Harold Godwinsson defeats William the Conqueror
Kings of England (1066-1260, Lords of Ireland from 1165, Overlords of Scotland from 1158, Dukes of Aquitaine, Normandy, and Anjou from 1175)
(1066-1089) Harold I 'the Victorious' (House of Godwin) [1]
(1089-1102) Edgar I 'the Efficient' (House of Godwin) [2]
(1102-1123) Harold II 'the Peacemaker' (House of Godwin) [3]
(1123-1145) Edward I 'the Hammer' (House of Godwin) [4]
(1145-1169) Edmund I 'the Glorious' (House of Godwin) [5]
(1169-1175) Arthur I 'the Unprepared' (House of Godwin) [6]
(1175-1200) Henry I 'the Conqueror' (House of Plantagenet) [7]
(1200-1238) Richard I 'the Lionheart' (House of Plantagenet) [8]
(1238-1260) William I 'Fiery Eyes' (House of Plantagenet) [9]
-became King of Great Britain, Ireland, and Normandy-Anjou in 1260
Kings of Great Britain, Kings of Ireland, and Kings of Normandy-Anjou (1260-1345)
(1261-1272) William I 'Fiery Eyes' (House of Plantagenet) [9]
(1272-1280) William II 'the Unworthy' (House of Plantagenet) [10]
(1280-1306) John I 'the Glorious' (House of Plantagenet) [11]
(1306-1327) Henry II 'the Disastrous' (House of Plantagenet) [12]
(1327-1345) Edward II 'the Great' (House of Plantagenet) [13]
-became Emperor of Britain and King of France in 1345
Emperors of Great Britain and Ireland, Kings of France (1345-???)
(1345-1377) Edward II 'the Great' (House of Plantagenet) [13]
(1377-1413) Richard II 'the Ruthless' (House of Plantagenet) [14]
(1413-1435) Henry III 'Longshanks' (House of Lancaster) [15]
(1435-1472) Henry IV 'the Beloved' (House of Lancaster) [16]
[1] Defeated William "the Conqueror" at the Battle of Hastings and consolidated his control over England. King Harold I maintained internal peace and stability, being responsible for the organization of England's first standing army, in order to make sure another invasion never happened again.
[2] Harold I died when he fell off his horse on June 2, 1089, and was succeeded by his only son Edgar. Edgar became known as "the Efficient", because he was a great administrator. Edgar ordered a census of all properties in England, issued a code of laws, and solidified the border with Scotland. Edgar also sponsored the construction of a merchant fleet, and he married his daughter to the youngest son of the Duke of Brittany. Edgar died while successfully repelling a second Norman invasion in 1102.
[3] Oldest son of Edgar. Forced the Normans to sign a peace treaty that lasted for 54 years. Died of plague.
[4] The only son of Harold II, Edward I became known as "the Hammer", for his military exploits and conquests. Edward launched an invasion of Wales, subjugating Gwenyedd, Dwyfrd, and many of the other Welsh principalities. He thus began a process that would be finished by his successors. Edward also waged war against Scotland, conquering the Lowlands up to the Firth of Forth. Edward established a permanent peace treaty with the Normans. He died while successfully repressing a rebellion in York.
[5] The second son of Edward I (his first, Alfred, having died before his father in 1140), Edmund I became known as "the Glorious", for his extensive military campaigns in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Edmund I conquered the remainder of Wales, defeating the remaining native Welsh princes, incorporating all of Wales into England and extending the English legal system into those regions. He waged war against Scotland, forcing the King of Scots, Malcolm V, to acknowledge him as overlord. He also began the English conquest of Ireland, securing control of Dublin and proclaiming himself
Lord of Ireland in 1165.
[6] Oldest son of Edmund, he died after an invasion from France subjugated his country and destroyed London after he did nothing about it to prepare for the invasion.
[7] Conquered England after defeating Arthur the Unprepared and became King, establishing the House of Plantagenet and destroying the House of Godwin. He thus accomplished what the earlier Normans had failed to do. Paid more attention to his French dominions, but maintained overlordship over Scotland and conquered much of southern Ireland.
[8] The third son of Henry I the Conqueror, Richard I became known as "Lionheart" for his prowess and skill in battle. He conquered the remainder of Ireland and also advanced farther north into Scotland, annexing Edinburgh and the lower part of the Highlands. He also campaigned in France, annexing Calais, and gaining independence over his French dominions from the weak King of France.
[9] Known as the "Fiery Eyes", this King crushed rebellions in Ireland and Wales, reformed the royal administration, and significantly curbed the influence of the nobility. He directly annexed the remainder of Scotland, proclaiming himself
King of Great Britain on May 1, 1260. He also made himself
King of Ireland on that same date and
King of Normandy-Anjou.
[10] History has derided William as William the Unworthy. William lived his entire life in the shadow of his father, but when he would take the throne for himself he could never live up to the legend of his father. William's reign would plagued by corruption, rebellion and conflict. William's reign and life ended in a plot involving his brothers and the nobles of the land.
