KINGS, QUEENS, KNAVES 2

Whose bum has been on the throne for the past 1500 years? This set of pages lists all our monarchs from 519, with my own personal rating as to their performance. Dates and details of many are uncertain (that's history for you), so if you want to disagree, go somewhere else.

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From the making of England through the nightmare of Hastings to the Crusade years.

No.	Monarch	Reign	Major events	Death	Rating
--	Athelstan	924-39	Battle of Brimsworth	Old age	5*
27	Edmund the Elder	939-46	Repelled Irish Viking invasion	Murdered	4*
28	Edred	946-55	Crushed Yorkist separatism	Illness	4*
29	Edwy (the All-Fair)	955-9	Lost half kingdom to brother	Illness?	2*
30	Edgar I	957-75	First 'modern' coronation	Old age	2*
31	Edward the Martyr	975-8	Murdered by stepmother	Murdered	2*
32	Æthelred II	978-1013	St. Brice's Day Massacre	Exiled	--
HOUSE OF GORM
33	Swegn	1013-14	---	Fell off horse	3*
HOUSE OF CERDIC
--	Æthelred II	1014-6	---	Old age	0*
34	Edmund II	1016	Battle of Ashingdon	Murdered+	4*
HOUSE OF GORM
35	Canute	1016-35	Getting his feet wet!	Old age	4*
36	Hardicanute	1035-7	In name only; never in England	---	--
37	Harold I	1037-40	---	Illness	2*
--	Hardicanute (res.)	1040-2	---	Poison?	2*
HOUSE OF CERDIC
38	Edward the Confessor	1042-66	Solidifed links with Normandy	Old age	2*
HOUSE OF GODWIN
39	Harold II	1066	Battle of Hastings	Battle	3*
HOUSE OF CERDIC
40	Edgar II	1066	Gave up without a fight	Abdicated	1*
HOUSE OF NORMANDY
41	William I	1066-87	Harrying of the North	Old age	3*
42	William II	1087-1100	---	Murdered?	3*
43	Henry I	1100-35	Death of son and heir	Old age	4*
HOUSE OF BLOIS
44	Stephen	1135-41	Defeat at battle of Lincoln	---	--
The Third Interregnum: Matilda, Lady of England
--	Stephen	1141-54	Treaty of Winchester	Old age	2*
HOUSE OF ANJOU (PLANTAGANET)
45	Henry II	1154-89	Murder of Thomas a Becket	Deposed	4*
46	Richard I	1189-99	Third Crusade	Old age	1*
47	John	1199-1216	Magna Carta	Deposed	0*
HOUSE OF CAPET
48	Louis	1216-7	(Later Louis VIII of France)	Deposed	2*
HOUSE OF PLANTAGANET
49	Henry III	1217-64	Barons' War	Deposed
The Fourth Interregnum: Simon de Montfort's Parliament
	Henry III (res.)	1265-72	Recognition of new parliament	Old age	1*

Almost a monarch?

Matilda (1141). Daughter and only surviving child of Henry I. Imprisoned King Stephen and was proclaimed Lady of England, then the title of a queen-to-be. But upset so many people the Londoners drove her out of the city. Soon after was defeated by Stephen's wife (another Matilda!) at Winchester and had to surrender the king.

Eustace (1152-3). Crowned alongside his father Stephen in an attempt to secure his succession, but died in mysterious circumstances the following year.

Henry the Young King (1170). Crowned alongside his father Henry II, but after a failed rebellion died before he could accede.