This list shows the most senior line of descent of Elizabeth II from William I of England. Each person on the list is the son or daughter of the person above him or her on the list. There are many other more junior lines of descent of the family, but the crown in theory at least only descends through the most senior line. Due to extinct lines, large parts of entire royal houses (Lancaster, Tudor, Stuart) are bypassed in the current most senior line. The numbers can be used to calculate the number of generations between two individuals on this list.
18 monarchs of England, Great Britain, or United Kingdom are in the senior direct line, and two who were King or Queen of Scots.
There are 23 monarchs not in the direct royal line. The generation number corresponds to the generation number in the direct line.
| Gen | Monarch | Reason | Line Passed Through: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | William II | died without issue. | younger brother, Henry I |
| 3 | Stephen | Son and daughter bypassed by Treaty of Wallingford | daughter of Henry I |
| 5 | Richard I | died without legitimate issue | younger brother, John |
| 11 | Richard II | murdered and his throne usurped by his cousin Henry IV |
uncle, Lionel, Duke of Clarence |
| 11 | Henry IV | established House of Lancaster | 〃 |
| 12 | Henry V | from House of Lancaster | Grand-uncle, Lionel, Duke of Clarence |
| 13 | Henry VI | from House of Lancaster | Great grand-uncle, Lionel, Duke of Clarence |
| 16 | Edward V | allegedly murdered in the Tower | sister, Elizabeth of York |
| 15 | Richard III | killed in battle | Niece, elder brother's daughter, Elizabeth of York |
| 14 | Henry VII | from a junior branch of the family | Consort, Elizabeth of York, is from the senior branch. Their marriage ended the War of Roses and united the houses. |
| 17 | Henry VIII | his children died without issue | sister, Margaret Tudor Scottish throne |
| 18 | Edward VI | died without issue | Aunt, Margaret Tudor Scottish throne |
| 18 | Mary I | died without issue | 〃 |
| 18 | Elizabeth I | died without issue | 〃 |
| 21 | Charles I | Protestant Stuart line dies out | sister, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine, and her daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover, House of Hanover |
| 22 | Charles II | Protestant Stuart line dies out | Aunt, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine, and her daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover, House of Hanover |
| 22 | James II | Catholic king deposed | 〃 |
| 23 | Mary II | Protestant Stuart line dies out | Grand-Aunt, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine, and her daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover, House of Hanover |
| 23 | William III | Protestant Stuart line dies out | 〃 |
| 23 | Anne | Protestant Stuart line dies out | 〃 |
| 27 | George IV | daughter dies in childbirth (grandchild stillborn) | younger brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn |
| 27 | William IV | died without legitimate issue | 〃 |
| 31 | Edward VIII | abdicated, died without issue | younger brother, George VI |
This table shows the generation of each monarch based on their descent from William I via the royal line.
The generational jump between Henry VII and Henry VIII is an interesting case shown on this list. Henry VIII is the son of Henry VII (generation 14 through an illegitimate junior line of John of Gaunt) as well as the son of Elizabeth of York (generation 16 through the senior Lionel, Duke of Clarence line). Henry VIII is counted as generation 17 because the royal line passes through his mother, who is of the senior line.
This process will continue in the future. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, if he becomes king, will add lines to Charles II and James II, from whose illegitimate children he is descended through his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
The closest relationships between Elizabeth and each king or queen of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom are given below. Here, the relationship is counted backwards from Elizabeth.
Note that the closest relationship deviates from the senior direct royal line starting with George III's children. In the junior collateral line, the Queen's grandmother, Mary of Teck was only three generations from George III through her mother, while her consort George V was four generations. These junior lines become more frequent the further back you go. For instance, Elizabeth's mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, brings in a closer descent to the Seymour monarchs, Edward VI and Lady Jane Grey.
| Monarch | Relation to Elizabeth II | Note on Closest Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| William I of England | 22nd Great-Grandfather | |
| William II of England | 21st Great-Granduncle | |
| Henry I of England | 21st Great-Grandfather | |
| Stephen of England | 20th Great-Grandfather | |
| Empress Matilda | 20th Great-Grandmother | |
| Henry II of England | 19th Great-Grandfather | |
| Richard I of England | 18th Great-Granduncle | |
| John of England | 18th Great-Grandfather | |
| Henry III of England | 19th Great-Grandfather | |
| Edward I of England | 18th Great-Grandfather | |
| Edward II of England | 18th Great-Grandfather | |
| Edward III of England | 17th Great-Grandfather | 6th Great-Grandfather of James I (through Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley) |
| Richard II of England | ½ 16th Great-Granduncle | |
| Henry IV of England | 17th Great-Grandfather | 16th Great-Grandfather of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon through Humphrey of Gloucester |
| Henry V of England | 16th Great-Granduncle | Son of Henry IV |
| Henry VI of England | ½-14th Great-Granduncle | Half-brother of Edmund Tudor, the father of Henry VII |
| Edward IV of England | 14th Great-Grandfather | Father of Elizabeth of York, the wife of Henry VII and shares all his descendents |
| Edward V of England | 13th Great-Granduncle | Son of Edward IV |
| Richard III of England | 14th Great-Granduncle | Brother of Edward IV |
| Henry VII of England | 13th Great-Grandfather | 2nd Great-Grandfather of James I |
| Henry VIII of England | 12th Great-Granduncle | Son of Henry VII |
| Edward VI of England | 1st Cousin, 12 times Removed | Grandson of John Seymour, the 11th Great-Grandfather of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon |
| Jane of England | 10th Great-Grandaunt | Sister of Catherine, the 9th Great-Grandmother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon |
| Mary I of England | 1st Cousin 13 times Removed | Granddaughter of Henry VII |
| Elizabeth I of England | 1st Cousin 13 times Removed | Granddaughter of Henry VII |
| James I of England | 9th Great-Grandfather | Great-Grandfather of George I |
| Charles I of England | 8th Great-Granduncle | Son of James I |
| Charles II of England | 1st Cousin 9 times Removed | Grandson of James I |
| James II of England | 1st Cousin 9 times Removed | Grandson of James I |
| William III of England | 1st Cousin 9 times Removed | Grandson of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, the 7th Great-Grandfather of Mary of Teck |
| Mary II of England | 2nd Cousin 8 times Removed | Great-Granddaughter of James I |
| Anne of Great Britain | 2nd Cousin 8 times Removed | Great-Granddaughter of James I |
| George I of Great Britain | 6th Great-Grandfather | |
| George II of Great Britain | 5th Great-Grandfather | Grandfather of George III |
| George III of the United Kingdom | 3rd Great-Grandfather | Great-Grandfather of Mary of Teck |
| George IV of the United Kingdom | 2nd Great-Granduncle | Son of George III |
| William IV of the United Kingdom | 2nd Great-Granduncle | Son of George III |
| Queen Victoria | 2nd Great-Grandmother | |
| Edward VII of the United Kingdom | Great-Grandfather | |
| George V of the United Kingdom | Grandfather | |
| Edward VIII of the United Kingdom | Uncle | Son of George V |
| George VI of the United Kingdom | Father | |
| Elizabeth II |
This tree shows the descent of all British monarchs from William I, and their relationships with each other. Only branches that led to a monarch are shown. The direct royal line can be followed as the leftmost line.
