A timeline or other list of this type can be very useful in helping to place people and events in time. For example, near the top of the list, we see King John (1199-1216), who signed the Magna Carta. A little below John is Edward I, who called the Model Parliament to session. Below the House of Plantagenet are visible the power shifts between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, which were the result of the Wars of the Roses. The House of York is followed by the Tudor dynasty, which included the Protestant Reformation in England, and which ended in 1603 when Elizabeth I died without producing offspring. Next, the Stuart dynasty is interrupted by Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth, only to be restored under Charles II. In the House of Hanover is George III, the same King George to whom American colonists addressed the grievances which led to the American Revolution. In the present time, we see Elizabeth II as the reigning queen of England. Elizabeth II is expected to be followed by her eldest son, Prince Charles (who would become Charles III). Charles would be followed by his eldest son, Prince William (who would become William V).

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English/British Monarchs from the Plantagenets to the Present

House of Plantagenet - Henry II (1154-1189) - Richard I "The Lionheart" (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)

House of Lancaster - Henry IV (1399-1413) - Henry V (1413-1422) - Henry VI (1470-1471)

House of York - Edward IV (1461-1470)

House of Lancaster (restored) - Henry VI (1470-1471)

House of York (restored) - Edward IV (1471-1483) - Edward V (1483) - Richard III (1483-1485)

House of Tudor - Henry VII (1485-1509) - Henry VIII (1509-1547) - Edward VI (1547-1553) - Mary I (1553-1558) - Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

House of Stuart - James I (1603-1625) - Charles I (1625-1649)

Commonwealth - ruled by a lord protector with monarch in custody - Oliver Cromwell "Old Ironsides" (1653-1658) - Richard Cromwell "Tumbledown Dick" (1658-1659)

House of Stuart (restored) - Charles II (1649-1685) - James II (1685-1688) - William III "William of Orange" (1689-1702) and Mary II (1689- 1694) - Anne (1702-1714)

House of Hanover - George I (1714-1727) - George II (1727-1760) - George III (1760-1820) - George IV (1820-1830) - William IV (1830-1837) - Victoria (1837-1901)

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (name changed to House of Windsor during World War I under George V) - Edward VII (1901-1910)

House of Windsor - George V (1910-1936) - Edward VIII (1936) - George VI (1936-1952) - Elizabeth II (1952-present)