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The first royal house of England. The Anglo-Saxon king of the Kingdom of Wessex eventually went on to unite all England.
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Sweyn Forkbeard, viking King of Denmark conquers England from Aethelred the Unready but dies not long after, having ruled England for 5 weeks.
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The House of Wessex is restored after Aethelred the Unready returns from exile. His son succeeds him before it is again ended by Danish King Cnut the Great.
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Canute the Great restores the House of Denmark's rule over England, his sons inherit the kingdom before it eventually passes back to the House of Wessex.
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After Hardicanute's death, the Saxon lords choose St Edward the Confessor as King of England. Edward's piety led him to be celibate and begin a succession crisis after his death.
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Succeeding Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson is chosen as King, a brief reign with war breaking out after multiple claimants vie for the English throne.
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William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, pushes his claim to the throne by invading England. Current King Harold Godwinson meets him in battle at Hastings and is defeated, falling battle, according to legend he dies from an arrow in the eye. William goes on to conquer England and is crowned King, earning the name William the Conqueror. -
With William I's conquest of England, the House of Normandy is established
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A record of the Great Survey by William the Conqueror is compiled, referred to as the Domesday Book. A comprehensive collection of information about land, resources, ownership, taxation and life in England. -
After Henry I leaves no male heirs, he, in his final will, passes the throne to Empress Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor. However, Stephen of Blois stages a coup d'etat, crowning himself as King.
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An agreement is struck between King Stephen and Matilda that her son to the Count of Anjou, Henry, would inherit the throne upon Stephen's passing. Henry II becomes the first Plantagenet King.
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A group of rebel barons force King John to sign the Magna Carta, limiting the monarch's power. It promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift and impartial justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown -
A series of conflicts between England and France over succession to the French throne. While England initially saw major success, France eventually achieved victory due to civil war in England and the leadership of St Joan of Arc.
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The bubonic plague, called the 'Black Death' or contemporarily 'Great Pestilence' or the 'Great Mortality', arrives in England and spreads, killing a ridiculously large percentage of the population. -
An alliance between England and Portugal, it is the longest continuous alliance in history and still active today. -
After burdensome taxes due to the Hundred Years' War, peasants, led by Wat Tyler, rose up in revolt against King Richard II, storming the Tower of London. After a botched meeting, Tyler was killed allowing the revolt to be crushed. -
A major English victory during the Hundred Years' War. A much smaller English army defeated and larger French force through superior tactics and the English longbowmen who devastated the French. -
A series of civil wars fought between the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose), 2 cadet branches of House of Plantagenent.
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The last battle of the Wars of the Roses. It saw Henry Tudor achieve victory over Richard III, who died during the battle. Henry then succeeded Richard, beginning the Tudor dynasty as King Henry VII. -
With victory in the Wars of the Roses, King Henry VII ascends to the throne establishing the Tudor dynasty. The dynasty sees some of England's most famous monarchs. It ends with the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I.
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Seeking an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII officially breaks ties with Rome, creating the Church of England, and placing himself as its head. The church retains a very catholic liturgy and Theology. -
All monasteries in England are closed by order of Henry VIII to fund the crown. -
The Rising of the North, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls; the Catholic Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland rebelled against Queen Elizabeth I. The revolt ultimately failed due to a lack of planning. -
The Spanish Armada, seeking under order of King Philip II of Spain to restore Catholicism to England, and the Engllish Fleet engage near the port of Gravelines, Flanders. After a few prior skirmishes, the Spanish Armada, led by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, is defeated and scattered. Elizabeth I gives her famous Tilbury speech. Pamphlets were distributed with the phrase "Flavit Jehovah et Dissipati Sunt" - "God blew, and they are scattered." -
After the passing of Elizabeth I, the throne passes to King James VI of Scotland who is crowned King James I of England, thereby uniting the two realms under one ruler.
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Disgruntled Catholics, after years of religious persecution, seek to blow up Parliament and kill the King. The plot is foiled and one of the conspirators Guy Fawkes is caught. -
The English Civil War, also known as the Great Rebellion was a war fought between the Royalists supporting Charles I and the Parliamentarians. It ended with the execution of Charles I and a Parliamentarian victory.
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Parliamentarians oust King Charles I from the throne, led by Oliver Cromwell. A short-lived republic is born until the monarchy's return with Charles II.
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King Charles II restores the monarchy. The House of Stuart ends when James II is overthrown by Parliament.
