The Monarchy of Britain…or is it England… or is it Great Britain… or is it the

United Kingdom????

Ms. NoahAP Euro REVIEWmnoah@rih.org@MsNoahRHS

The Tudors (1485 – 1603)

Henry VII

1485-1509• Ended the War of the

Roses• Star Chamber• Foreign policy:

strengthened navy; alliance with Spain

• Frugality (shadiness?)

Henry VIII

1509-1547• Renowned for his 6

wives• Anglican Church • Sir Thomas More• Pilgrimage of Grace• Act of Supremacy 1534

(never renounced Catholicism)

Edward VI

1547-1553Son of Jane Seymore (wife 3)• Protestantism firmly

established along with associated reforms (clerical celibacy, mass abolished)

• Book of Common Prayer (Thomas Cranmer)

• Devise for the Succession (Lady Jane Grey)

Mary I1553-1558• Daughter of Catherine of

Aragon (wife #1); married to Philip II of Spain

• Brought Catholicism back to Spain (“Six Articles” undid Edward VI’s religious changes regarding clerics and mass) -> ‘Bloody Mary’s Martyrs’

• famine

Elizabeth I1558 – 1603• Daughter of Ann Boleyn (wife

#2)• Elizabethan Settlement• Act of Supremacy• Act of Uniformity• Threats by the Spanish as well

as cousin Mary Stuart (Queen of Scots)

• English Renaissance• Golden Age of English Lit

The Stuarts (1603-1714)

James I1603-1625• Son of Mary, Queen of Scots• Previously King James VI of

Scotland• Divine Right• Gunpowder Plot (Guy Fawkes)• Golden Age of English Lit

continued• “Wisest Fool in Christendom”

Charles I1625 – 1649• Son of James I• King of England, Scotland and

Ireland• Battles with Parliament –

Petition of Right ship money; short & long Parliament; Triennial Act; Grand Remonstrance

• English Civil War, trial & death:“I would know by what power I am called hither, by what lawful authority?”

The CommonwealthAKA the Interregnum

Oliver Cromwell

1649-1658• Military Leader (Roundheads)• Puritan Commonwealth • Invasion of Ireland & Scotland• Protectorate (Lord Protector)• Succeeded by son, Richard for 9

months; then the Council of State until 1660, the year of…

The Restoration

Of the Stuart Monarchy (1660)

Charles II

1660 – 1685• Son of Charles I• Great Plague & Fire of London• Clarendon Code• Birth of the Whig & Tory

political parties• “The Merry Monarch”* Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

James II

1685-1689• Brother of Charles II• Catholic• Parliament: Test Act• Glorious Revoluttion

William III and Mary II

1689 – 1702• English Bill of Rights• Bank of England

established• Act of Settlement

Anne I1702-1714• Sister of Mary II; daughter of

James II• Acts of Union 1707 combined

England & Scotland to create Great Britain

• Treaty of Utrecht ending War of Spanish Succession recognized Hanover heir

The Hanovers (1714 – 1910)

George I

1714-1727• Great Britain transitioned

to Cabinet Government, led by a Prime Minister

• Sir Robert Walpole (1st MP)

• War of the Quadruple Alliance vs. Spain

George II

1727-1760• Son of George I• Commissioned Baroque

compositions by Handel• War of Austrian

Succession (ended with Maria Theresa crowned)

• Start of Seven Years War

George III1760-1820• Grandson of George II• 1st Hanover King born in Britain• Seven Years War• Colonies (Stamp Act etc)• American Revolution• French Revolution• Act of Union 1801 united Great Britain and

Ireland, creating the United Kingdom• Descent into madness

George IV1820-1830• Son of George III• Previously served as regent

several times when his father was having an ‘episode’

• Napoleonic wars (regent)• Congress of Vienna (regent)

William IV

1830-1837• Brother of George IV• Poor Law, Slavery

(mostly) abolished• Reform Bill of 1832• Supported

independence & neutrality of Belgium

Victoria1837-1901• Granddaughter of George III• Longest reign in British history• 2nd Industrial Revolution• Corn Laws, Potato Famine• Reform Bill of 1867• Imperialism• Great Expansion• Allied with PM Benjamin Disraeli • “Grandmother of Europe”

Edward VII

1901-1910• Son of Victoria• Modernized the Navy• Not very interested in

politics• Peacemaker among other

European nations

The Windsors (1910 – present)

George V1910-1936• Son of Edward VII• World War I & TOV• Rise of Socialism & Fascism• Irish Free State• Balfour Declaration• Great Depression• Rise of Hitler

Edward VIII1936• Son of George V• Caused a Constitutional

crisis when he proposed to an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson

• Abdicated in favor of his brother

George VI1936 – 1952• Brother of Edward VIII;

son of George V• World War II• Break up of British Empire;

but remained ‘head’ of the Commonwealth of India

Elizabeth II1952 – present• Daughter of George VI• Monarch of the

“Commonwealth of Nations”• Suez Crisis• Decolonization in Africa & the

Caribbean• Falklands War