George III (1738 - 1820)


During George's reign Britain lost its American colonies but emerged as a leading power in Europe.

George III was 12 when his father died, leaving him heir to the throne. Inexperience led him to choose the Earl of Bute as his first chief minister. Bute was a poor choice, isolating George from senior politicians. Effective government became almost impossible and George was increasingly vilified. The instability following Bute's resignation in 1763 did little to solve the crown's financial difficulties, made worse by the Seven Years' War.

By 1770, George had learned a good deal and appointed Lord North as his chief minister. This was well judged: North had sufficient power to cajole Parliament and his expertise provided 12 years of stable government. The only real cloud was America. Attempts to make the colonials meet their own administrative costs aroused fierce resistance. War began in 1775 but was prolonged in 1779 at the King's insistence, to prevent copycat protests elsewhere. He and North were accused of corruption and North's resignation in 1782 marked a low point in George's reign. North's next move, an alliance with the liberal Whig Charles James Fox, even prompted the king to contemplate abdication.

However, their plans to reform the East India Company led to accusations of corruption and gave George the chance to regain popularity. His forced the bill's defeat in Parliament and the two resigned. In their place he put William Pitt, the Younger. Pitt needed royal support and George needed Pitt to prevent Fox from taking control. The mutually dependent relationship worked well. The combination of Pitt's skill and war with France in 1793 strengthened George's position, but disagreements over emancipation of the Catholics - Pitt was in favour and George vehemently opposed - led to the resignation of both Pitt and a Whig government that followed, in 1806.

Much of the remainder of the King's lifetime was unpleasant. In 1811 the illness he had first experienced in 1788 returned and, after he was acknowledged to be violently insane, Parliament appointed the Prince of Wales (the future George IV) as regent. George remained mostly insane until his death.

William I, William the Conqueror (c.1028 - 1087)


After successfully invading England, William the Conqueror changed the course of English history. The illegitimate son of Robert I of Normandy, William became Duke of Normandy on his father's death in 1035. With many in his family eager to profit from his death, his childhood was dangerous: three of his guardians died violently and his tutor was murdered.

In 1042 he began to take more personal control, but his attempts to bring his subjects into line caused problems. From 1046 until 1055 he dealt with a series of baronial rebellions. In 1052, facing rebellions in eastern Normandy, he began conducting negotiations with his cousin Edward the Confessor, King of England. William developed an ambition to become his kinsman's heir, encouraged by Edward, who possibly even promised him the throne in 1051.

In around 1064 Edward sent Harold, Earl of Wessex, on an embassy to Normandy. During this trip Norman writers maintain that he swore to support William's claim to the English throne. Yet when Edward died childless in January 1066, Harold was himself crowned king. Furious, William decided on war. He landed in England on 28th September, establishing a bridgehead near Hastings.

Harold met him from Stamford Bridge, where he had just defeated Harald Hardraade. He arrived at Hastings late on 13th October, his troops tired. Early the next day William attacked. After a poor start, he rallied his troops. Harold's brothers were killed early in the battle; Harold fell towards dusk. On Christmas Day 1066 William was crowned.

The first years of his reign were spent quashing rebellions and securing his borders. He invaded Scotland in 1072 and Wales in 1081 and created special defensive 'marcher' counties along the borders. The kingdom safe, he spent most of his last 15 years in Normandy. He left the government of England to bishops, returning only when absolutely necessary. While in England to face a threatened Danish invasion, in 1086 he ordered a survey to be made of the kingdom: this was to be Domesday Book.

Abroad, William was threatened by an alliance of Philip I of France and William's son, Robert Curthose. In July 1087, while in Mantes, he was mortally wounded. He spent five weeks dying, attended by his younger sons, William Rufus and Henry. Robert was with Philip and William's anger resulted in his splitting his inheritance. In line with custom, Robert received William's French lands and titles, but England went to William Rufus.

Henry VIII (1491 - 1547)


After the death of his elder brother Arthur in 1502, Henry VIII became heir to the English throne. Seven years later and of impressive stature - he was six foot tall and keenly athletic - he was crowned King of England and quickly married to his dead brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon.

