Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II

House / Group: Windsor
Born / died: 1926-
Reign: 1952-date

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Daughter of George VI
Full name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Married Prince Philipos (now Philip) of Greece and Denmark (a 3rd cousin) in 1947 and had 4 children (Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward)

George VI

George VI

House / Group: Windsor
Born / died: 1895-1952
Reign: 1936-1952

Next:  Elizabeth II  Previous: Edward VIII

Second son of George V
Married  Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and had  2 children (Elizabeth and Margaret)
Reluctantly became king when his brother Edward VIII abdicated
His name was really Albert, but he chose to become George VI, in honour of his father and because Victoria had stated that there should not be a King Albert.
Buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Edward VIII

Edward VIII

House / Group: Windsor
Born / died: 1894-1972
Reign: 1936-1936

Next:  George VI  Previous: George V

First son of George V
Abdicated to marry divorcee, Wallis Simpson (after a series of relationships with other married women). They had no children, although it has been suggested that Edward fathered a son by Australian  Mollee Little.
Buried at Frogmore, near Windsor Castle. Wallis was buried beside him when she died in 1986.Second image of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, taken in 1955 by Dorothy Wilding.

George V

George V

House / Group: Windsor (see note 1)
Born / died: 1865-1936
Reign: 1919-1936

Next:  Edward VIII  Previous: Edward VII

The eldest surviving son of Edward VII (elder Albert died before his father)
Married Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (who had previously been engaged to his brother Albert) in 1893 and had  6 children (Edward (VIII)], Albert (who became George VI), Mary, Henry, George, John)
Buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Note 1: The change of House name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor was made in 1917, during the First World War, in the reign of George V, because the former was considered too Germanic.

Edward VII

Edward VII

House / Group: Saxe-Coburg (see note 2)
Born / died: 1841-1910
Reign: 1901-1910

Next: George V  Previous: Victoria

The eldest son of Victoria and Albert, christened Albert Edward
Married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1862 and had 6 children (Albert, George (V), Louise, Victoria, Maud, John)
An active Freemason, Edward also had a string of mistresses throughout his adult life.
Buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Note 2: Victoria was the last British monarch from the House of Hanover, her son Edward VII shifted the line to Albert's Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but not for long, see George V on the subsequent image makeover.

Victoria

Victoria

House / Group: Hanover
Born / died: 1819-1901
Reign: 1837-1901

Next: Edward VII  Previous: William IV

The only daughter of the Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the 4th son of George III) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
Her route to the throne was complex. When George III (her grandfather) died, her uncle became George IV. George IV died without an heir (a daughter having pre-deceased him) and was succeeded by William IV (another of Victoria's uncles), who also died childless. Victoria could not rule Hanover (as had previous 'British' kings back to 1714) and so this passed to another uncle.
Married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (a first cousin), in 1840 and had 9 children (Victoria, Albert (Edward VII), Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold and Beatrice)
Interred, with Albert,  in the Frogmore Mausoleum, in the grounds of Windsor Castle. 

Victoria appeared on the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black.


On the coat of arms, the Hanoverian escutcheon was removed because Victoria, as a woman, could not rule Hanover. This design has remained in use until the present day.

William IV

William IV

House / Group: Hanover
Born / died: 1765-1837
Reign: 1830-1837

Next: Victoria  Previous: George IV

The 3rd son of George III and Queen Charlotte.
He became King when George IV died without an heir (a daughter having pre-deceased him), the 2nd son Prince Frederick having died in 1827.
He had a long affair with the Irish actress Dorothea Bland (stage name Mrs Jordan) with whom he had at least 10 children. In 1818, aged 52, he married the 26-year old Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. They had two daughters, Charlotte (who died hours after her birth) and Elizabeth (who died at 2 months).
Buried in Windsor Castle.

George IV

George IV

House / Group: Hanover
Born / died: 1762-1830
Reign: 1820-1830

Next: William IV Previous: George III

The eldest son of George III and Queen Charlotte.
He had been Regent for 9 years prior to his father's death as George III became insane.
He reluctantly married his cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, in 1795, but they separated after the birth of their only child Charlotte (who died in 1817 in childbirth). Before and after the marriage he had a series of relationships with various women and children by several of them.
Buried in Windsor Castle.