Descent of Elizabeth II from William the Conqueror

The senior direct royal line

Individuals whose names are in bold reigned as monarchs in the United Kingdom and its predecessor states.

1. William I of England
2. Henry I of England
3. Empress Matilda
4. Henry II of England
5. John of England
6. Henry III of England
7. Edward I of England
8. Edward II of England
9. Edward III of England
10. Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
11. Philippa Plantagenet, 5th Countess of Ulster
12. Roger de Mortimer, 4th Earl of March
13. Anne de Mortimer
14. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
15. Edward IV of England
16. Elizabeth of York
17. Margaret Tudor
18. James V of Scotland
19. Mary I of Scotland
20. James VI of Scotland and I of England
21. Elizabeth of Bohemia
22. Sophia of Hanover
23. George I of Great Britain
24. George II of Great Britain
25. Frederick, Prince of Wales
26. George III of the United Kingdom
27. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
28. Victoria of the United Kingdom
29. Edward VII of the United Kingdom
30. George V of the United Kingdom
31. George VI of the United Kingdom
32. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Monarchs not in the direct line of descent from William I to Elizabeth II

There are 23 monarchs not in the direct line of descent from William I to Elizabeth II. The generation number corresponds to the generation number in the direct line.

Note that the phrase "died without issue" means "died without children".

Monarchs of each generation

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.

1. William I
2. William II, Henry I, siblings
3. Stephen, Empress Matilda, cousins
4. Henry II
5. Richard I, John, siblings
6. Henry III
7. Edward I
8. Edward II
9. Edward III
10. none (Prince of Wales predeceased his father, but left legitimate issue)
11. Richard II, Henry IV, cousins
12. Henry V
13. Henry VI
14. Henry VII
15. Edward IV, Richard III, siblings
16. Edward V
17. Henry VIII
18. Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I, half-siblings
19. Lady Jane Grey
20. James I
21. Charles I
22. Charles II, James II, siblings
23. Mary II, William III, Anne, George I, cousins & siblings
24. George II
25. none (Prince of Wales predeceased his father, but left legitimate issue)
26. George III
27. George IV, William IV, siblings
28. Victoria
29. Edward VII
30. George V
31. Edward VIII, George VI, siblings
32. Elizabeth II

Genealogical relationships to Elizabeth II

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.

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.

Family tree

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.

Shortest paths of descent from William the Conqueror

The following eight lines of descent are from Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conqueror.
We can see that Queen Elizabeth II is a 22nd great-granddaughter of William the Conqueror.

The next two lines of descent are from Henry I of England.

Descent of Elizabeth II from other British royal lines

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.

The descent from the Kings of Scotland

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.

-5. Kenneth MacAlpin (Kenneth I) -4. Constantine I -3. Donald II -2. Malcolm I -1. Kenneth II 0. Malcolm II 1. Bethoc 2. Duncan I 3. Malcolm III 4. David I (the Saint) 5. Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon 6. David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon 7. Isobel of Huntingdon 8. Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale 9. Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale 10. Robert I (the Bruce) 11. Marjorie Bruce 12. Robert II 13. Robert III 14. James I 15. James II 16. James III 17. James IV 18. James V 19. Mary 20. James VI of Scotland (James I of England)

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).

-6. Egbert, first King of England -5. Aethelwulf -4. Alfred the Great -3. Edward the Elder -2. Edmund I -1. Edgar 0. Ethelred II (Ethelred the Unready) 1. Edmund II (Edmund Ironside) 2. Edward the Exile 3. Saint Margaret of Scotland 4. David I (the Saint)

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.

-18. Cerdic, 1st King of Wessex -17. Creoda -16. Cynric, King of Wessex -15. Ceawlin, King of Wessex -14. Cuthwine -13. Cuthwulf -12. Ceolwald of Wessex -11. Coenred of Wessex -10. Ingild of Wessex -9. Eoppa -8. Eafa -7. Ealhmund of Kent -6. Egbert First King of England

The descent from the Danish Kings of England

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 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.

1. Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway and England 2. Estrid Svendsdatter of Denmark 3. Sweyn II of Denmark 4. Eric I of Denmark 5. Canute Lavard, Duke of Schleswig 6. Valdemar I of Denmark 7. Valdemar II of Denmark 8. Eric IV of Denmark 9. Sophia of Denmark, Queen consort of Sweden 10. Ingeborg of Sweden 11. Gerhard IV, Count of Holstein-Plön 12. Ingeborg, Countess of Oldenburg 13. Christian V, Count of Oldenburg 14. Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg 15. Christian I of Denmark 16. Margaret of Denmark 17. James IV of Scotland 18. James V of Scotland 19. Mary, Queen of Scots 20. James VI of Scotland (James I of England)

The descent from King Stephen of England

Stephen of Blois was the grandson of William the Conqueror through his mother Adela of Normandy. In 1135, 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 1154, 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.

1. Stephen of England 2. Marie I, Countess of Boulogne 3. Maud of Boulogne, Duchess of Brabant 4. Henry II, Duke of Brabant 5. Matilda of Brabant, Countess of Artois 6. Blanche of Artois, Queen Regent of Navarre 7. Joan I of Navarre, Queen consort of France 8. Isabella of France, Queen consort of England 9. Edward III of England

The descent from native princes of Wales

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)*.

*NB Second line of descent from Llywelyn the Great through his natural daughter, Gwladus Ddu through her son, Roger de Mortimer. Medieval Wales did not discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate children.

The descent from the High Kings of Ireland, also Munster and Leinster

-5. Brian Boru -4. Tadc mac Briain -3. Toirdelbach Ua Briain -2. Muirchertach Ua Briain -1. Mor Ua Briain 0. Derbforgaill ingen Murchada 1. Murchad mac Diarmata 2. Donnchada mac Murchada 3. Enna mac Donnchada 4. Diarmaid Mac Murchadha 5. Aoife MacMurrough 6. Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke 7. Isabel Marshal 8. Isabella of Gloucester and Hertford 9. Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale 10. Robert I of Scotland 11. Marjorie Bruce 12. Robert II of Scotland 13. Robert III of Scotland 14. James I of Scotland 15. James II of Scotland 16. James III of Scotland 17. James IV of Scotland 18. James V of Scotland 19. Mary, Queen of Scots 20. James VI of Scotland (James I of England)

The descent from King Henry IV of England

Henry IV was a grandson of Edward III by Edward III's son, John of Gaunt. He became king by overthrowing his cousin, Richard II in 1399. When Henry IV died in 1413, the crown was passed to his eldest son, Henry V. When Henry V died in 1422, the crown passed to his only son, Henry VI. But that eldest line of Henry IV's died out when Henry VI was overthrown and killed in 1471. When Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952, she became the first English monarch to be directly descended from Henry IV since 1471. There are 4 lines of descent from Henry IV to Elizabeth II. All 4 lines start with Henry IV's younger son Humphrey of Gloucester and granddaughter Antigone of Gloucester, and all 4 of them end with Elizabeth II's mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, grandmother Nina Cavendish-Bentinck, and great-grandfather Charles Cavendish-Bentinck.

Longest path of descent from Henry IV to Elizabeth II

1. Henry IV 2. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester 3. Antigone of Gloucester, Countess of Tankerville 4. Richard Grey, 3rd Earl of Tankerville 5. Elizabeth Grey 6. Alice Ludlow 7. George Vernon 8. John Vernon 9. Elizabeth Vernon 10. Penelope Wriothesley 11. Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland 12. Lady Dorothy Spencer 13. William Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax 14. Dorothy Savile 15. Charlotte Boyle 16. Lady Dorothy Cavendish 17. Lord William Cavendish-Bentinck 18. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck 19. Nina Cavendish-Bentinck 20. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon 21. Elizabeth II