One of his most popular pastimes, alongside hunting and dancing, was to wage war. Although Henry himself was no soldier he found success with Wolsey who organised the first French campaign and proved to be an outstanding minister. Defeat of the Scots at Flodden in 1513 added a feather to Henry's cap. However, battle with France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful and Wolsey's ascendancy was cut short by Henry's need for a male heir and hence separation from Catherine of Aragon. This was achieved in 1533 against Catherine's wishes, leaving Henry free to marry Anne Boleyn.

An heir to the throne became the king's primary pursuit and it set in motion radical ecclesiastical reorganisation. With the help of Wolsey's replacement, Thomas Cromwell, Henry established himself as head of the Church of England and ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Other reforms - such as the creation of the Council of the North and the Household and Exchequer - were also instigated during the 1530s. Within three years he had tired of Anne Boleyn and she was beheaded in 1536, accused of treason and adultery. Jane Seymour became queen and in 1537 produced an heir, Edward VI, who cost Jane her life and proved a sickly child.

Henry's rule was at times merciless and his suppression of dissidents was brutal. But religious change was not inspired by the king's piety, far from it; Henry's obsession was with power and the security of the throne and although the need for divorce tested Henry's allegiance to the Pope, a conversion to Protestantism was never a real prospect. Cromwell fell victim to this when in 1540 - after a fated alliance with the Lutheran Princes and the arrangement of a marriage between the king and Anne of Cleves - conservatism claimed superiority and he too was executed.

The final years of Henry's reign witnessed his physical decline and an increasing desperation to appear all-powerful. The 20-year-old Catharine Howard replaced Anne of Cleves as Henry's wife but she too faced the scaffold accused of adultery. A final marriage to Catherine Parr (despite Henry's physical ruin) was more harmonious although Catherine's religious leanings proved dangerous and might have brought her to the block if it wasn't for Henry's death. Further fruitless wars against Scotland and France emptied the coffers whilst at home the King attempted to play off the conservatives and radicals. Henry's legacy was bewildering - he failed to provide clear instructions regarding the rule of Edward VI and set in motion a chaotic and relentless religious upheaval.

Oliver Cromwell (1599 - 1658)


Oliver Cromwell made his name as a radical Parliamentarian when he was elected to represent Cambridge City, first in the Short Parliament (April 1640) then in the Long Parliament (August 1640 through April 1660). From the outset the Long Parliament proved a hard taskmaster, refusing to authorize any funding until Charles I - who was seriously bankrupt and beholden to the Scots for the sum of £850 per day - was brought to book. Charles was stripped of his power as Parliament took control of fiscal policy and placed the army and navy under their supervision. When war broke out in 1642, Cromwell came into his own, proving himself a natural soldier.

Born in Huntingdon in 1599 to a relatively poor squirearchal family, Cromwell found religious zeal as a Puritan while studying at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. His faith influenced his appearance: he was conservative in his clothing and austere in composure; his commanding voice and fervour proved a trademark in parliament. But it was in the conduct of war that he excelled. Following Charles' failed attempt to arrest five MPs - among them Cromwell's relative John Pym - civil war ensued. Cromwell acted after losing the battle at Edge Hill to a superior Royalist cavalry. By adding 60 horses to the Roundhead cause, the Battle of Marston Moor (1644) became a Roundhead victory. After this event, Cromwell earned his nickname 'Ironsides'. The final Cavalier defeat came at Naseby in 1645 and Cromwell had a major part to play in the negotiations that followed. He was, however, accused by all sides of conspiracy and by 1648 civil war erupted once again when the Long Parliament was reduced to the Rump Parliament and Cromwell's army forcibly removed 110 MPs from the House.

Cromwell's stature was confirmed at Preston (August 1648) when the New Model Army triumphed under his command. Thus his controversial career began. After the execution of Charles in 1649, he ordered the subjugation of Ireland, massacring civilians at Drogheda and Wexford, and the remaining population was constrained by the Act of Settlement in 1653. Scotland was invaded and the nobility forced to submit. Cromwell muzzled the press and defeated Leveller rebels.

