Monarchy of the United Kingdom

Charles III, Monarch since 2022.

The Monarch of the United Kingdom is the head of state of United Kingdom and formal head of Church of England. The current monarch is Charles III who has reigned since 2022. The king is currently the head of the UK and 15 other nations known as the Commonwealth realms.

List of Monarchs of the United Kingdom

House of Stuart

Anne (In England and Scotland, 1702 – 1707. In Great Britain, 1707 – 1714) First British Monarch.

House of Hanover

George I (1714 – 1727)
George II (1727 – 1760)
George III (1760 – 1820)
George IV (1820 – 1830) (Regent 1811–1820)
William IV (1830 – 1837)
Victoria (1837 – 1901)

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The royal household changed its name to Saxe-Coburg-Gotha after Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but Victoria stayed part of the House of Hanover. With monarchs it started in 1901. The name was changed in 1917 by George V.

Edward VII (1901 – 1910)

House of Windsor

In 1917 King George V changed the royal house's name to Windsor because the United Kingdom was at war with Germany and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is a German name.

George V (1910 – 1936, changed name of house in 1917)
Edward VIII (1936), abdicated
George VI (1936 – 1952)
Elizabeth II (1952 – 2022)
Charles III (2022 – present)

In 1922 Ireland was split into the future Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland stayed part of the United Kingdom. However, the name was not changed until 5 years later and George V continued to be King of Ireland until he died ("of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India").

Monarchy Of The United Kingdom Media

Ministerial folder with the monarch's emblem
The English Bill of Rights of 1689 curtailed the sovereign's governmental power.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Norman Conquest of 1066.
In 1603 James VI and I became the first monarch to rule over England, Scotland, and Ireland together.
England and Scotland were united as the Kingdom of Great Britain under Queen Anne in 1707.
The Electorate later Kingdom of Hanover was in personal union with the British monarchy from 1714 to 1837. (Orange; borders shown 1814–1866.)
The union of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom occurred in 1801 under George III.
The British Empire in 1921
William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne