Royal Family Lineage (King James I - George III)
George III
1st Hanoverian monarch to be born in England; son of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and grandson of George II; George III ruled for 50 years and fathered 15 children; His reign was the age of some of the greatest names in English literature - Jane Austen, Byron, Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth. It was also the time of great statesmen like Pitt and Fox and great captains like Wellington and Nelson. In 1773 the 'Boston Tea Party' was the first sign of the troubles that were to come in America. The American Colonies proclaimed their independence on July 4th 1776. The 1790s saw the French Revolution. The wars with France continued until Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815. (1760 - 1820)
Charles I
2nd son of James I; not brought up to be king, but his elder brother, Henry, died of Typhoid at the age of 18; Fought against the Parliament leading to civil war leading to his execution on January 30th 1649. (1625 - 1649)
William III and Queen Mary II
Husband of Mary, daughter of James II, were invited to rule after James's abdication. (1688 - 1702), (1688 - 1694)
James I/VI
King James VI of Scotland; King James I of England and Ireland; 'King of Great Britain'; son of Mary, Queen of Scots; 29 year reign; executed Sir Walter Raleigh. (1603 - 1625)
Anne
Sister of Mary II, the second daughter of James II; All of her 17 children died; 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England formed Great Britain; Last Stuart sovereign; Anne died without leaving an heir, succession to the throne passed to Sophia's son George of Hanover. After Anne's death the succession went to the nearest Protestant relative of the Stuart line. This was Sophia of Hanover, daughter of Elizabeth of Bohemia, James I 's only daughter. (1702-1714)
Charles II
Son of Charles I; King of Scotland (1651); Ruled Great Britain when Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, lost confidence in Parliament and abdicated; (1660 - 1685)
George II
Son of George I; Preferred Germany to England, but learned to speak English, unlike his father. He was the last English King to appear on the battlefield - against the French at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743.
George I
Son of Sophia and great-grandson of James I; first German king of England made little effort to learn the language and customs of the country and communicated with his ministers in French. He spent much of his reign in Hanover. (1714 - 1727)
James II
Younger brother of Charles II; 15 yrs old when was father executed; escaped to France in 1648 disguised as a girl; forced Roman Catholic faith on people and didn't allow them to vote; unpopular because of persecution of Protestants; forced to give up crown in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Parliament asked William of Orange, James II's nephew and Mary's first cousin, to take the throne. (1685 - 1688)