British Monarchs Family Tree | Alfred the Great to Charles III

Buy the chart:
usefulcharts.c...
Anglo-Saxon Kings Family Tree:
• Anglo-Saxon Kings Fami...
Welsh Monarchs Family Tree:
• Welsh Monarchs Family ...
Is Britain's Real Monarch living in Australia?
• Is Britain's Real Mona...
Who Would Be King According to Henry VIII's will?
• Who Would Be King of E...
Who Would Be Jacobite King?
• Who Would Be Jacobite ...
Current Line of Succession:
• Changes to British Roy...
CREDITS:
Charts & Narration by Matt Baker
Animation by Syawish Rehman
Audio editing by Ali Shahwaiz
Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. Available from incompetech.com

[@UsefulCharts]

Buy the chart: usefulcharts.com/collections/royal-family-trees/products/european-royal-family-tree

[@agniswar3]

Is the old one still available?

[@UsefulCharts]

@@agniswar3 Yes. And it's on sale: usefulcharts.com/collections/royal-family-trees/products/copy-of-european-royal-family-tree-west

[@ToastieBRRRN]

Do you have a version which is a coin chart? Which shows their portraits on coins at the time?

[@AWindy94]

@@ToastieBRRRN That's a cool idea.

[@nikolaevkatesla3823]

@@UsefulCharts why did you erase the Asturian kings???

[@RealUlrichLeland]

15:20 An interesting point to note is that Richard III was the king whose remains were found buried under a car park in Leicester a few years ago

[@l4nd3r]

Yeah, he died in battle, and to prevent his body from being mangled, his guard buried him in a random field lol

[@pedanticradiator1491]

@l4nd3r he was buried at Grey friars Abbey, Leicester where the car park is now

[@gidzmobug2323]

​@@pedanticradiator1491 There is a video on KZbin somewhere where Richard's remains were found and reinterred. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were there (Richard held the Gloucester title till he became King).

[@pedanticradiator1491]

@Katheryne Koelker yes I know that they found him under a car park on the site of the friary. I'm also well aware that before becoming king he was Duke of Gloucester as I used to live in a town that had a pub called The Gloucester Arms that was named after him as he is believed to have stayed in the original mansion that stood on the site of the pub. The current Duke of Gloucester who coincidencently is called Prince Richard is the president or patron of the Richard III Society

[@gilliandrysdale5306]

interesting thank you

[@nHans]

This video is fantastic! In 30 minutes, it has helped me to neatly slot the *thousands* of hours I've spent watching period movies and TV shows: _Rome, Vikings, The Tudors, Wolf Hall, Outlander, Braveheart, The King's Speech, The Crown, Reign, The Queen, The White Queen, Victoria, The Young Victoria, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth, Elizabeth I, The Favourite, Blackadder,_ ... yup, the chart's gonna be worth it.

[@rebekahv5185]

DITTO, @Niranjan Hanasoge.

[@robfab5204]

Don't forget about Mel Gibson's The Patriot

[@amranxaaji8625]

Haa

[@lisetteeliseparis7070]

Too cool! Love that list! Unfortunately, movies can and will bend the truth. Reading history from primary sources or otherwise is the best way to know what happened. Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots never met. But Hollywood will tell you they did.🙄🙄🙄🤣(And be careful of that Phillipa Gregory, luv).

[@Wann-zo7rn2qn4i]

Prince William should buy one for his children. It will be a great aid to their history lessons.

[@huntertrum3658]

Maybe this is just an American thing, but it's crazy to me that some people can trace their lineage back hundreds of years, from one area of the globe nonetheless. Must be interesting to be like, "oh yeah, my great great great great grand uncle was suspected of being involved in the Gunpowder Plot and was hanged down the block from here. Family was pretty upset for a awhile, but we got over it."

[@cm275]

I’m no genealogy buff but I suspect it also has to do with the lack of good records once you get to certain point unless you’re from a noble line which I suspect most Americans aren’t.

[@AmyMichelleMosier]

I’m related to Mary Elizabeth Surratt, who was hung as a co-conspirator of the Lincoln assassination but ironically she and I are related to F Scott Fitzgerald and Francis Scott Key, who are patriots. Nobody wants to talk about this over dinner.

[@AmyMichelleMosier]

Yes, they interviewed her and she was quoted as saying such stuff. She saw herself as a good Catholic.

[@edithengel2284]

@@cm275 On the contrary, many Americans of English ancestry are in fact descended from the Plantagenet kings alone Approximately one hundred Plantagenet descendants arrived in English North America before 1701 alone. They have many, many thousands (if not more) descendants in the U.S. today. There are many genealogical societies flourishing in the U.S., so being able to trace one's ancestry back hundreds of years is also an American thing.

[@strawberryseed1886]

I’m American. Two of my family lines can be traced back over 1000 years and to the Plantagenets. They came over in the 1600’s. The first Europeans to come here were of higher born status, thus having genealogy written out over many generations.

[@dorderre]

So happy to see Lady Jane Grey included :) She's often overlooked.