[11] The younger brother of William II, John ascended the throne upon William's murder. He was a much more successful ruler then his older brother, being primarily concerned with royal administration and finances, the military, and the nobility. John I reformed the taxation system, introducing new taxes on cloths, converting feudal services into money payments, and establishing a system of royal collectors throughout Britain. He improved the finances of the royal household and made sure his accounts were properly organized. John expanded the Royal Exchequer, granting it taxation authority over the nobility. John expanded the standing army, constructed naval dockyards at Portsmouth and at Calais, and compelled his nobles to provide soldiers for permanent service. John limited the nobility's power by establishing new procedures of land inheritance and compelling them to reduce their private armies. In Ireland, John created a system of boroughs, while on the mainland, he reorganized the duchies and count-ships of Normandy-Anjou (over half of OTL France) into proper counties and provinces. John died on a hunt in northern England.
[12] John was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry, who proved to be an incompetent and inefficient ruler. Like the reign of William II, Henry's reign was dominated by rebellion, heavy taxation, and government corruption. Henry managed to quash dissent, but did so in an overly harsh and oppressive way. He was known for his emotional outbursts and constantly bullied his courtiers. Henry was deposed from the throne on June 28, 1327.
[13] Edward II ascended the throne on June 28, 1327 at the age of 18 when his father Henry II was deposed from the throne. The deposition had been carried out by Edward's mother, Queen Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. For the first three years of his reign, Isabella and Mortimer had a major influence on the King and were in control of the government. In May 1330, Edward overthrew these restrictions, banishing his mother to a monastery and executing Mortimer. From then on, he reigned with absolute authority. Edward, who ruled for 50 years, caused many changes in the British Isles and in his French dominions. In 1337, he declared war against the King of France, Philip VI, whose dominions now only extended to Paris and other north-eastern parts of OTL France. Edward captured Paris and forced Philip to become a vassal. In 1344, he launched a final campaign, capturing Philip near Orleans and executing him. On August 1, 1345, in the presence of various noblemen, government officials, church clerics and bishops, and an army of 15,000 men, Edward proclaimed himself
Emperor of Great Britain and Ireland. He also made himself
King of France, applied to all of his mainland dominions, thus superseding the previous title
King of Normandy-Anjou. His first proclamation unified the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Lordship of Ireland. The second assured that he was formal successor to the previous French Kings of France. Edward's titles were confirmed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who also awarded him the honorific "the Great", the first British monarch to bear such a title since Alfred the Great in the ninth century. For the remainder of his reign, Edward was a peaceful ruler. He encouraged the arts and sciences, issued the
Codification of British Laws that replaced Edgar I's Code of 1092, and also passed statues concerning treason, labor services, and land ownership. Edward established the Order of the Garder and granted noblemen certain honorary privileges, relaxing restrictions laid on them by his predecessors. In France, Edward built a new fortress in Paris, began construction on a hunting lodge at Versailles, and reorganized the entire country into generalities. This was distinct from the system of parishes and boroughs that existed in the
Empire of Britain and Ireland, as the name of the official British state was.
[14] Richard II succeeded his grandfather to the British and French thrones on August 18, 1377. Richard faced severe rebellions in London, Dublin, and in Paris. The London Rebellion became known as the
Peasants' Revolt. Richard brutally crushed all three of these rebellions, ordering the execution of tens of thousands of rebels, devastating rebel regions, and imposing stiff penalties on the population. This was how he earned his title. He came to be despised by the peasants for his action, but at the same time feared by them. Richard was actually a fair ruler, promoting fair justice and overhauling the taxation system. He also began re-imposing restrictions on the nobility, banning them from holding too much property and restricting tournaments. Many noblemen are angered, but are too powerless to do anything about it. Richard never marries, however, and he dies childless, bringing an end to the rule of the House of Plantagenet.
[15] Because Richard II died childless, he was succeeded by his closest surviving relative, Henry, Earl of Lancaster. Known as "Longshanks" due to his unusually great height for that time (6 feet, 4 inches), Henry III was a much more peaceful and less aggressive ruler then Richard II. Largely content with internal affairs, Henry III passed a formal law of succession to the throne, establishing the radical principle of equal primogeniture, commissioned a second great census of all properties and estates in England, and passed a statue that en closured common lands. This last act drove many peasants into the towns, and was one of his less popular measures. It indirectly encouraged economic growth, however. Henry III also issued the
Edict of Expulsion, which expelled all Jews from both Britain and France. 45,000 Jews were forced to leave all their possessions behind and flee to other nations. This edict will remain in effect for another 100 years. Unlike Richard, Henry had many children, with five sons and three daughters.
[16] Known as "the Beloved" to his subjects, Henry IV was the second son of Henry III (whose first son, Charles, died in 1429). Henry IV was a kind and compassionate ruler, with a great interest in the welfare of his subjects. During his 37-year rule, Britain's first system for the poor was established, in a series of Poor Law Decrees issued by the King in 1439, 1445, and 1460. The poor law system provided some financial relief and care to the disabled poor and work to able poor, while punishing the "idle" poor and vagabonds. The system would maintain a series of almshouses and a network of Poor Overseers. The system would, with some modifications, remain in effect for decades to come. Henry IV was also a very religious ruler, donating large sums of money and land to the Church, filling his advisory council with religious clerics, and closely adhering to Church doctrine. He is considered to be the most pious of all British monarchs. In France, Henry IV passed legislation that gave protection from corporal punishment and forced separation to serfs. In both Britain and France, Henry encouraged the arts and sciences.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=5454079
