The Kings and Queens of England

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After King Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings, the Witan elected Edgar Ætheling as king, but by then the Normans controlled the country and Edgar never ruled. He submitted to King William the Conqueror. Edgar Atheling (r. Oct – Dec 1066)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018.

Following the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Æthelred the Unready returned from exile and was again proclaimed king on 3 February 1014. His son succeeded him after being chosen king by the citizens of London and a part of the Witan, [21] despite ongoing Danish efforts to wrest the crown from the West Saxons. Edward III 'The Confessor' (r. 1042–1066)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018.Eadmund (Edmund)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007 . Retrieved 17 March 2007. ; "Edmund I (r. 939–946)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. a b c "Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector, 1626–1712". british-civil-wars.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007 . Retrieved 25 October 2007. A later ruler, King Stephen, owed his throne to the time he spent quivering in a bog – and in this case I mean a privy. Had he, as an ambitious minor prince, not suffered a sudden, violent bout of food poisoning while on board a ship in Barfleur harbour in 1120, he wouldn’t have disembarked before it headed into the Channel and sank. Everyone on the ship died except for a solitary Norman butcher, and among the watery dead was the heir to the throne. So, when King Henry I died 15 years later, Stephen’s path to kingship had been cleared by diarrhoea. He hurried to Westminster and got himself crowned, then had one of the most unsuccessful reigns in English history, entirely dominated by a savage civil war. Henry III (r. 1216–1272)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. ; Fryde 1996, p.37.

This was a really informative and enjoyable read. Story being the essence of history (of good history, at any rate), this collection of biographical essays chronicling the lives of each of England's rulers (post 1066 - pre Norman monarchs are not dealt with here) makes for a very engaging and illuminating tour of English history as a whole. I got this volume at a used library sale a number of years ago and have frequently skimmed various parts. But after watching The King’s Speech and being also in the midst of working my way through Shakespeare's historical plays (to which this makes an excellent companion), I decided to dive in and read it cover to cover. a b "William III (r. 1689–1702) and Mary II (r. 1689–1694)". royal.gov.uk. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain (1554)". Document Discovery Project. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011 . Retrieved 14 June 2009. Edward V (Apr–Jun 1483)". royal.gov.uk. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. ; Fryde 1996, p.41. Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed both record an earlier secret wedding between Henry and Anne, which was conducted in Dover on 15 November 1532.

Sweyn (Forkbeard)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007 . Retrieved 27 October 2007. ; Rosborn, Sven (2021). The Viking King's Golden Treasure. About the Curmsun Disc, the discovery of a lost manuscript, Harald Bluetooth's grave and the location of the fortress of Jomsborg. Rivengate AB. ISBN 978-91-986780-1-7.