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Another major epidemic of the bubonic plague, concentrated in London. -
Famously the start of the Great Fire of London began in a bakery on Pudding Lane. The tight conditions and poor architecture culminated in a gigantic fire that engulfed large swathes of London. Many believed it an ill omen, due to the date of 666, but a positive from the fire is that it got rid of the Plague. -
After dissatisfaction with James II, Parliament invites Mary and William of Orange to become the new rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland. -
Following the Glorious Revolution, Mary II and her husband William of Orange are invited by Parliament to take the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. The dynasty ends with Queen Anne.
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As the senior Protestant descendant of his great-grandfather James VI, George I becomes King of Great Britain establishing the dynasty's of Hanover's rule over the United Kingdom. The name of Hanover ends with Queen Victoria.
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A period of industrialisation that began in the United Kingdom. It saw the advancement of technology and the changing of the cultural and economic landscape.
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With the end of the Victorian era, the house of Prince Albert, Victoria's husband becomes the new ruling house of Britain, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
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With the outbreak of the First World War, King George V changes the name of the royal house to Windsor from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha due to ant-German sentiment.
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After rising tensions between the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia, and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, war breaks out across Europe with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Italy does not join Germany but the Ottoman Empire later does. Thus begins the First World War, also known as the Great War; it was the deadliest conflict in history up to that point, seeing trench warfare and the beginning of mechanised warfare.
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One of the deadliest battles in human history, more than 1 million men were wounded or killed. Fought between Britain and France against Germany. -
Influenza spreads across the globe, infecting countless and killing millions. Initially not being reported, after Spain made its existence public to the world did it get its name. Mainly young people died of the disease further hurting the population strain from the First World War. -
Germany invades Poland. After an ultimatum is given by Britain, with no response, 2 days later on 3rd September 1939 the United Kingdom and France declare war on Nazi Germany thus beginning the Second World War, the largest conflict in human history. -
The Allied Powers of the US, UK, France, the Soviet Union and other nations wage the deadliest war in history against the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, Japan and other nations. The war is sparked by Adolf Hitler's invasion of the Polish Republic. An estimated 70 - 85 million people died in the 6 year war.
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Sir Winston Churchill is called upon to succeed Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister to lead Britain through her darkest hour. 'The Bulldog' will serve in office until the end of the war. -
An aerial battle commences in the skies of Britain and the English Channel between the RAF and the Luftwaffe. The RAF achieve victory, ending Hitler's plans of invasion of the British Isles. Churchill comments, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,". -
German bombing raids by the Luftwaffe commence across Britain, seeking to crush the spirit of the British public. Bombs, V1 and V2 rockets target London and other cities. People are forced to take refuge underground, in bunkers, wherever there is safety as their homes are destroyed. -
Victory in Europe (VE) Day is celebrated as Germany surrenders, ending the conflict in Europe and drawing the Second World War to a close. The people cry to see the King as the streets are filled with celebration over the Allies victory. -
The National Health Service (NHS) is established offering free healthcare to everyone. Its existence continues today and is a beloved trophy of Britain, born out of the carnage of the Second World War and the altruist spirit that proceeded. -
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is crowned as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. -
England defeats West Germany 4-2 in the final of the football World Cup. -
Argentina invades the Falkland Islands, an archipelago close to southern Argentina. At the behest of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister, Britain goes to war, retaking the islands and securing them as British. -
The Chinese city of Hong Kong, ruled by the British for 156 years, is given to the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong retains some autonomy and is not fully incorporated into China however. It is this date that historian usually attribute as the formal end of the British Empire. -
After 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, an agreement is struck restoring peace to Northern Ireland. A shared assembly is created encompassing the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Republicans, both sides are respected, weapons decommissioned etc. -
Prime Minister David Camoran delivers on his election promises to appease eurosceptics and calls for a public referendum on whether the UK should remain or leave the European Union (EU), an political economic union of several nations across Europe. 51% vote in favour of leaving. Much controversy around lies by campaigners led to a period of political and economic instability in the country. Camoran, having supported remain, abdicated as Prime Minister. -
An outbreak of Coronavirus occurs in China and spreads rapidly across the entire world causing millions of deaths. The UK is forced to enter several lockdowns causing the economy to suffer greatly as well as the social life of its citizens. Several vaccines are administered to the public via the NHS.
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King Charles III is coronated a year after the passing of his beloved mother Queen Elizabeth II.