List of English monarchs

This list of English monarchs begins with Æthelstan and ends with Anne, who became queen of Great Britain when England merged with Scotland to form a union in 1707. For monarchs after Queen Anne, see List of British monarchs.

Wessex was the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the ninth century, and Alfred the Great adopted the title King of the Anglo-Saxons. By the early tenth century his son Edward the Elder controlled southern England, but Northumbria was independent until it was conquered by Æthelstan in 927, and he is regarded by modern historians as the first king of England.[1][2]

The Principality of Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and in 1301 Edward I invested his eldest son, the future Edward II, as Prince of Wales. Since that time, with the exception of Edward III, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Elizabeth I without issue, in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were joined in personal union under James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. By royal proclamation James titled himself "King of Great Britain", but no such kingdom was created until 1707, when England underwent legislative union with Scotland to form the new United Kingdom of Great Britain, during the reign of Queen Anne.[3]