Recently, a poll of some 60 writers on history came to the conclusion that Henry VIII was the worst monarch England ever had. The Tudor tyrant won (if ‘won’ is the right way of thinking about it) 20% of the vote, with Edward VIII (the Queen’s uncle) coming second with 14% and John and Charles I tying for third place with 8% each.
So I thought I’d try to single out who I think are the five BEST monarchs to rule England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, as well as give my reasons for each choice.
5. Elizabeth II (1952 – present)
At the time of writing, Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in both English and British history, having been on the throne for 63 years. Coming to the throne aged just 26 on the sudden death of her father, King George VI, the Queen has steered the United Kingdom through decades that have seen both peace and conflict, success and failure, good and bad. In all of this she has remained a stalwart figurehead for the British people to rally around, and it should surprise nobody that her popularity ratings have been consistently high ever since she first became monarch. She is a constant in a world that is changing faster than ever. However, she has not had to face anything like the challenges that many of her predecessors were confronted with, and for this reason I feel that she must be at the bottom of this list of the top five.
4. Charles II (1660 – 1685)
Charles II is, to me, the symbol of the monarchy’s ability to survive against all odds. In 1649, aged nineteen, he was forced to flee into exile when his father was executed and the English monarchy abolished. Going to France, where he, his mother and his brother were kept safe at the court of King Louis XIV, Charles eventually returned to England after being invited by Parliament in 1660. The eleven years of his exile had been a dark time in England, with Oliver Cromwell ruling as a military dictator and imposing his strict Puritan beliefs on the entire country. Much better Charles, who brought back parties, Christmas, theatre and sport, than fun-hating Cromwell. Charles proved to be a monarch of the people, too, when he, and his brother James, personally directed the fire-fighting effort against the flames that engulfed London in 1666. However, Charles was a man of many mistresses and illegitimate children, and he increased taxes in order to pay for his lavish lifestyle of expensive parties, expensive food and expensive women. But he was also a great patron of the arts and science, and I think that he should be seen as a lovable rogue.
3. George VI (1936 – 1952)
The king whose battle with speech disorders was made famous by Colin Firth, George VI should never have been monarch at all. His ascension to the throne occurred only because of the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, following a disagreement with Parliament over Edward’s intention to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. But George rose to the challenges of monarchy magnificently, especially during the Second World War. His frequent public appearances and speeches broadcast over the radio waves to all corners of Britain and the Empire helped to keep moral up among both soldiers and civilians. The decision that he and his wife, Elizabeth, took to remain in London during the Blitz – with Buckingham Palace even being hit by a German bomb – will certainly cement them forever as the definitive King and Queen of the people.
2. Edward IV (1461 – 1470, 1471 – 1483)
Edward IV is not one of those kings whose face will be instantly recognised by people the length and breadth of England. And yet he is, I think, one of our most important kings. Excelling both in battle and in government, he was the king who led England out of the worst of the terrible Wars of the Roses, and can be credited almost solely with restoring law and order to a kingdom torn apart by civil war. He remained undefeated on the field of battle, which puts him among such company as Alexander the Great and the Duke of Wellington in the annals of military history, and understood intrinsically his most useful subjects, many of whom were in turn unswervingly loyal to their king. He did much to eradicate the banditry that had flourished in England during the reign of Henry VI, and clamped down hard on government corruption. Although at times he was cursed with poor judgement and a lack of foresight, he was nonetheless a brilliant military and political mind, which in late Medieval Europe was the perfect combination.
1. Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603)
Elizabeth I is, I believe, the single greatest monarch in English history. Her start in life was far from easy. Before she was three her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed and Elizabeth was declared a bastard. By the age of twenty she was a prisoner, in fear for her life as her fanatically Catholic sister Mary executed hundreds of Protestants. But then, in 1558, Mary died childless, and Elizabeth became Queen. Her reign saw England emerge as a great world power, and the seeds of the British Empire were sown by the explorers and sailors active during Elizabeth’s reign. She successfully saw off an attempted invasion of England by the Spanish in 1588. Donning armour and journeying to the expected landing point, unexpected for a monarch of either gender, but especially for a Queen, she rallied her soldiers and sailors, and the Spanish fleet was destroyed before it ever had a chance to land on English shores. Elizabeth’s reign also saw an upswing in English fortunes both at home and overseas, with no less an authority than Pope Sixtus V saying of her “She is but a woman, mistress of half an island, and yet she is feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all.” Elizabeth’s reign marked the beginning of truly international relations between England and the other nations of the world; it was under the Virgin Queen that England first established diplomatic links with faraway nations such as Russia and Turkey, and England became wealthy, powerful and respected. The years of Elizabethan England are consistently referred to as England’s ‘Golden Age’, and it is hard to argue that they do not deserve the distinction.
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