Mnemonic verses of monarchs in England


A mnemonic verse listing monarchs ruling in England since William the Conqueror was traditionally used by British schoolchildren in the era when rote learning formed a major part of the curriculum.

The verse

Various versions of the verse exist. One version is:
A slightly shorter version that is sometimes used is:
These lists omit several disputed monarchs, and do not mention the Commonwealth of England.
Both of these versions were written before the death of Elizabeth II in 2022. The current monarch is Charles III, the successor to Elizabeth II.

Published versions

Alan Bennett quotes and adapts the verse in his 1968 play Forty Years On. The scene with the verse is set during the Second World War, before the accession of Elizabeth II, and Bennett's version stops at Victoria.
The 1991 film King Ralph includes a brief section of the verse.

Other verses listing British monarchs

The Monarchs' Song from the CBBC TV series Horrible Histories lists the monarchs of England and has some phrases in common with the traditional verse. The original version was released in 2011 which stopped at Elizabeth II with the verse "And Queen Liz two completes the mix!". An updated version was released on May 2, 2023, adding the verse "Not quite. Now there's me, Charles three!".
The King's Singers include a 12-minute song "A Rough Guide to the Royal Succession " by Paul Drayton, on their 2012 album Royal Rhymes and Rounds. This song bears no relation to the mnemonic verses except for its subject matter, a chronology of the monarchy starting with pre-Norman kings "With names that no-one can spell / Cerdic and Ceolwulf / Egbert and Athelstan / And Ethelbald as well."

Mnemonic for royal houses

A different mnemonic is used to remember the sequence of English and British royal houses or dynasties.
The initial letters of which give the royal houses:
This list of royal houses differs from the views of many historians. For example, Lancaster and York are considered cadet branches of the House of Plantagenet, and the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was renamed as Windsor in 1917.