Direct descent from William I to Elizabeth II

This list shows the most senior line of direct royal lineal descent of the United Kingdom to the current monarch from William the Conqueror. Each person on the list is the son or daughter of the person above him or her on the list. There are many other more junior lines of descent of the family, but the crown in theory at least only descends through the most senior line. Due to deadended lines, large parts of entire royal houses (Lancaster, Tudor, Stuart) are bypassed in the current most senior line. The numbers can be used to calculate the number of generations between two individuals on this list.

Family tree

This tree shows the descent of all British monarchs from William I, and their relationships with each other. Only branches which led to a monarch are shown. The direct royal line is always the leftmost shown.

The direct royal line

1. William I
2. Henry I
3. Empress Matilda (Maud)
4. Henry II
5. John
6. Henry III
7. Edward I
8. Edward II
9. Edward III
10. Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence
11. Philippa of Ulster
12. Roger Mortimer, Earl of March
13. Anne Mortimer
14. Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York
15. Edward IV
16. Elizabeth of York (wife of Henry VII)
17. Margaret Tudor
18. James V of Scotland
19. Mary, Queen of Scots
20. James I
21. Elizabeth Stuart, Electress Palatine
22. Sophia, Electress of Hanover
23. George I
24. George II
25. Frederick, Prince of Wales
26. George III
27. Prince Edward Augustus
28. Victoria
29. Edward VII
30. George V
31. George VI
32. Elizabeth II

Monarchs not in the direct royal line, and why

The number after each monarch is their generation number (it corresponds to the number on the list above and the list below).

• William II (2), the line passes through his younger brother, Henry I
• Stephen (3), he was from a more junior branch of the family, the line passes through his uncle of the senior line, Henry I
• Richard I (5), the line passes through his younger brother, John
• Richard II (11), the line passes through his grandfather's younger son, Lionel, Duke of Clarence
• Henry IV (11), the House of Lancaster was from a more junior branch of the family, the line passes through his uncle of the senior branch, Lionel, Duke of Clarence
• Henry V (12), the House of Lancaster was from a more junior branch of the family, the line passes through his great uncle of the senior branch, Lionel, Duke of Clarence
• Henry VI (13), the House of Lancaster was from a more junior branch of the family, the line passes through his great great uncle of the senior branch, Lionel, Duke of Clarence
• Edward V (16), the line passes through his sister, Elizabeth of York
• Richard III (15), the line passes through his elder brother's daughter, Elizabeth of York
• Henry VII (14), he is from a junior branch of the family. His wife, Elizabeth of York, is from the senior branch, and the line passes through her and then through their daughter, Margaret Tudor
• Henry VIII (17), the line passes through his sister, Margaret Tudor
• Edward VI (18), the line passes through his aunt, Margaret Tudor
• Mary I (18), the line passes through her aunt, Margaret Tudor
• Elizabeth I (18), the line passes through her aunt, Margaret Tudor
• Charles I (21), the line passes through his sister, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine
• Charles II (22), the line passes through his aunt, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine
• James II (22), the line passes through his aunt, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine
• Mary II (23), the line passes through her great aunt, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine
• William III (23), he was from a junior branch of the family and a cousin of his wife Mary II, the line passes through his great aunt, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine
• Anne (23), the line passes through her great aunt, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine
• George IV (27), the line passes through his younger brother, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
• William IV (27), the line passes through his younger brother, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
• Edward VIII (31), the line passes through his younger brother, George VI

Monarchs of each generation

This table shows the generation of each monarch based on their descent from William I via the royal line.

The generational jump between Henry VII and Henry VIII is an interesting case shown on this list. Henry VIII is the son of Henry VII (generation 14 through an illegitimate junior line of John of Gaunt) as well as the son of Elizabeth of York (generation 16 through the senior Lionel, Duke of Clarence line). Henry VIII is counted as generation 17 because the royal line passes through his mother, who is of the senior line.

This process will continue in the future. Prince William of Wales, if he becomes king, will add a line to Charles II, from whom he is descended through his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

1. William I
2. William II, Henry I
3. Stephen
4. Henry II
5. Richard I, John
6. Henry III
7. Edward I
8. Edward II
9. Edward III
10. none
11. Richard II, Henry IV
12. Henry V
13. Henry VI
14. Henry VII
15. Edward IV, Richard III
16. Edward V
17. Henry VIII
18. Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I
19. none
20. James I
21. Charles I
22. Charles II, James II
23. Mary II, William III, Anne, George I
24. George II
25. none
26. George III
27. George IV, William IV
28. Victoria
29. Edward VII
30. George V
31. Edward VIII, George VI
32. Elizabeth II

The descent from the Saxon kings

The descent through the main West Saxon royal line

This list shows the joining of the royal families of England, the West Saxon kings descended from Alfred the Great and the Norman kings. Empress Matilda (Maud), grand daughter of William I (Norman), great great grand daughter of Edmund II (Saxon), is the first person to unite the families in this line. Her son, Henry II, is the first monarch descended from both these families. The generation numbering of the primary list above is maintained here for comparison purposes.

-6. Alfred the Great

-5. Edward the Elder

-4. Edmund I

-3. Edgar

-2. Ethelred II (Ethelred the Unready)

-1. Edmund II (Edmund Ironside)

0. Edward the Exile

1. Saint Margaret of Scotland

2. Edith of Scotland

3. Empress Matilda (Maud)

4. Henry II

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The descent through Alfred the Great's daughter Aelfthryth

William I married Matilda of Flanders, who was descended from Alfred the Great's daughter Aelfthryth. This means that William II and Henry I are direct descendants of Alfred the Great through this line.

-6. Alfred the Great

-5. Aelfthryth

-4. Arnulf I, Count of Flanders

-3. Baldwin III of Flanders

-2. Arnulf II, Count of Flanders

-1. Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders

0. Baldwin V, Count of Flanders

1. Matilda of Flanders

2. Henry I

3. Empress Matilda (Maud)

4. Henry II

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The descent from Charlemagne

This descent-list is created using information on Wikipedia.

-9.Charlemagne

-8. Pippin of Italy

-7. Bernard of Italy

-6. Pepin, Count of Vermandois

-5. Herbert I, Count of Vermandois

-4. Berengar of Bayeux

-3. Judicael Berengar

-2. Conan I, Duke of Brittany

-1. Judith of Brittany

0. Robert II, Duke of Normandy

1. William I

The consequences of a reluctance to be ruled by a Queen

Many of the internal conflicts in English history are a direct result of a widespread preference to having a king instead of a queen rule over the nation, even if the female heir has the better claim to the throne.

The first instance is the civil war commonly referred to as The Anarchy between Matilda, daughter of the late king and Stephen, a son of the late king's sister.

The second instance was among the descendants of Edward III leading to the Wars of the Roses in later years. After Richard II was deposed, the descendants of the granddaughter of Edward III through an elder son were passed over for Henry IV, the son of a younger son of Edward III.

At the conclusion of the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII's wife Elizabeth of York had the superior claim to the throne to that of her husband. As the daughter of Edward IV, she also had been previously passed over in favour of her uncle, Richard III.

It wasn't until 1553 and the ascension of Henry VIII's daughter Mary I, that England was ruled by a Queen regnant.