A mnemonic verse listing the monarchs ruling in England since William the Conqueror was traditionally used by English schoolchildren in the era when rote learning formed a major part of the curriculum.
Contents
The verse omits mentioning any pre-Conquest Saxon kings. The main part of the verse is largely constant, but the stanza from the 20th century has a number of variations. Alan Bennett's staging of the verse in Forty Years On works around the issue by stopping at Victoria. The 1991 film King Ralph included a brief section of the mnemonic.
The verse
(Can be sung to the tune of "Good King Wenceslas".)
Another mnemonic on the same subject
(Can be sung to the tune of "William the First was the First of Our Kings".)
As the Houses of Lancaster and York were really branches of the House of Plantagenet, the first mnemonic can be simplified to No Plan To Study History Wisely. In addition, The House of Windsor was a branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which in turn is a branch of the House of Wettin, thus keeping the mnemonic.
Or, to go for the full package, the mnemonic can be extended to No Plan Like Yours To Study Our Saxon History So Wisely: Norman, Plantaganet, Lancaster, York, Tudor, Stuart, Orange, Stuart, Hanover, Saxe-Coburg, Windsor.
All the Kings and Queens of England
Comedian and actor John Henry Falle (alias The Story Beast) wrote and performed a "complete" version of the poem which begins with the traditional verse, but then extends into the far future through a series of fictitious (and occasionally bizarre) monarchs up to the final dissolution of the monarch through national apathy.