Monarchs the Life in the UK Test Covers
The kings and queens the Life in the UK test actually asks about, each with the one fact it tests, their royal house or dynasty, and a bank-supported reign year or period — spanning William the Conqueror (1066) to Queen Victoria. Houses shown as “—” are the ones the question bank never names.
William the Conqueror (William I)
- House / dynasty:
- Normandy
- Known for:
- Defeated the Saxon King Harold at the Battle of Hastings (1066); ordered the Domesday Book survey and first built the Tower of London.
- Reign / period:
- 1066
King John
- House / dynasty:
- —
- Known for:
- Forced by his noblemen to agree to Magna Carta (1215), establishing that even the king is subject to the law.
- Reign / period:
- 1215
Edward I
- House / dynasty:
- —
- Known for:
- His Statute of Rhuddlan (1284) annexed Wales to the English Crown; built the castles of Conwy and Caernarvon to hold it.
- Reign / period:
- 1284
Richard III
- House / dynasty:
- York
- Known for:
- Last king of the House of York; killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485), ending the Wars of the Roses.
- Reign / period:
- 1485
Henry VII
- House / dynasty:
- Tudor
- Known for:
- First Tudor king; married Elizabeth of York, uniting the houses of Lancaster and York (the Tudor rose).
- Reign / period:
- 1485
Henry VIII
- House / dynasty:
- Tudor
- Known for:
- Married six times and broke with the Church of Rome to found the Church of England after the Pope refused his divorce.
- Reign / period:
- 1500s
Mary I ('Bloody Mary')
- House / dynasty:
- Tudor
- Known for:
- Daughter of Henry VIII and a devout Catholic who persecuted Protestants, earning the nickname 'Bloody Mary'.
- Reign / period:
- 1500s
Elizabeth I
- House / dynasty:
- Tudor
- Known for:
- Protestant queen in whose reign England defeated the Spanish Armada (1588); died in 1603 with no children.
- Reign / period:
- 1588–1603
James I (James VI of Scots)
- House / dynasty:
- Stuart
- Known for:
- Succeeded Elizabeth I in 1603, uniting the crowns; commissioned the King James (Authorised) Version of the Bible.
- Reign / period:
- 1603
Charles I
- House / dynasty:
- Stuart
- Known for:
- Believed in the Divine Right of Kings; lost the Civil War to Parliament and was executed in 1649, after which England became a republic.
- Reign / period:
- 1642–1649
James II
- House / dynasty:
- Stuart
- Known for:
- Deposed in the Glorious Revolution (1688) and defeated at the Battle of the Boyne (1690); fled to France.
- Reign / period:
- 1688
William III (William of Orange)
- House / dynasty:
- Orange
- Known for:
- Took the throne in the Glorious Revolution and defeated James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690).
- Reign / period:
- 1688
George II
- House / dynasty:
- —
- Known for:
- The last British monarch to lead his army into battle (Dettingen, 1743); his army defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden (1746).
- Reign / period:
- 1743–1746
Queen Victoria
- House / dynasty:
- —
- Known for:
- Became queen in 1837 aged 18 and reigned almost 64 years to 1901; introduced the Victoria Cross; the British Empire was at its height.
- Reign / period:
- 1837–1901
Practise these questions
Start a quiz built from exactly the questions behind this compendium.
Practise this topicSources: Life in the UK verified question bank (backend/data/questions_batch1-8.json). Question ids: 15, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 33, 110, 113, 116, 172, 229, 232, 237, 315, 412, 505, 516, 519, 520, 521, 522, 563.