The Rump Parliament was defeated in another dissolution of Parliament in April 1653, and an oligarchy established with the creation of the Barebones Parliament (also known as the Nominated Parliament), which proved a failure. In response Cromwell further asserted his power and established the Instrument of Government, awarding himself the office of Lord Protector supported by a single-chamber parliament. At the same time, his expensive army and failed trade wars with the Dutch proved expensive. Despite himself Cromwell had re-established the monarchy in all but name and returned England to the unhappy days of Charles I's reign. Even so, his benevolent despotism was acceptable to a weary nation and went uncontested. Cromwell's death in September 1658 was the only close to this particular chapter and even though his son Richard was named as successor, Cromwell's Commonwealth did not succeed and monarchy was restored by 1660.

Henry V (c.1387 - 1422)


As victor of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, Henry V made England one of the strongest kingdoms in Europe.

Henry succeeded his father as king in March 1413. Although he had to deal with conspiracies to put Edmund Mortimer, the Earl of March, on the throne, these were rarely a serious threat and did not distract him from his main objective: France. As well as demanding lands the French had surrendered in 1360, he claimed Normandy, Touraine and Maine, as well as areas never before held by England.

Hard and domineering, Henry could be ruthless and cruel. Yet he was admired - even by some French writers - as brave and honourable, with a commanding personality. At home, he governed well: law and order were dealt with by reviving the use of the King's Bench as a travelling court and both central and local administration operated smoothly.

Yet he was best when planning and executing his wars against France. Diplomacy ensured English command of the channel and, at home, he began both large-scale borrowing and parliamentary taxation to finance his ambitions. His success in raising the money reflected the enthusiasm he raised for the war. His main objective was to take the towns and fortresses of northern France and make them permanent English garrisons, exploiting the surrounding countryside to make the war pay its own way.

Henry invaded France in 1415 with a small army, winning a decisive victory at Agincourt while en route to Calais. Between 1417 and 1419 Henry followed up this success with the conquest of Normandy. Rouen surrendered in January 1419 and his successes forced the French to agree to the Treaty of Troyes in May 1420. Henry was recognised as heir to the French throne and regent of France. The following month he married Catherine, the daughter of Charles VI of France.

However, Charles VI's son continued the war. In 1422 Henry contracted dysentery and died at the siege of Meaux in August, leaving only his baby son as heir.

Ethelred II (978-1016)

Both in England and on the Continent, native rulers regularly paid Viking raiders to leave them in peace. The idea of 'Danegeld' is particularly associated today with the reign of Ethelred II (978-1016), whose policy of paying off the Vikings rather than fighting them was famously unsuccessful, and led to the conquest of England by Svein Forkbeard and Cnut

Richard I (1157 - 1199)


Also called Richard the Lion-Heart and famous for his exploits in the Third Crusade (1189-92), during his ten-year reign he spent only some six months in England.

The third son of Henry II, Richard possessed considerable political and military ability. However, like his brothers, he cared nothing for his family, joining them in the great rebellion against their father in 1173. In 1183 his brother Henry died, leaving Richard heir to the throne. With other lands in Normandy and Anjou, Henry II wanted him to give Aquitaine to his youngest brother, John. Richard refused and, in 1189, joined forces with Philip II of France against his father, hounding him to a premature death in July 1189.

As king, Richard wanted only to lead the crusade prompted by Saladin's capture of Jerusalem in 1187. To finance this, he sold sheriffdoms and other offices. In 1190 he departed for the Holy Land.

Richard arrived in June 1191; the city fell the following month. In September his victory at Arsuf gave the crusaders possession of Joppa. Although he came close, Jerusalem, the crusade's main objective, eluded him. Moreover, fierce quarrels among the French, German and English contingents provided further troubles. After a year's stalemate, Richard made a truce with Saladin and started his journey home.

Sailing home, bad weather drove him ashore near Venice. He was captured and imprisoned by Duke Leopold before being handed over to the German emperor Henry VI, who ransomed him for the huge sum of 150,000 marks. The raising of the ransom was a remarkable achievement. In February 1194, Richard was released.

He returned at once to England and was crowned for a second time, fearing that the ransom payment had compromised his independence. Yet a month later he went to Normandy, never to return. His last five years were spent in warfare against Philip II, interspersed with occasional truces. While besieging the castle of Châlus he was fatally wounded in 1199.

