æthelred abandoned the throne and went into exile in Normandy.
Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death Succession SweynSweyn ForkbeardAutumn/winter 1013–3 February 1014 17 April 963DenmarkSon of Harald Bluetoothand either Tove or Gunhild Gunhild of Wenden7 children Sigrid the Haughty1 daughter 3 February 1014GainsboroughAged 50 Right of conquest
House of Wessex (restored, first time) (1014–1016) Following the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Æthelred the Unready returned from exile and was again proclaimed king. His son succeeded him after being chosen king by the citizens of London and a part of the Witan, despite ongoing Danish efforts to wrest the crown from the West Saxons.
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Succession (2nd reign)Æthelred the Unreadyearly 1014–23 April 1016 Son of Edgar the Peacefuland Ælfthryth Ælfgifu of York9919 children Emma of Normandy10023 children 23 April 1016LondonAged about 50 Son of Edgar the Peaceful Edmund Ironsideafter 23 April 1016–30 November 1016 Son of Æthelredand Ælfgifu of York Edith of East Anglia2 children 30 November 1016GlastonburyAged 26 Son of Æthelred
House of Denmark (restored) (1016–1042) Following the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016, King Edmund signed a treaty with Cnut (Canute) under which all of England except for Wessex would be controlled by Cnut. Upon Edmund's death just over a month later on 30 November, Cnut ruled the whole kingdom as its sole king for nineteen years.
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death Succession Cnut; Cnut the Greatafter 23 Apr 1016–12 November 1035 Son of Sweyn Forkbeardand Gunhilda of Poland Ælfgifu of Northampton2 sons Emma of Normandy10172 children 12 November 1035ShaftesburyAged about 40 Son of SweynTreaty of Deerhurst Harold Harefoot; after 12 November 1035–17 March 1040 Son of Cnut the Greatand Ælfgifu of Northampton 17 March 1040OxfordAged about 24 Son of Cnut the Great Harthacnut; ; after 17 March 1040–8 June 1042 1018Son of Cnut the Greatand Emma of Normandy Unmarried 8 June 1042LambethAged about 24 Son of Cnut the Great
House of Wessex (restored, second time) (1042–1066) After Harthacnut, there was a Saxon Restoration in 1042.
Name Portrait Arms Birth Marriage Death Succession Edward the Confessor8 June 1042–5 January 1066() IslipSon of Æthelredand Emma of Normandy Edith of Wessex23 January 1045No children 5 January 1066Westminster PalaceAged about 63 Son of ÆthelredStep-son of Cnut the GreatHalf-brother of Harthacnut
House of Godwin (1066)
Name Portrait Arms Birth Marriages Death Succession Harold IIHarold Godwinson6 January 1066–14 October 1066() Son of Godwin of Wessexand Gytha Thorkelsdóttir Edith Swannesha5 children Ealdgyth2 sons 14 October 1066HastingsDied in the Battle of Hastings aged 44 Named heir by Edward the ConfessorBrother-in-law of Edward the ConfessorElected by the Witenagemot
Disputed claimant (House of Wessex) After King Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings, the Witan elected Edgar Ætheling as king, but by then the Normans controlled the country and Edgar never ruled. He submitted to King William the Conqueror.
Name Portrait Birth Marriage Death Succession (Title disputed)Edgar Ætheling15 October 1066–17 December 1066() Son of Edward the Exileand Agatha No known marriage 1125 or 1126Aged about 75 Grandson of Edmund IronsideElected by the Witan
House of Normandy (1066–1135)
In 1066, Edward the Confessor had no direct heir upon his death and several rival claimants to the English throne emerged. Among them were Harold Godwinson (recognised as king by the Witenagemot after the death of Edward the Confessor), Harald Hardrada (King of Norway who claimed to be the rightful heir of Harthacnut) and Duke William II of Normandy (vassal to the King of France, and first cousin once-removed of Edward the Confessor). Harald Hardrada and William both invaded separately in 1066. Godwinson successfully repelled the invasion by Harald Hardrada, but ultimately lost the throne of England in the Norman Conquest of England.
Following the death of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot elected as king Edgar Ætheling, the son of Edward the Exile and grandson of Edmund Ironside. The young monarch was unable to resist the invaders and was never crowned. William was crowned King William I of England on Christmas Day 1066, in Westminster Abbey, and is today known as William the Conqueror, William the Bastard or William I. William made permanent the recent removal of the capital from Winchester to London.
Name Portrait Arms Birth Marriage(s) Death Succession William I; .William the Conqueror25 December 1066–9 September 1087() Falaise CastleSon of Robert the Magnificentand Herleva Matilda of FlandersNormandy10539 children 9 September 1087RouenAged about 59 Supposedly named heir in 1052 by Edward the ConfessorFirst cousin once removed of Edward the ConfessorRight of conquest William II; .William Rufus26 September 1087–2 August 1100() NormandySon of William the Conquerorand Matilda of Flanders Unmarried 2 August 1100New ForestShot with an arrow aged 44 Son of William IGranted the Kingdom of England over elder brother Robert Curthose (who remained the Duke of Normandy) Henry I; .Henry Beauclerc5 August 1100–1 December 1135() September 1068SelbySon of William the Conquerorand Matilda of Flanders Matilda of ScotlandWestminster Abbey11 November 11002 children Adeliza of LouvainWindsor Castle29 January 1121No children 1 December 1135Saint-Denis-en-LyonsAged 67 Son of William ISeizure of the Crown (from Robert Curthose)
Henry I left no legitimate male heirs, his son William Adelin having died in the White Ship disaster of 1120. This ended the direct Norman line of kings in England. Henry named his eldest daughter, Matilda (Countess of Anjou by her second marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, as well as widow of her first husband, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor), as his heir.
Disputed claimant