Athelstan was an Anglo-Saxon king who lived from 894 to 939. He is regarded by historians as the first King of England. Athelstan was the son of Edward the Elder and the grandson of Alfred the Great.
The House of Windsor came into being in 1917, when the name was adopted as the British Royal Family's official name by a proclamation of King George V, replacing the historic name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
The origins of the English monarchy lie in the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, which in the 7th century consolidated into seven kingdoms known as the Heptarchy. At certain times, one of the Anglo-Saxon kings was strong enough to claim the title bretwalda or overlord of England.
Early life
The second son of King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark, Charles was born in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600.
Meet the world's first emperor
King Sargon of Akkad—who legend says was destined to rule—established the world's first empire more than 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.
By 556, Britain was divided into 7 Kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Essex and East Anglia.
Japan, considered a constitutional monarchy under the Imperial House of Japan, is traditionally said to have originated with the mythical Emperor Jimmu. The first verifiable historiographical evidence begins with Emperor Kinmei in the 6th century. It is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world.
The oldest human remains so far found in England date from about 500,000 years ago, and belonged to a six-foot tall man of the species Homo heidelbergensis. Shorter, stockier Neanderthals visited Britain between 300,000 and 35,000 years ago, followed by the direct ancestors of modern humans.
In 1603 James VI and I became the first monarch to rule over England, Scotland, and Ireland together.
Princess Alice of Albany is also the longest-living member by blood and was the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria (1819–1901) and Prince Albert (1819–1861). The current oldest living member of the British royal family is Katharine, Duchess of Kent (born 1933), who is the eleventh longest-living British royal.
Alfred the Great – England's Greatest King.
How far does Queen Elizabeth's bloodline go? The bloodline of the current royal family can be traced back some 1,209 years! This covers 37 generations and goes all the way back to the 9th century.
The continental Saxons are no longer a distinctive ethnic group or country but their name lives on in the names of several regions and states of Germany, including Lower Saxony (which includes central parts of the original Saxon homeland known as Old Saxony), Saxony in Upper Saxony, as well as Saxony-Anhalt (which ...
Britain was the name made popular by the Romans when they came to the British islands. England used to be known as Engla land, meaning the land of the Angles, people from continental Germany, who began to invade Britain in the late 5th century, along with the Saxons and Jute.
For almost 100 years, parts of north, east and central England were ruled by Norsemen. The area retains a strong Viking legacy to this day. If you've looked into the Viking Age in the past, you've likely come across the term Danelaw.
The primary source of the language, however, is the main ethnic stem of the English: the Anglo-Saxons, who invaded and colonized England in the 5th and 6th centuries.
The Romans had invaded England and ruled over England for 400 years but in 410, the Romans left England because their homes in Italy were being attacked by fierce tribes and every soldier was needed back in Rome.
Who Lived in Britain? The people who lived in Britain before the Romans arrived are known as the Celts. Though they didn't call themselves 'Celts' - this was a name given to them many centuries later. In fact, the Romans called 'Celts' 'Britons'.
1. The Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. The royal family of Saudi Arabia is the House of Saud and is undoubtedly the wealthiest royal family in the world. The royal family has been ruling the country since 1744 and is worth $1.4 trillion.
Some of the oldest recorded and evidenced monarchies were Narmer, Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt c. 3100 BCE, and Enmebaragesi, a Sumerian King of Kish c. 2600 BCE. From earliest records, monarchs could be directly hereditary, while others were elected from among eligible members.
The sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is one of the most powerful national leaders in the world. As an absolute monarch and billionaire, he's the country's self-appointed prime minister and controls the state media. He is currently the longest-reigning monarch in the world.
Mercia was one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the Heptarchy. It was in the region now known as the English Midlands now East Midlands & West Midlands.
By 660, Northumbria was the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It had strong cultural connections with Ireland and Rome, and its kings had welcomed Christian missionaries from the influential monastery of Iona.
The Vikings overcame two other major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, East Anglia and Mercia, and their kings were either tortured to death or fled.