James II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1633 - 1701)


James was born in 1633, third son to Charles I and Henrietta Maria. During the Civil War he fled to safety in France before he became king after the death of his brother Charles II, restored to the throne after Cromwell's Commonwealth collapsed. He married twice and had many children: Anne Hyde bore him four of each sex before she died in 1671 and Mary of Modena bore him another two sons and five daughters.

Despite being a valiant soldier, James does not compare well with his brother Charles whose good nature won him sympathy. James did not share this disposition and he maintained a stubborn adherence to the Roman Catholic faith. Although his accession was auspicious - he was greeted with enthusiasm and stepped into a strong executive office, inheriting a faithful Tory-dominated Parliament - his determination to impress Catholicism on his subjects was ill considered and corrupted a sensible approach to politics. His zealous piety was to prove his nemesis.

He openly opposed the Test Act of 1673, which barred all Catholics and Dissenters from holding positions of power, and abandoned his post as Lord High Admiral and left the country. In 1678 he was the focus of a popish plot and in 1679 the Whig government attempted to exclude James from the succession but Charles dissolved parliament.

Within days of James' accession, Protestants were rallying around Charles' son, James, Duke of Monmouth, whom they believed should be king. The rebellion was easily quashed and Monmouth beheaded. Continuing his religious campaign, James had Catholics promoted to high-status positions while he appointed the 'Bloody Assizes' to execute, torture or enslave Protestant rebels. The Declaration of Indulgence (1687) granted tolerance of Catholics and non-conformists. In response, both Tories and Whigs turned against the king.

When, in 1688, Mary of Modena gave birth to a male heir, James Francis Edward (the Old Pretender), Parliament was provoked; this event scuppered their plans for James' Protestant daughter Mary to take the throne. Thus Protestant MPs allied themselves with Mary and her husband William of Orange and, sensing the threat, James fled from London as William landed at Torbay. Captured and released (with William's consent), James raised an Irish army against his usurpers but was defeated at the Boyne in 1690. He died an exile in Saint-Germain.

George V (1865 - 1936)


George V The second son of King Edward VII, George served in the navy until 1892, when the death of his elder brother, Prince Albert, required him to be trained in his eventual duties as king. He married Albert's fiancée Princess Mary of Teck and became Prince of Wales on the accession of his father to the throne.

George became King in May 1910 and was crowned in June 1911. The struggle to curb the powers of the House of Lords remained unresolved and, after failing to win support from Edward VII, Asquith's Liberal government secured an undertaking from the new king to create sufficient new peers to overcome the opposition. In the event, the Liberal success in the election of December 1910 made this unnecessary; the House of Lords relented and passed the Parliament Act in 1911.

Public respect for him increased during World War One as he visited the front in France several times, but in 1923 he was faced with a difficult decision on the resignation of Andrew Bonar Law, when he had to choose between Lord Curzon and Stanley Baldwin to appoint as the next Prime Minister. Believing Baldwin had more support in the Conservative Party and that the prime minister should be in the House of Commons, the King selected him.

King George was seriously ill at the end of 1928, and for the rest of his reign he had to be extremely careful of his health. In 1931 the collapse of the pound and the consequent financial crisis split the Labour administration. To secure strong government, he persuaded Ramsay MacDonald and a part of his Cabinet to remain in office and join with both Conservatives and Liberals to form a national coalition government.

As King, George founded the institution of the Companions of Honour, to reward men and women who had rendered great national service, usually in the fields of arts or culture. In the same year - 1917 - he also founded the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Originally intended to reward both civilian and military wartime service, it is now given for service to government in peace as well as gallantry in war.

Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603)


Elizabeth's reign from 1558 to 1603 is considered by many to be a Golden Age, but there were many dangers present throughout her life. When Elizabeth was two years old her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded by her father, Henry VIII, and the young princess was brought up in the care of governesses and tutors at Hatfield House. However her life came under threat when her half-sister, Mary I, became queen in 1553. Mary was determined to re-establish Catholicism and viewed the Protestant Elizabeth as a direct threat, briefly imprisoning her in the Tower of London. When Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in 1558 one of her priorities was to return England to the Protestant faith and, between 1559 and 1563, introduced the acts which made up the Church Settlement.