[@DrFuzzyaka-atomic]

She didn't do much tho

[@dorderre]

@@DrFuzzyaka-atomic That's not the point. For those 9 days she was legally the queen of England, but many people/lists ignore her bcs of her short "reign". Jean/John I of France on the other hand is always included, even tho he was a new born baby and lived for only 6 days.

[@DrFuzzyaka-atomic]

Yeah, was the execution planned before her reign?

[@dorderre]

@@DrFuzzyaka-atomic she was held captive by Mary I for several months before she decided to have Jane executed bcs she bore the risk of political opponents rallying behind her.

[@aeris2001]

She was never monarch still

[@TrystaneTheBlack]

Something a lot of people miss is that William the Conqueror had also married a direct descendant of Alfred the Great.

[@jamellfoster6029]

Actually it was William the Conqueror's son, Henry I that married a descendant of Alfred the Great in the person of Edith/Matilda of Scotland

[@rogerkearns8094]

_William the Conqueror had also married a direct descendant of Alfred the Great_ I thought he married a tanner's daughter, a commoner. [Edit] With apologies, this is incorrect.

[@rogerkearns8094]

@@jamellfoster6029 Yes, this is explained in the video.

[@jurkoncz6182]

@@rogerkearns8094 His mother was a tanners daughter

[@rogerkearns8094]

@@jurkoncz6182 OK, I stand corrected, thank you for that.

[@ipekircan6502]

One interesting aspect is, the Dance of the Dragons, from George RR Martin's ASOIAF universe and book Fire and Blood, is based on the succession conflict between Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois, the period known as the Anarchy. I thought it would be cool to mention since the series House of the Dragon just aired and is a hot topic now, and shares so many parallels with the Anarchy. How fascinating it is to see these historical events influencing literature and then the fiction blowing up. Great video as always, thank you!

[@michael_r]

A Song of Ice and Fire certainly takes inspiration from the Wars of the Roses.

[@ipekircan6502]

@@michael_r Yes, it does as well, though I find the influence of Wars of the Roses on GoT much more loose compared to the Anarchy and Dance of the Dragons, it is very exciting to see how Martin takes inspiration from British history.

[@user-ix1rp9ff3p]

add to that being Aegon I Targaryen is basically William the Conqueror but Roman-Atlantean and dragons

[@Myne1001]

The Blackfyre Rebellions are definitely inspired by the Jacobite Rebellions.

[@sheevpalpatine1105]

@@michael_r they're talking about the Dance of Dragons and not The War of the Five Kings

[@AWindy94]

I'm actually getting to a place of my life where I'm finally going to be able to justify purchasing some of these charts and I am so looking forward to having them up in my home!!! Been a long time follower and I'm finally about to have my own place that I can decorate however I want. only thing is I don't know how I'm going to be able to narrow down which ones I want now!!! 😅

[@re_patel]

As soon as I had some disposable income, I chose to buy Matt's book, (which was out of stock for a long time here in Britain).

[@joan5856]

The British conder being in the Doomsday book and indication that your family goes back 1000 years. The Kirton name goes back further than that. It is said that it goes back to the year 500AD. Somewhere in that ancestry shows in the fairly common incidence of allopecia.

[@nihilioellipsis]

I love big charts and maps spread out on the wall cuz you can take in the whole thing all at once and then also look at details. So engrossing.

[@nihilioellipsis]

that's the reason why I like, watching Henry Louis Gates PBS show finding your roots. he has a team that has all the scholarly and scientific capacity to go back as far as data will allow.

[@deborahbriscoe-graves6244]

Organize your charts based on whatever themes you want and change out the themes periodically. You can choose sub-themes to highlight interplay between "English" and kings from various European Houses.

[@aaronpatton15]

4:12 Harold Godwinson and William weren’t the only claimants Edmund Ironside’s grandson Edgar (Margaret’s brother) also had a claim and was briefly declared King after the Battle of Hastings by the Witen.

[@Scott-jk5zk]

Also Harald Hardrada who Harold Godwinson defeated at the battle of Stirling bridge

[@ggCA07]

Harald Hadrada, King of Norway too

[@jamellfoster6029]

Precisely. Edgar Aethling's niece, Edith/Matilda, married the youngest son of William the Conqueror, Henry I...

[@aaronpatton15]

@@Scott-jk5zk well of course but he wasn’t blood related (at least I don’t think so)

[@ggCA07]

@@aaronpatton15 only Edgar Ætheling was a blood relative(and last male line descendant of Cerdic, King of the Gewissae and Alfred the Great). Harold Godwinson was Edward the Confessor’s brother in law and the most powerful nobleman in England at the time. William the Conqueror was Edward’s cousin through his mother, Emma of Normandy. Harold Hadrada’s claim was through Cnut the Great. Cnut’s son, Harthacnut, supposedly promised the throne to Harold Hadrada’s father. But since his father was dead at the time of Edward the Confessor’s death, Hadrada claimed the throne.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

It wasn't mentioned, but I think worth noting, that the reigning dynasty of the UK from 1901-17 was the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. If the convention had been observed, that would have been the dynastic House until the death of Elizabeth II. Similarly, Charles III would have been the first monarch of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Perhaps "Windsor" *is* better, after all!

