Medieval Kings of England


Edward the Confessor, 1042 to 1066

Brought up in Normandy, the reign of the Confessor saw the beginning of a close alliance with Normandy. Many Norman barons were brought into England to control the Welsh Marches and castles were first built in the kingdom. It would seem likely that Edward promised the Crown to Duke William of Normandy in 1051.


King Harold II, 1066

Harold had been the power behind Edward's throne since 1055 and was elected King of the English by most of the English noble classes.


King William I, the Conqueror, 1066 to 1087

King William "inherited" the English throne as heir to Edward the Confessor, with, after the battle of Hastings, substantial support from the remaining English nobility. Until 1071 the reign was spent suppressing English rebellions. After that date, by which time much of the English nobility had been eliminated, William had mainly Continental problems to deal with. The conquest of much of Wales was undertaken in the years 1070 to 1085. When William died the chronicles generally agreed that he was a good, but stern king. It had been possible during his reign for a man to walk with his pockets full of gold from one end of William's realm to the other with no-one touching him through their fear of the king.


King William II, Rufus, 1087 to 1100

Second son of William the Conqueror, William had the sternness and military ability of his father, but not his sense of justice. His court was renowned for its brutality and licentiousness and the king was often at variance with the church. He faced major rebellions in 1088 and 1095 though he succeeded in crushing them, largely due to the loyal support of the English.


King Henry I, 1100 to 1135

As able as his brother, Rufus, but with a keen sense of justice. The royal administrative corps really came into its own in his reign. The first seven years of Henry's rule was spent in protecting England and then conquering Normandy from his eldest brother, Duke Robert. He ruled with an iron fist like his father and looked secure both in England and on the Continent until 1120 when his only legitimate son and heir was killed in a naval tragedy. He settled the Welsh rebellion of his brother's reign and fortified Wales with many castles. The end of his reign was dominated by a succession crisis where Henry forced his barons to support his daughter, Matilda, as heir.


King Stephen, 1135 to 1141

The favourite nephew of Henry I, broke his oath and assumed the kingship of England with the assent of the barons of England and Normandy. His character soon showed severe flaws for a king and as the English put it, he was found "to be soft". From 1136 onwards crisis followed crisis and England and Normandy slipped into Civil War.


Empress Matilda, 1141 to 1142

Only legitimate daughter of Henry I to whom the Crown was promised in her father's lifetime. On her father's death Stephen was elected. In 1139 her half brother, Earl Robert of Gloucester, and Miles Gloucester rebelled from King Stephen in her favour. Stephen was defeated and captured in February 1141 and Matilda, the widow of the Emperor of Germany, began her short reign as Empress of the English. Her ill temper and brutal manner soon exasperated the English and she was chased out of London and by the end of 1142 she had been reduced to control of much of the South and West of England, King Stephen, released from captivity continuing his reign. Normandy was taken from Stephen by Matilda's second husband, Geoffrey of Anjou in 1144, both titles passing to their son, another Henry.


King Stephen, 1142 to 1154

By 1147 the civil war in England had effectively ended with most of the important, industrious and populated parts of the kingdom remaining under Stephen's ineffectual rule. In 1153, Duke Henry of Normandy, the son of the Empress Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou, invaded the kingdom and was recognised as Stephen's heir in place of his two sons, Eustace and William.




King Henry II, 1154 to 1189

Henry succeeded King Stephen in October 1154, apparently after surviving a poisoning attempt by Stephen's supporters. He ruled his Empire of Britain, Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Poitou and Aquitaine with an iron rod and was the first king of England to add Ireland to his domains. With his fiery red hair and equally fiery nature, probably inherited from his mother, the Empress, Henry proved a king to be reckoned with and for 35 years he dominated Western Christendom as the most influential monarch of the day. His masterfulness was seriously challenged by the Thomas a Becket murder and the subsequent rebellion of his sons in 1173-74. He was hounded to his death at Chinon by his eldest surviving son in the summer of 1189.




King Richard I, Lionheart, 1189 to 1199

Second and eldest surviving son of Henry II. Richard had little interest in Britain, except for using it as a bank to finance his Middle Eastern and Continental ambitions. As soon as he had succeeded his father, Richard began selling the offices of state to raise money for his cherished crusade. England during his time was run by a series of Justiciars who in effect were regents. Richard only returned to his kingdom once in 1194 to put down the rebellion of his brother Prince John and to be crowned a second time. The rest of his reign was spent in incessant wars in France.