| Monarch |
Reigned From |
Reigned To |
Summary |
| Alfred the Great |
871 |
899 |
He prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy. Compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began during his reign, c. 890. |
| Edward the Elder |
899 |
924 |
As ruler of the West Saxons, or Wessex, from 899 to 924, Edward extended his authority over almost all of England by conquering areas that previously had been held by Danish invaders. |
| Athelstan |
924 |
939 |
On the death of his father, Edward the Elder, in 924, Athelstan was elected king of Wessex and Mercia. Crowned king of the whole country at Kingston on Sept. 4, 925, he proceeded to establish boundaries and rule firmly. |
| Edmund |
939 |
946 |
Magnificus king of the English (939–946), who recaptured areas of northern England that had been occupied by the Vikings. |
| Eadred |
946 |
955 |
brought Northumbria permanently under English rule. Eadred was the son of the West Saxon king Edward the Elder (ruled 899–924), the half brother of King Athelstan (ruled 924–939), and the brother of King Edmund I |
| Eadwig |
955 |
959 |
The eldest son of King Edmund I (ruled 939–946) and the nephew of King Eadred (ruled 946–955), he was probably no more than 15 years old at the time of his accession. |
| Edgar the Peacable |
959 |
975 |
|
| Edward the Martyr |
975 |
978 |
His reign was marked by a reaction against the promonastic policies of his father and predecessor, King Edgar (reigned 959–975). |
| Ethelred II (un-raed) |
978 |
1016 |
|
| Edmund Ironside |
1016 |
1016 |
King of the English from April 23 to Nov. 30, 1016, surnamed “Ironside” for his staunch resistance to a massive invasion led by the Danish king Canute. |
| Canute |
1016 |
1035 |
|
| Hardicanute |
1035 |
1040 |
|
| Harold Harefoot |
1040 |
1042 |
made regent of England after his father's death because Canute's legitimate son, Hardecanute, king of Denmark and claimant to the English throne, was occupied with affairs in Denmark |
| Edward the Confessor |
1042 |
1066 |
Although he was a listless, ineffectual monarch overshadowed by powerful nobles, his reputation for piety evidently preserved much of the dignity of the crown |
| Harold Godwinsson |
1066 |
1066 |
A strong ruler and a skilled general, he held the crown for nine months in 1066 before he was killed at the Battle of Hastings by Norman invaders under William the Conqueror. |
| William I |
1066 |
1087 |
|
| William II |
1087 |
1100 |
|
| Henry I |
1100 |
1135 |
|
| Stephen |
1135 |
1154 |
|
| Henry II |
1154 |
1189 |
|
| Richard I |
1189 |
1199 |
|
| John |
1199 |
1216 |
|
| Henry III |
1216 |
1272 |
|
| Edward I |
1272 |
1307 |
|
| Edward II |
1307 |
1327 |
|
| Edward III |
1327 |
1377 |
|
| Richard II |
1377 |
1399 |
|
| Henry IV |
1399 |
1413 |
|
| Henry V |
1413 |
1422 |
|
| Henry VI |
1422 |
1461 |
|
| Edward IV |
1461 |
1483 |
|
| Edward V |
1483 |
1483 |
|
| Richard III |
1483 |
1485 |
|