Lineage of British Monarchs

About this page

It's difficult to keep track of which kings and queens are descended from which others.

The simple diagrams on this page show the descent of all English monarchs from the time of William the Conqueror to the present, along with the year their reigns started.

The diagrams show only the monarchs, so they are not proper family trees. If you have trouble understanding the diagrams, they are explained later.

A large mondo diagram is also available.

The diagrams

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	Normans
1066	William I			1066
1087	William II	0	1	1087
1100		Henry I	1	1100
1135		1	Stephen	1135
1154		Henry II		1154
1189				1189

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	Plantagenets
1154	Henry II						1154
1189	Richard I	0					1189
1199		John					1199
1216		Henry III					1216
1272		Edward I					1272
1307		Edward II					1307
1327		Edward III					1327
		1	1 (Lancaster)		2 (York)
1377		Richard II	1 (Lancaster)				1377
1399			3	Henry IV			1399
1413				Henry V			1413
1422				Henry VI			1422
1461					Edward IV	0	1461
1470				Henry VI			1470
1471					Edward IV		1471
1483					Edward V		1483
1483						Richard III	1483
1485				Henry VII				1485
1509							1509

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	Tudors
1485	Henry VII					1485
1509	Henry VIII			1		1509
1547	Edward VI	0	0	1	2	1547
1553				Jane Grey		1553
1553		0		Mary I			1553
1558				Elizabeth I			1558
1603					James 1	1603
1625						1625

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	Stuarts
1603	James I					1603
1625	Charles I				2	1625
1649	1	0 [Cromwell]				1649
1658		Charles II	0			1658
1685			James II			1685
1688	William III		Mary II	0		1688
1694	William III			0		1694
1702				Anne		1702
1714					George I	1714
1727						1727

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	Hanoverians
1714	George I				1714
1727	George II				1727
	1
1760	George III				1760
1820	George IV	0	1		1820
1830		William IV	1		1830
1837			Victoria		1837
1901			Edward VII		1901
1910			George V		1910
1936			Edward VIII	0	1936
1936				George VI	1936
1952				Elizabeth II	1952

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Reading the diagrams

The diagrams were built using just three rules:

Direct descendants are under their direct ancestors.
Example: Henry II is a direct descendant of Henry I and William I.
The numbers in the green rectangles shows the number of generations between two people.
Example: There is one generation between Henry I and Henry II, meaning that Henry II is the grandson of Henry I. Example: There are zero generations between Henry I and William I, meaning that Henry I is the son of William I.
When there is no green cell between two people, they are parent and child.
Example: William II is the son of William I.

Normans
William I
William II	0	1
	Henry I	1
	1	Stephen
	Henry II

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