[@bigbig-km1hb]

And prince William have direrect links to Charles the 2nd through his mom Diana

[@Zadir09]

Let’s be honest the government probably demanded George V change his house name. He was a great King, husband, and grandfather, never took a mistress, adored his wife and QE2 as a child, always yielded to everything his elected government chose, unlike Edward 7 who was actually making political moves. he used to worry himself sick as every crowned head beside him was falling. His government blocked his request to have the Romanov’s seek asylum because the Gov rightfully saw how it would stir republican sentiment, you must remember this is the early 1900s it was a different world

[@kenharry5625]

HM King George V with Letters Patent changed the House & Family name "House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" to "Windsor" on 17 July 1917.

[@revinhatol]

*This calls for a song!* I'm William the Conqueror, my enemies stood no chance They call me the first English king although I come from France 1066, the Domesday Book I gave to history So fat on death, my body burst but enough about me To well remember all your kings I come up with this song A simple rhyming ditty for you all to sing along! Oh, William... Bit short isn't it? We need more kings, who came next?

[@carinamurillo2150]

Forever a classic!! Gotta love Horrible Histories 😂❤️

[@justamrcreeper6467]

The English Kings and Queens Song by Horrible Histories

[@frantisekhajek2496]

William the Conqueror saying "innit" is hilarious

[@revinhatol]

@@justamrcreeper6467 Try filling up the rest of the lyrics...?

[@charlotteb6898]

I'm not allowed to visit France despite conquering England back on 1066 for them. How unfair is that.

[@sirduck600]

The research you do is incredible because when I tried to trace down the King of Spain’s lineage, I started seeing Wikipedia pages on Greek mythology 😅

[@myamdane6895]

wait really?

[@MAARRSNYC]

I joined as a member today. I have severe ADHD and have been hyper focusing on English/British Monarchs for two weeks. I'm also itching to revisit the American Presidents too. I doubt my obsessions will last more than 6 months, but until then, I"m going to watch the hell out of every freaking video. Thanks for such great content.

[@UsefulCharts]

As a fellow ADHDer, I totally get it!!

[@patootien]

Just when I was wanting another British royal family tree discussion. The timing is crazyyyy

[@bentoth9555]

Thank you for showing the best depiction of King John ever.

[@doodlebug99]

Always know it’s gonna be a good morning when usefulcharts uploads! Cheers ☕️Thanks for another great video!

[@deutschermichel5807]

its evening

[@doodlebug99]

@@deutschermichel5807 maybe for you!

[@talamahmoud10]

wow man's never heard of time zones 💀

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

Are we entirely sure Elizabeth II’s marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh isn’t just a really long winded Danish reconquest of the British Isles? 😂

[@ItBePatYo]

They're playing the long game... 👀👀

[@redalbatross5649]

Damn, danish playing over thousand year game.

[@JoeBuchanan1346]

If it’s a great heathen army that you allude to it would be will the conqueror as a Norman

[@HelsinkiFINketeli_berlin_com]

I'm finnish, from Finland, but by the documents from my mother's side danish, scottish and german, and also due to mitochondrial DNA belonging to the d'Anjou and Plantagenet families. Small world. From my father's side due to DNA from somewhere western Germany, most likely from Schwabia, Rheinland, Elsass/Alsace area. Small world indeed.

[@weepingscorpion8739]

4 months later and I only now notice this. William III should be double numbered because while he was the 3rd William of England and the Dutch Republic he was only William II of Scotland. William IV and Elizabeth II are however properly numbered as GB and UK tend to go by the largest number, however if the Acts of Union never happened, William IV would've been William III of Scotland, and Elizabeth II would've been Elizabeth I of Scotland. Thus when William becomes king he will be William V of all of the UK even though if dual numbering was a thing, he'd only be William IV of Scotland. The Jacobites still follow this double numbering so Bonnie Prince Charlie's brother Henry claimed the thrones as Henry IX of England and Henry I of Scotland. Rupprecht the Crown Prince of Bavaria is also considered Robert I of England and Robert IV of Scotland so that double numbering still exists. Wow, that was some tangent. Great video as always!

[@Josh-ut4wv]

You think that is funny if there are more king edwards than the numbers now granted the 3 before Edward I were ones with a title. Edward the elder, the Martyr, and the confessor but it is kinda funny. Also if they were following the higher number James the I and II would be their numbers they had in Scotland.

[@smithnatalie4803]

So much detail! Thank You I’m British and learned so much about the monarchy from this video

[@amityboy14mo]

LOVE LOVE LOVE that you put Mary Queen of Scots as Mary I !!! Not many people know that she is also known as Queen Mary I of Scotland!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@tombendall4070]

I feel like the official royal house name staying the same when a female European monarch dies will become the new normal. The Netherlands have done it several times in the 20th century. And Denmark presumably won't want to ditch its prestigious house for a more minor foreign house when Margrethe dies. Belgium, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands & Norway are all likely to have female monarchs too within the next two generations who are more likely than ever to marry commoners than nobles.

[@andypham1636]

Besides, Monpezat is not a royal house anyway

[@gidzmobug2323]

If Charles wants to keep Windsor (or Mountbatten-Windsor), he'd probably have to issue an order (as Elizabeth did for Windsor).

[@cordeliacullen2621]

Slightly bothered that Mary II doesn't have a picture, she was a joint ruler with William III not a queen consort. I am glad to see a new video, I like these geneology videos!

[@rwolfheart6580]

Same! The decisions for who gets portraits in these charts seems a little arbitrary and seems to favour men. I'm also not sure why people who were technically monarchs for a short time or who were disputed like Jane Grey and Edward V aren't shown more prominently, even if they don't have a coloured box like the "real" monarchs. I feel like they should get at least a larger font or a border.

[@sebe2255]

@@rwolfheart6580 This whole process favors men tbf. It is also why some people keep insisting that Charles is actually not a Winsdor

[@davorzmaj753]

@@sebe2255 Favour*ed*. As of 2013, gender no longer factors into the line of succession. But of course you're right, as regards the history told in this video.

[@corvus1374]

In some stories, Robin Hood is called Robert of Huntingdon. The Earls of Huntingdon were relatives of the Kings of Scotland. Robin Hood could have been a Scottish King. :) Henry IV had six legitimate children, but only Henry V had any living children of his own, Henry VI. This gave Henry Tudor his chance to take the throne.

[@jcortese3300]

This is all very interesting -- and thank you for making clear why Scotland is referred to as "yr Alban" in Welsh. I'd always wondered where that name came from and figured it had its origins in the mists of the distant past.

[@FiftQuheill]

Scotland is still called Alba in Scottish Gaelic

[@Colgan1]

I have done my tree and Alfred the Great is my 41st great grandfather. But saying that, most of us watching this video will have him in our tree if you can trace it back far enough

[@NathanS__]

Robert the Bruce's tale is much better told in the netflix movie Outlaw/King, one of my favorite medieval movies and pretty solid from an accuracy POV, excepting some hollywoodisms.

[@jonnarobinson7541]

Another pertinent comment is that Henry the seventh had royal lineage through his mother, but not his father. He succeeded to the throne based on conquest from the paternal side and royal lineage, through his maternal side. The exact lineage of the war of the roses is fascinating.

[@pjeffries301]

I thought the same thing, but wasn't Owen Tuder somehow connected? Or was he a stable boy? What a mess. And if you go 4 women back, Hank 7 had Ed 3 blood, no? And 41 of America's 46 Presidents are directly related to Katherine Swynford as well. You Brits are awesome.

[@RG-ja34sep]

This is truly an amazing production, and many congratulations on the work you have done to create the chart and all the incredible information. The history is beyond fascinating and so incredibly interesting. 👏👏 Well done, and I am looking forward to viewing your other works.

[@grantorino2325]

Great video! 👍 There's *just one thing* that I'd like to add. 7:51 Around this time, what would become the English Common Law (and later, American law) first began to manifest. In 1189-the first regnal year of Richard the Lionheart-English judges started hiring literate priests to *write down* legal precedents and judgments for posterity. Though the Magna Carta, habeas corpus, and double jeopardy were still a long way off, this marked the advent of *stare decisis et no quieta movere* `the decision stands and you must not disturb it`. Though courts throughout the English-speaking world give *persuasive authority* to all cases from Common Law jurisdictions, anything that occurred before 1189 is regarded-in both America and England-as "Time Immemorial" and thus legally null and void.

[@pepper419]

Incredible work. I looked this up to find some missing pieces and discovered some gigantic pot-holes I didn't know about. Thank you for putting it online.

[@nikolaytsankov9066]

11:37 - Worth noting, as always, that Edward III was not the rightrul heir under male preference promogeniture. All three french kings (Louis X, Phillip V and Charles IV) had daughters, some of whom had sons that would come before Edward III in the line of succession. His claim was mostly by "right of conquest"

[@lazarus1912]

Average Edward III fan vs Average Charles II the Bad enjoyer

[@ryanconant6673]

I’m amazed, I’ve never heard such an understandable explanation about the cause of the war of the roses until now. Great video

[@Emma310]

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was also a direct descendant ( grandson) of Margaret of England, as was Mary I, his wife. He was also a direct descendant from James II of Scotland via the daughter Mary.

[@VeneficusPlantaGenista]

Love these videos, but one correction: Your chart shows Edward I as married to "Violant" of Castile. Her name was Eleanor, Leonor in Spanish, not Violant. She is the namesake of the "Eleanor Crosses" that Edward I built in eastern England to commemorate her after her death.

[@liv6550]

I’m William the Conqueror My enemies stood no chance. They call me the first English king Although I come from France. Ten Sixty Six, the Doomsday book I gave to history. So fat on death my body burst, But enough about me! To help remember all your kings I’ve come up with this song- A simple rhyming ditty For you all to sing along….Oh! William! (Bit short init? We need more kings. Who came next?) William second, cheeks were red- Killed out hunting, so it’s said. I took over, Henry one. That’s my next eldest son. Then King Stephen, it’s true check it! Hi, Henry two, killed Thomas Beckett Richard Lionheart? That’s right! Always spoiling for a fight. Oh King John, what a disaster- Rule restrained by Magna Carta! William, William, Henry, Stephen Henry, Richard, John, oi! Time for my mate, King Henry eight To take up this song Henry three built the abbey, Ed one hated Scots. A red hot poker killed Ed two, That must have hurt him lots! Edward third was a chivalry nerd Began the hundred years war. Then Richard two was king aged ten, Then Henry, yes one more. King Henry four, plots galore Not least from Henry five, why? Killed ten score at Agincourt Then Henry six arrived. Edward four, Edward five, Richard the third, he’s bad. ‘Cause he fought wars with Henry seventh, First Tudor and my dad. So Henry eight, I was great Six wives, two were beheaded. Edward the sixth came next But he died young and so my dreaded Daughter Mary ruled, so scary, Then along came… me! I’m Liz the first, I had no kids So Tudors RIP. William, William, Henry, Stephen Henry, Richard, John, oi! Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two Then three more Henrys join our song Edward, Edward, Rich the third Henry, Henry, Ed again Mary one, good Queen Bess That’s me, time for more men. James six of Scotland next As England’s James the first he led. Then Stuarts ruled, so Charles the first The one who lost his head! No monarchy until came me- Charles two, I liked to party! King Jimmy two was scary, woooh, Then Mary was a smarty. She ruled with Bill, their shoes were filled By sourpuss Queen Anne Gloria, And so from then, you were ruled by men. ‘Till along came me Victoria! William, William, Henry, Stephen Henry, Richard, John, oi! Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two Then three more Henrys join our song Edward, Edward, Rich the third Henry, Henry, Ed again Mary one, good Queen Bess Jimmy, Charles and Charles and then Jim, Will, Mary, Anna Gloria Still to come, it’s Queen Victoria! And so began the Hanover gang George one and George two (grim). Then George the third was quite absurd Till I replaced old him! King George the fourth and known henceforth As angry, fat and cross (hang on). It’s true you beat Napoleon, But for mostly a dead loss (bang on). Old William four was a sailor (ahoy). It’s nearly the end of the story-a As onto the scene comes the best loved queen- Hail to Queen Victoria! William, William, Henry, Stephen Henry, Richard, John, oi! Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two Then three more Henrys join our song Edward, Edward, Rich the third Henry, Henry, Ed again Mary one, good Queen Bess Jimmy, Charles and Charles and then Jim, Will, Mary, Anna Gloria George, George, George, George Will, Victoria …Victoria…Victoria…Victoria… (I ruled for sixty four years, you know.) Ed seven, George five, Then Ed, George sixth, ‘Liz two then reigned and how! And so our famous monarch song Is brought right up to now, oh…! William, William, Henry, Stephen Henry, Richard, John, oi! Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two Then three more Henrys join our song Edward, Edward, Rich the third Henry, Henry, Ed again Mary one, good Queen Bess Jimmy, Charles and Charles and then Jim, Will, Mary, Anna Gloria George, George, George, George Will, Victoria Edward, George, Edward, George six And Queen Liz two completes the mix! That’s all the English Kings and Queens Since William first that there have been!

[@rogerstone3068]

There would be considerable interest in the intertwined landed families in England who provided the underlying wealth and strength which supported the British monarchy. Bowes-Lyon, Cecils, Churchills, Cavendish, Fiennes, Fox-Pitt, Howards, Montagues, Percy, Spencers, Villiers.

[@superninja493]

5:07 “But his nephew Stephen said, that crown should be upon my head”

[@revinhatol]

I'm a man and men come first What? It's only fair

[@DamanLSun]

People in power usually never lose much of their inherited wealth and power do they? While the majority of people on earth are always one mistake away from destitution.

[@charlieduke6393]

I am so grateful you decided to narrate this video yourself

[@Sharah23]

Bravo! I really commend your efforts in making this chart and how long it must have taken. It's insane how one family line has ruled the whole country for 900 ish years! Also majority of the kings and queens were decided by cousins fighting each other for the throne because they all have a claim to the throne! It's like one of the Queen's other grandchildren challenging William for the throne lol

[@steveclarke6257]

Matt, Your point about Magna Carta being an "important legal document in the UK" is not strictly being true. It is the US legal which puts far more emphasis on the power of "Magna Carta" than we do in the UK. It is almost never referred to in a legal sense in England and Wales and it never applied at all in the Scottish legal system. Other documents such as the "Act of Settlement" and the "Acts of Union" are exactly that, Acts of Parliament and therefore law which "Magna Carta" is not; however copies were circulated by William Marshal (about 1319 and after Johns death ) as a "basis for Future government", such that the king discussed law with a council of nobles (- a precursor to parliament). If you read the document is does not provide freedoms for all - just the nobility (the peasant revolt of 1381 tried to get the rights extended to the common man - and which brutally failed for the peasants); it also is more about which noble's the king should be listening to and names certain favorites of the king who were to be banished from the kingdom. It is telling that within 6 months of signing it, John had petitioned the Pope to have the "contract annulled"- which leads to the start the 2nd Baron's, a war where the Barons asking Louis of France to invade and ultimately in John's death (nobody knows if he was poisoned or if he just died from wounds, Illness/stress etc) in 1316. So an important sign-post on the road to modern Western democracy- YES, legal in the document in the UK- NO

[@janach1305]

The name Alba is pronounced “AL-a-pa,” with the “b” sounding like a “p,” and an interpolated syllable in the middle. The interpolated syllable between certain consonants that are awkward to pronounce when they are adjacent to each other (like L and P, or R and M) is an interesting phenomenon in Scots Gaelic, but it’s easy once you get the feel for it. Germanic languages just jam, consonants together any which-way, but Celtic languages try to smooth things out.

[@BrayzGaming]

The saga between Stephen and Matilda sounds a lot like House of the Dragons....

[@dylan4ie]

its actually the inspiration behind it

[@BrayzGaming]

@@dylan4ie I figured so!

[@savagedarksider]

Great job with A another fantastic video. I gotta know; between Edward of Middleham and Edward V; who would have been A more effective king ?

[@michaeldakin1474]

With the side mention of the Jacobites, some may find it interesting to note that the current Jacobite claimant (who has never publicly asserted a claim), based on male preference primogeniture, is himself a descendant of George I

[@michaeldakin1474]

Also, by a more distant line, the current Jacobite claimant comes from the same noble house as Sophia of Hanover (namely Wittelsbach).

[@kalevader]

Why did you cut out soooo much detail from the chart? So many little connections, links troughs multiple generations ect. That is what made the chart great and fun to rediscover over and over .

[@eagandereagander6471]

These royal families trees (including the ones you mentioned at the very end), can there be anything more complicated!!? How in the world you found all this information and tied it all together, and then was able to make a script of it, blows my mind. Bravo!!

[@memofromessex]

I'm descended of James III and Margaret of Denmark 👑 Nothing unusual there, most people are descended from monarchy

[@Lana96269]

Yeah I’m related to a of royals/nobles but a lot of people are

[@fazeobidus5112]

I'm descended of James II of Scotland and Mary of Guelders through their daughter Mary, Countess of Arran and through her Elizabeth, Countess of Lennox

[@DasWarVorbestimmt]

Alfred the Great was not King of England. He ruled Wessex and had strong influence in Mercia, but that's it. He never conquered Northumbria, East Anglia and everthing in between. His grandson Aethelstan was the first to rule all english lands.

[@Sz27372]

He called himself king of the Anglo-Saxon who anyway became the English so it doesn’t really matter

[@DasWarVorbestimmt]

@@Sz27372 The Anglo-Saxons did not just become the English. After the conquest, England was home to Anglo-Saxons as well as Britons, Danes and Normans. All of them together eventually (by the time of the hundred years war) became the English.

[@MrBulky992]

​@@Sz27372Alfred the Great was not king of the Anglo-Saxons who lived under the Danelaw: nor was he king of the Anglian part of Northumbria, north of the Danish-controlled territories. Kings of Northumbria continued well beyond Alfred's death.

[@rogerforsberg3910]

I never have much time to watch videos, but I find your presentations to be consistently engaging and informative. Thanks!!

[@mitchelmodine9197]

Blows me away that Richard III's bones were found in a carpark.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

It's a car park that is on the site of a friary

[@MrDoobla]

I would love for you to explore the longest direct line from a modern person. Essentially how far back can a person trace their ancestry. With no assumptions, names in every place. I am so curious.

[@juandavidrestrepoduran6007]

I'm guessing Japanese emperors

[@pjeffries301]

Africa, circa 250,000 BCE.

[@entwifey]

I have mine to Charlemagne - I have primary sources to connect me to Anne Marbury Hutchinson of the Massachusetts bay colony and her lineage is “history”.

[@Lejeron]

As a finn, i have noble blood relating to a german nobleman who moved into the western finnish coast in the 18th century. We still have some relatives who carry on ”german” surnames long into the present day.

[@jonnarobinson7541]

❤ I thought the video was outstanding. The use of the family tree was excellent. Very well done!

[@bbl2019]

Another correction- the 100 years war did NOT end all English possessions on the continent. They still had Calais, which was lost under Mary I in 1558

[@peytonnguyen8017]

at 9:57 it should say eleanor of castile, not violant of castile

[@-RONNIE]

Another really good video with a lot of quality information thank you for sharing it with us 👍🏻 keep up the great work

[@michael_r]

It makes me sad that somehow it’s become Æthelræd Unready - the actual shade throwing nickname was Æthelræd Unræd which is a funny word play because the name Æthelræd means “good counsel” and Unræd means “bad counsel”. The humor is lost when we replace unræd with unready which is a totally different and I think completely unrelated word, although maybe ready comes from ræd - I’m not certain of the etymology.

[@sebe2255]

Doesn’t matter because either you probably know that Æthelread and unready actually mean well advised and poorly advised, or you don’t and the humor will be lost on you anyway

[@juliareder1697]

Based on my understanding from university courses his name, Æthelred can be broken up into meaning Æthel = noble and read = read/advised. Apparently there was a text which refers to him as unread so the play on words there and unread was synonymous with I’ll-advised in old English. Therefore people interpreted this reference as him being ill-advised and unready. Titles for monarchs names usually always came after they passed so Ethelread wasn’t being called unready until he was already gone.

[@dagomyre4417]

love the content, super useful.

[@Lord_Skeptic]

11:22 she was also a descendant of both king Stephen and Harold II

[@Pablo668]

Great work. A minor point of interest (to me anyway) the Stuarts from James II on are also descendents of the Beaufort family, James the first having married a Joan Beaufort, a relative of Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother. Hmmm, which makes Margaret Tudor and James IV distant cousins (they married and had James V), I don't know how many times removed.

[@gust67dg]

Thanks for the video, family tree history is fun. Know I know more about my family tree relatives thanks.

[@FSORto10K]

28:37 Charles III and Tsar Nicholas II are 1st cousins 3x removed through his mother and 1st cousins 2x removed through his father

[@mymai5859]

Brilliant work & explanation - thank you 💜💐

[@cleansingflame9335]

Have you ever read "The Daughter of Time" by Josephine Tey? It's a detective novel wherein a bedridden detective explores the mystery of the murder of the Princes in the Tower and uses a lot of real-world theories and research. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it!

[@amranxaaji8625]

😅

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

I should also note that George I can actually trace his ancestry all the way back to Alfred the Great’s third daughter Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders through a line completely devoid of Scottish and English monarchs. Ælfthryth was the *deep breath* great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother of Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the agnatic *deep breath again* great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather of King George I.

[@rosamund458]

Thank you for helping me understand Outlander better.

[@ruyfernandez]

I noticed a little inconsistency. Charles I's daughter Mary is correctly titled "Princess Royal", but Georger II's daughter Anne is not.

[@stevejohnson3357]

A suggestion. If you want to indulge in a little bit of infamy, you might tackle the chart of Prince Heinrich XIII, figurehead of the reichsburger movement in Germany.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

His wouldn’t actually be super interesting. He’s not the head of the family, he isn’t a near heir, hell, he isn’t even his parents oldest child. He is “Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss of Köstritz” because he comes from the Köstritz branch of the House of Reuss-Gera, which broke off in the 17th century and is “XIII” because every male member of the family is named Heinrich, so they are all numbered to avoid confusion, even if none of them are reigning monarchs. The Köstritz branch is part of the Junior line of the family, they number their sons starting from I and going up until the turn of the century, when the numbering resets.

[@glitchyikes]

funny but no. Henry, Henry Henry, Henry, Henry... Henry is not that interesting. Also publicity where there shouldn't be any.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

@@glitchyikes Eh, Reuters, NPR, all the big platforms have already ran the story

[@glitchyikes]

@@Edmonton-of2ec precisely, no need for even more publicity, lest copycats.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

@@glitchyikes my point is that they literally can’t get anymore publicity. Everyone already knows. Anything else wouldn’t matter so posting about isn’t an issue

[@Dunsapie]

Scotland's first "official" Queen was Queen Margaret who was proclaimed Queen in 1286 on the death of her grandfather Aleander III. Also, Scotland was never a republic. When Charles I was executed the Scottish Parliament proclaimed his son, Charles II. King. In Scotland his reign is counted from 1649.and not 1660 as in England.

[@jillfarley520]

Thank you for your hard work - your copious research! You are favourite KZbin channel!

[@aaronpatton15]

0:10 Charles III doesn’t just reign over England and Scotland. He reigns over all of the United Kingdom (don’t forget about Wales and Northern Ireland), its overseas territories, and the Commonwealth realms.

[@ryanjewel6826]

“Rules”

[@UsefulCharts]

Yeah, "reign" is the better word. But yes, he reigns over Wales and Northern Ireland as well.

[@user-bh7ix4eh5k]

@@UsefulCharts He is not reign yet.

[@aaronpatton15]

@@user-bh7ix4eh5k his reign started the moment his mother died

[@user-bh7ix4eh5k]

@@aaronpatton15 His reign started after OFFICIAL Coronation.

[@mousecharger]

Am from UK 🇬🇧 I love these ones👍

[@courtneysollock6553]

This helps me understand my Family Tree with ease which this all makes sense and also matches up with dna results

[@courtneysollock6553]

Family stories passed down from grandparents to grandchildren for a long time that’s all we had after part of the family came to America but now to see this in detail helps me understand who all of the g.g.grandparents of mine were thanks

[@udeugo8948]

This was so useful for a course I take at school, 18th Century English Literature.

