In 1776, the American colonies declared independence from King George III and his Kingdom of Great Britain. Eleven years later, after successfully navigating the American Revolution, an independent America drafted its constitution. Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of that document starts with “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States.” But despite giving the historic cold shoulder to royalty, modern Americans remain just as obsessed with the British monarchy as the rest of the world.
To make sense of this fascination, we thought we’d try to get to the bottom of this monarchy. How did it come to exist? What are a handful of important events? And why do people still care? Here is a quick primer on the British monarchy in less than 1000 words. (If you need a brief refresher on terminology like England, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, etc., you can read more here.)
The Past
It’s tough to know where to begin the story, but 1066 seems to be a popular starting point. This nine-minute YouTube video does a fantastic job of recounting the events from that year forward. We’ll touch upon just a few random highlights.
In 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy (modern-day France) conquered England. Prior to that time, England was comprised of several smaller kingdoms. Though the trend had already been towards unification, the Norman conquest solidified the process, making William the first king of a clearly unified England.
From that point on, various degrees of chaos ensued, with military conflict and debates about succession dotting the timeline.
In the 13th century, King Edward I invaded the Kingdom of Scotland, prompting the First War of Scottish Independence. That’s the one depicted in the movie Braveheart, in case you were wondering. Scotland would remain independent, but it would reappear on the scene a few centuries later (see below).
The 15th century was marked by a series of civil wars, termed the Wars of the Roses, for control of the throne. The result was the start of the well-known Tudor Dynasty (of which Henry VIII was a part), which lasted through 1603.
Upon Queen Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, the next person in line for the throne happened to be King James VI of Scotland. At that point, he also became King James I of England. The different number for the different country is not a typo, by the way. (Despite having this common monarch, Scotland and England remained officially separate until 1707.)
Fast forward a bit, and King James’ son, Charles I, was beheaded at the urging of the anti-monarchy Oliver Cromwell. Charles II was able to reestablish the monarchy after the death of Cromwell.
Along the way came King George III, as in the one above who all American kids learn about in elementary school. His granddaughter was Queen Victoria, who occupied the throne from 1837 – 1901.
If you’re wondering about Wales, for much of the aforementioned narrative, it either unofficially or officially fell under the umbrella of England. In fact, the Tudors were of Welsh origin. And if you’re wondering about Ireland, the Tudor Dynasty solidified rule over the Irish, further expanding the monarchy. The connection to Scotland has already been mentioned. The end result is that the monarchy covers the entire United Kingdom (which, of course, no longer includes Ireland).
The Present
The current monarch of the United Kingdom is Queen Elizabeth II, a fact that has been the case since 1952. Queen Elizabeth is the great, great, great, great granddaughter of King George III through the side of the family that placed her on the throne. She is actually the great, great, great granddaughter via the other side of the family. (It’s confusing.) She is also the longest reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom.
As of 1917, the royal family’s official name is Windsor. The name was changed from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha due to anti-German sentiment during World War I, thus masking many German connections within the family.
In terms of succession, Elizabeth II’s oldest son, Charles, is next in line. Charles will be followed by his oldest son William. The torch will then be passed to William’s son George.
The Future
In modern times, the concepts of royalty and monarchy can seem outdated. Barbados, as one example, opted to remove Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and instead become a republic.
In the United Kingdom, the royal family remains popular, with 62% of the population supporting the continued presence of the monarchy. As expected, support is highest among those aged 65 and older.
Despite costing taxpayers large sums of money, that expense is offset by the monarchy’s contributions to the nation’s tourism and media industries. And then there’s the harder to measure contribution to the national psyche.
The bottom line is that we can expect to be hearing about the British monarchy for quite some time.
If you’re upset with the brevity of this piece, let it be known that we, too, might be royalty. We have, after all, worn the cardboard crown from Burger King many times. But keep that on the down low. We don’t want to violate Article I of the American Constitution.
(Note: In September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away, and the reign of her son, King Charles III, began.)