The Catholic threat continued throughout her reign and a number of plots to overthrow Elizabeth, such as the Northern Uprising of 1569 and the Ridolfi Plot of 1571, were narrowly averted. The biggest danger, however, came from Mary, Queen of Scots who arrived in England in 1568 and was promptly imprisoned by Elizabeth. Mary, a Catholic with a strong claim to the English throne, became the obvious focus for Catholic plotters and remained a prisoner for almost twenty years. Finally Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's spymaster, obtained proof of her plots to overthrow the queen and Mary was executed in 1587. Elizabeth, torn between her own safety and the horror of executing a fellow queen, was inconsolable.

The ill-fated Spanish Armada was launched by Philip II of Spain the following year, bringing to a climax the threat which had been posed to English independence from Spain for many years. Always a popular monarch, and a brilliant public speaker, Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury succeeded in uniting the country against a common enemy, and confirming the loyalty and adoration of her people.

Despite pressure from her Council, and particularly her chief secretary, William Cecil, Elizabeth always refused to marry. She had a close relationship with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and was not averse to using the promise of marriage for diplomatic purposes, but asserted her independence until the end of her life. When she died in 1603, Elizabeth was succeeded by the Protestant James VI of Scotland and I of England, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. As the nation mourned their queen, one of her greatest legacies was to have established and secured the Protestant faith, avoiding the religious bloodshed which had caused such unrest in earlier years.

Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901)


Queen Victoria remains a remarkable figure in history not only as the longest reigning British monarch but as figurehead of a vast empire and inspiration for a highly complex culture.

She was born the only child of Edward Duke of Kent and Victoria Maria Louisa of Saxe-Coburg on 24th May 1819. She succeeded her uncle, William IV, in 1837 aged 18 and her reign dominated the rest of the century. In 1840, Victoria married her first cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. For the next 20 years they lived in close harmony and had a family of nine children, many of whom married into European monarchy.

On her accession morale was low and the monarchy unpopular, but Victoria won the nation's hearts with her modesty and practicality. She made it clear that she wished to be politically informed and so she was fostered by the Whig Prime Minister Lord Melbourne. Aged 58 and a widower who had lost his only daughter, Melbourne viewed Victoria as his own and encouraged in her a conservative approach to ruling Britain. In fact, Melbourne was so concerned for her well-being that he advised against reading Charles Dickens because, he alleged, the books were full of 'unpleasant subjects'.

In 1840, Melbourne's influence was replaced by that of Albert's. The German Prince never really won the favour of the British public and only after 17 years was he given recognition with the title of Prince Consort. Despite his reputation, Victoria did everything in collaboration with her husband and it was during his lifetime that she was most active as a ruler. Albert's interests in the arts and sciences inspired the celebratory Great Exhibition of 1851 hosted at Crystal Palace. The proceeds enabled the foundation of Britain's greatest public museums including the V&A. These institutions fuelled a national pride that reflected the Queen's personal ethics and vision. Victoria never fully recovered from Albert's loss - he died of typhoid in 1861 - and she remained in mourning for the rest of her life.

Among the great achievements of her reign was the implementation of institutional reform, such as the move (in the 1840s and 1850s) to a more constitutional monarchy above party faction. Most notable, however, has to be the expansion of the empire, which doubled in size, taking in India, Australia, Canada and parts of Africa and the South Pacific.

Conflict was not a feature of Victorian overseas policy, although in her time the Queen and Parliament faced an Irish uprising, the Boer Wars and an Indian rebellion. Continental war was limited to the Crimean, which began in 1853. Danger, however, was never far away: seven attempts were made on Victoria's life between 1840 and 1882. Her stoic attitude towards these attacks greatly strengthened her popularity.

Although she retired to the Isle of Wight after the death of her beloved husband and tended to remain hidden from the public eye, she emerged to celebrate the Golden and Diamond Jubilees and even made a royal visit to France - the first since 1431. Having witnessed a revolution in British government and the growth of the world's largest empire she died on 22nd January 1901. Her influence remains unforgettable long after this date.