The following two lines of descent are from a daughter of William the Conqueror.
We can see that Queen Elizabeth II is a 23rd great-granddaughter of William the Conqueror.
The next lines of descent are from Henry I of England.
The generation numbering of the primary list above is maintained in the lines below for comparison purposes. The last person listed on each of the lines below is an English monarch listed on the primary list above, and the line continues from that point down to Elizabeth II following the primary list above.
Through the West Saxon royal lineThis list shows the joining of the royal families of England, the West Saxon kings descended from Alfred the Great and the Norman kings. Empress Matilda (Maud), granddaughter of William I (Norman), great-great-granddaughter of Edmund II (Saxon), was the first person to unite the families in this line. Her son, Henry II, was the first monarch descended from both these families.
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Through Alfred the Great's daughter AelfthrythThis is not a royal line, but is a closer relationship of the earliest Norman kings to the previous dominant line of kings in England. William I married Matilda of Flanders, who was descended from Alfred the Great's daughter Aelfthryth. This means that Henry I was a descendant of Alfred the Great through this line. |
Through Harold Godwinson (Harold II of England)The British royal house traces itself back to William, who took the throne by conquest, but Elizabeth is also descended from Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Saxon king, who died fighting William at the Battle of Hastings, and himself a descendant (probably 6 x great grandson) of Ethelred I, elder brother of Alfred the Great and grandson of Egbert of Wessex (see Godwin family tree). Harold's daughter Gytha escaped after the conquest and married Vladimir II Monomakh of Kievan Rus', thus preserving the Godwin bloodline. This line rejoins William the Conqueror's bloodline with King Edward III.
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Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII, married into the Scottish royal family by marrying James IV of Scotland. Her great-grandson James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English crown as James I of England. Elizabeth II thus also descends from Kenneth MacAlpin, the semi-legendary first King of Scotland.
Following the same line of descent through the Scottish royal line but changing at the mother of David I, instead of the father leads back to Egbert the first King of England. This duplicates the descent through the West Saxon royal line, but the generation numbering is different.
The Official Royal website says that Her Majesty is 38th in direct line of descent from Egbert (c. 775-839), King of Wessex from 802 and of England 827 to 839. They are referring to this line of descent that goes through the Scottish Kings. This line is senior to the line through the English Plantagenet Kings because it is through a son of Saint Margaret of Scotland (David I) and not a daughter (Edith of Scotland).
From Egbert, it is possible to trace Queen Elizabeth's ancestry back to Cerdic, the original Anglo-Saxon conqueror who invaded the country and established the kingdom of Wessex. The historical record is less reliable in that period. At over 50 generations this bloodline is one of the longest known in the western world, but still is relatively short compared to the bloodlines of Confucius.
King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark invaded England in 1013, drove out King Æthelred the Unready, and was proclaimed King of England by the Witenagemot. Sweyn reigned in England till his death in 1014. King Aethelred then regained the throne and was succeeded by his son Edmund II Ironside in 1016. However, Edmund died in 1016. The House of Denmark was restored under Sweyn's son Canute and ruled England for the next 26 years. Sweyn's male line ended in 1042, and the English throne reverted back to the House of Wessex. Sweyn's descendants through his daughter Estrid continued to rule Denmark. James III of Scotland married one of his descendants, Margaret of Denmark, introducing Sweyn's bloodline into the Scottish royal blood line, and when James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne in 1603, the English royal bloodline as well.
Stephen of Blois was the grandson of William the Conqueror through his mother Adela of Normandy. In 1141, on the death of Henry I of England, he claimed the English throne, even though Henry had designated his daughter, Empress Matilda, as heir. Matilda asserted her claim, leading to a protracted war (the Anarchy). The conflict ended when Stephen recognized Matilda's son Henry as his successor. Stephen died in 1152, and was succeeded by Henry II of England. Stephen's bloodline was re-introduced to the English royal bloodline through Isabella of France, wife of Edward II of England; she was descended from Stephen through his daughter Marie I, Countess of Boulogne.
In 1282, Edward I of England conquered the Principality of Wales and incorporated it into the Kingdom of England. These two lines show the descent from two most powerful Welsh princes, Rhys ap Gruffydd (of Deheubarth) and Llywelyn the Great (of Gwynedd).
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