[@marshavilkas3512]

Quick question, who was Violant of Castile? I thought Edward I was married to Eleanor of Castile.

[@catherinepohlman6957]

Did anyone manage to keep track of how many times these people married their own cousins?

[@aaronpatton15]

Depends on what you define as “cousins”... Technically we’re all cousins to some degree. In the UK it is legal to marry one’s first cousin...in which case all the cousin marriages in the tree are not incestuous

[@beerborn]

Funny how this whole thing started from the kingdoms of Aphinids & Cerdisings. Before even man set foot in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, there were Centipedes and Aphids roaming around the place.

[@cherylchui4510]

886AD-978AD Alfred of Cerdicing 886-899AD Edward of Cerciding 899-924AD Æthelstan of Cerciding 924-939AD Edmund I (of Cerciding) 939-946AD Eadred of Cerciding 946-955AD Eadwig of Cerciding 955-959AD Edgar of Cerciding 959-975AD Edward the Martyr (of Cerciding) 975-978AD

[@pedanticradiator1491]

The chart does not show the descent of Mary, Queen of Scots 2nd husband, Henry Stuart from both Henry VII of England and James II of Scots.

[@SatoruXAarth]

Yes

[@ladytamaya4737]

Absolutely fascinating history! Have you by any chance researched the Ottoman Empire, particularly about their battles around 1600 - 1650 in Hungary now Slovakian territory?

[@Qant-di3uu]

how fucking cool would it be to say “dude my great great great great great great uncle’s freind’s great grand daughter was the queen of somethingfancyburg”

[@CameronWest1597]

5:46 matilda was actually queen for a bit as she managed to conquer england for a couple months but she was never declared queen and most historians dont count her

[@pedanticradiator1491]

She was declared Lady of the English by her supporters as there was no word at the time for a female monarch

[@bbl2019]

Correction: William II was NOT the father of Henry I. They were brothers

[@yorktown58]

Error: At 4:54, you say that Henry I’s heir was also named Henry but Henry’s only legitimate son was William Adelin(l.1103 - 1120).

[@UsefulCharts]

You're right. My mistake.

[@connordoyle3207]

@@UsefulCharts Another very small one at 4:44, where you say William the Conqueror "was followed by his son William II and then by HIS son Henry I" with the emphasis on "HIS" implying that Henry I is the son of William II, when he is of course the brother of William II, son of William I. Love your videos!!!

[@johnsharrer2632]

21:37 "both Mary and William were grandsons of Charles I"; that explains why they had no heirs

[@NAATHAAN]

“There’s Cnut, there’s Harthacnut, there’s a quarter of a Cnut.” -Bob Hale from Horrible Histories

[@ijustwanttotalk95]

Would you ever consider putting the Sumerian Kings List into an easy to follow chart?

[@victor382]

Min 18:25 “Mary I of Scotland was the first queen of Scotland.” Margaret the Maid of Norway: Am I a joke to you?

[@UsefulCharts]

First "official" queen......

[@victor382]

@@UsefulCharts hahaha, yeah I caught that, just kidding, just kidding. Is there a reason why Margaret was not considered official? Like a parliament in Scotland or something that had to acknowledge her?

[@UsefulCharts]

Something like that. I think in those days, the nobles had to officially declare a person king or queen, on Scottish soil.

[@roxanereddy2471]

I trace my ancestors back to the 15th century, my 12th great grandfather come to America during the 16th century, he was on of four who found Providence RI. I used the L Day St. Site. Started with my father and his father full name, working backwards using his last name. Very easy and interesting.

[@donei132]

It’s not just the Americans who think of George III as Mad King George. The British called him that too because he had a mental illness, which led to the Regency, where his son George became the Prince Regent.

[@anemicgoalhop495]

Amazing work! 👍

[@shawnv123]

so basically all monarchs in europe are all related one way or another

[@pierrebacalhau6042]

15:22 would've thought it'd be funny to mention that Richard III is also that one king that was found under a parking lot in Leicester in 2012

[@Kerriangel]

Richard the Lionheart: Hey bro, can I copy your homework? William the Lion: Sure bro, just change it up so it’s not obvious

[@cloudedfaith9555]

It’s interesting to hear about lord Oliver Cromwell being related to him. I love the history thanks:)

[@TheAlexDekker]

I'd be curious to see an alternative history on this: obviously the rules changed about 10 years ago from male preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture for succession - who would the monarch be today if these rules had been in place from earlier in history i.e. from William the Conqueror, or James I etc

[@livelaughsol7066]

4:30 there were actually 3, one of them being harald haardrada

[@r302112]

Brilliant video as always Matt. Long time follower.

[@zoeharris883]

4:46 “William the Conqueror was followed by his son William II and then HIS son Henry I” but Henry I is William the Conqueror’s son, not William II’s