Descent of Elizabeth II from Cerdic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This table shows the descent of Elizabeth II from Egbert, traditionally regarded as first King of England, and before that from Cerdic, founder of the House of Wessex. Some of the links between Cerdic and Egbert are a little uncertain, but there is no doubt that Egbert was a descendant of Cerdic. There are 39 generations between Egbert and Elizabeth, and a further 12 between Cerdic and Egbert.
For Elizabeth's descent in the male line, see her patrilineal descent, which can be traced back to Conrad the Great.
There are several breaks in the line of descent, but the hereditary succession has never been entirely broken. When William the Conqueror, who had no hereditary claim, seized the English throne in 1066, the House of Wessex in the male line became extinct, but continuity was re-established when Henry I married Matilda, a great-granddaughter of Edmund II.
In 1485 the throne was seized by Henry VII, who was a great-great-grandson of Edward III through an illegitimate descent, and whose family had been specifically excluded from the throne. Henry re-established the legitimate royal descent by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, so that his son Henry VIII had a sound hereditary claim.
The line of descent, however, travels through the descendants of Lionel of Antwerp, who was the oldest son of Edward III. The line of descent returned to the throne when James I ascended the throne of England, uniting England with Scotland, where he was known as James VI.
In 1603 the Tudor line became extinct when Elizabeth I died childless. But the throne passed to James I, a great-great-grandson of Henry VII. Again, in 1714 the Protestant Stuart line became extinct with the death of Queen Anne, but the throne passed to George I, a great-grandson of James I.
The Queen rules by virtue of her descent from the Electress Sophia of Hanover (shown as the final generations below) by the Act of Settlement, 1701, rather than by reason of her descent from any earlier Kings of England.
In all, the descent from Cerdic to Elizabeth II encompasses fifty-one generations, making the line one of the longest recorded in the world.
The reason that the line of descent follows the monarchs of Scotland is that the male line is always followed first. Therefore, the son of St. Margaret, David I of Scotland, is followed as opposed to David's sister, who married Henry I of England. The line of David I is therefore a more senior line.
[edit] Table of descent from Cerdic to Elizabeth
Cerdic
(c470-534)
Saxon Ealdorman,
arrived in England c495
1st King of Wessex
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Creoda
(c500-c560)
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Cynric
(c530-c560)
King of Wessex
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Ceawlin
(c550-593)
King of Wessex
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Cuthwine
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Cutha Cathwulf
(born c592)
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Ceolwald of Wessex
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Coenred of Wessex
(born c640)
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Ingild of Wessex
(672 - 718)
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Eoppa
born c. 706
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Eafa
born c. 730
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Ealhmund of Kent
(c750-c794)
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Egbert
(775-839)
King of Wessex 802-27
King of England 827-39
= Raedburh
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Aethelwulf
(died 858)
King of England 839-58
= Osburh
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Alfred
(the Great)
King of England 871-99
= Ealswith
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Edward
(the Elder)
(875-924)
King of England 899-924
= Eadgifu
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Edmund
(920-46)
King of England 939-46
= Aelgifu
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Edgar
(943-75)
King of England 959-75
= Elfrida
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Aethelred II
(The Unready)
(968-1016)
King of England 979-1016
= Aelgifu
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Edmund II
(Ironside)
(989-1016)
King of England 1016
= Ealgyth
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Edward
(1016-57)
= Agatha
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Saint Margaret
(1045-93)
= Malcolm III, King of Scots
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David I
King of Scots 1124-53
(1084-1153)
= Matilda
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Henry of Scotland
Earl of Huntingdon
(1114-1152)
= Ada de Warenne
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David
(c1144-1219)
= Maud of Chester
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Isobel of Huntingdon
(1199-1251)
= Robert Bruce
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Robert de Brus
Lord of Annandale
(c1220-1295)
= Isabella of Clare
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Robert de Brus
Earl of Carrick
(c1250-1306)
= Marjorie of Carrick
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Robert I
(1274-1329)
King of Scots 1306-29
= Isabella of Mar
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Marjorie Bruce
(1296-1316)
= Walter Stewart
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Robert II
(1316-1390)
King of Scots 1371-90
= Elizabeth of Rowallan
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Robert III
(1340-1406)
King of Scots 1390-1406
= Anabella Drummond
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James I
(1394-1437)
King of Scots 1406-37
= Joan Beaufort
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James II
(1430-1460)
King of Scots 1437-60
= Mary of Gueldres
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James III
(1451-1488)
King of Scots 1460-88
= Margaret of Denmark
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James IV
(1473-1513)
King of Scots 1488-1513
= Margaret Tudor
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James V,
King of Scots 1513-42
(1512-42)
= Mary of Guise
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Mary I
Queen of Scots 1542-67
(1542-87)
= Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
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James VI
(1566-1625)
King of Scots 1567-1625
James I
King of England 1603-25
= Anne of Denmark
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Elizabeth
(1596-1662)
= Frederick V, Elector Palatine, King of Bohemia
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Sophia
(1630-1714)
= Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover
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George I
King of Great Britain 1714-27
(1660-1727)
= Sophia Dorothea of Celle
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George II
King of Great Britain 1727-60
(1683-1760)
= Caroline Wilhelmina of Anspach
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Frederick
Prince of Wales
(1707-51)
= Augusta of Saxe-Coburg
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George III
King of Great Britain and Ireland 1760-1801
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1820
(1738-1820)
= Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
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Edward, Duke of Kent
(1767-1820)
= Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
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Victoria
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1837-1901
(1819-1901)
= Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
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Edward VII
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1901-10
(1841-1910)
= Alexandra of Denmark
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George V
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1910-22
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1922-36
(1865-1936)
= Mary of Teck
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George VI
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and
his Dominions beyond the Seas 1936-52
(1895-1952)
= Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
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Elizabeth II
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados,
the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,
Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua
and Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis 1952-present
(1926- )
= Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh
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