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IndexTimey-wimey detector → Timeline - British monarchy
Spoilers are strongly policed here.
If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.

This page lists the British monarchy in chronological order. This timeline is based upon observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events that occur during each of these stories.

Years given for their reign are the ones confirmed by DWU stories.

Implied by regnal names[]

Occasionally, the names given for monarchs in the Doctor Who universe imply the existence of further monarchs who have never explicitly been identified. For example, the appearance of Elizabeth X in The Beast Below suggests that nine of her predecessors were also called Elizabeth despite only Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II and Elizabeth IV appearing in DWU sources.

England[]

Scotland[]

Timeline[]

Monarchs of Mercia[]

'I dab oil onto your er, hands, your breast and the crown of your head. This is the most sacred part of the ceremony. It was first performed in 785 on Egfrith, King of Merc-' (PROSE: The Dying Days)
  • fl. late 8XX: King Guthrum
ALFRED: "After all, they already have Mercia and Northumbria." (PROSE: The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up)
  • ?-911: Æthelred of Mercia
Æthelfrid: "All these wayward northern lands were pulled together into union by my husband, Æthelred. And they were the death of him. It wore him ragged, holding the country together. All these seven years since I have stood in his stead." (AUDIO: The Lady of Mercia)

Monarchs of Northumbria[]

  • fl. late 8XX: King Guthrum
ALFRED: "After all, they already have Mercia and Northumbria." (PROSE: The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up)

Monarchs of the Welsh[]

DOCTOR: " It's the Cup of Athelstan, given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh." (TV: Planet of the Dead)

Monarchs of Munster[]

Monarchs of Dublin[]

Monarchs of Scotland[]

"The words that he had written months before when he was preparing the story of Macbeth, who had ruled Scotland six hundred years before according to Holinshead's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland." (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)
"He died five or six years ago". (PROSE: Sanctuary)
"His son has succeeded him. Of course the Bruce family still claim that they have right of succession, but Baliol is keeping them at bay." (PROSE: Sanctuary)
Although John Baliol is mentioned in regard to Alexander II and his son, his reign as king in his own right from 1292 to 1296 is not. The Bruce family are also mentioned but the reigns of Robert I and David II from 1306 to 1329 and 1329 to 1371 respectively go similarly unstated. (PROSE: Sanctuary)
ROBERT: In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit. (TV: Tooth and Claw)
See #Monarchs of Great Britain for further monarchs

Monarchs of Wessex and England/Great Britain[]

Monarchs of Wessex and England[]

‘Apparently,’ he said as he chewed, ‘Arthur was supposed to take the sword out of the stone himself. Lot of fuss about nothing, if you ask me. But I did get to be King of England for a day before I abdicated in his favour. No real harm done.’ (PROSE: Silhouette)
Although Alfred the Great identifies his father Ethelwulf, Ethelbald and a brother as men who died fighting the Danish invaders before he became king, they have never been identified as monarchs themselves within the Doctor Who universe. (PROSE: The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up)
"In 871, Vikings defeated an army of Saxons led by King Æthelred I in Hampshire. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)
'My father Ethelwulf died of his worries...' the King continued in a flat emotionless drawl. 'Ethelred... Ethelbald... All my older brothers... All have died fighting the Danish invaders before I became king. Five good men have had to lose their lives for me to stand here before you.' (PROSE: The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up)
BLEAK: Edward of Wessex isn’t such a disaster, you know. He unites North with South. The whole country. (AUDIO: The Lady of Mercia)
Doctor: "...the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD." "It's the Cup of Athelstan, given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh." (TV: Planet of the Dead)
'Ethelred; said the Doctor sternly before Tegan could reply, 'died in the year 1016. So we know roughly when we are.' (PROSE: The Immortals)
DOCTOR: Ah, one of my favourite times and places. London in the year 1055. The court of King Edward, known as the Confessor. During the time known as the Rule of Solomon. (AUDIO: Seasons of Fear)
DOCTOR: Now, if Harold is king, and Edward was laid to rest at the beginning of the year, then it must be 1066! (TV: The Time Meddler)
DOCTOR: And King Harold will defeat them. Yes, and then in a few weeks time, he loses the battle of Hastings to William the Conqueror. Well, at least that's what the history books said happened. (TV: The Time Meddler)
"She had been born in Canterbury the day William the Conqueror died." (PROSE: Vampire Science)
THOMAS: I am Thomas Aspley, son of Lord Godfred Aspley, my father fights for the Empress Maude, but when our lands were taken by Stephen, I was forced to flee. I hoped to make it to the Welsh border, but my horse was maimed.
SISTER PATRICK: The church has swung back once again, sister, and now we officially support Stephen's claim to the throne. Besides, many of the sisters were from noble families who fought for him. (AUDIO: Abbey of Heretics)
"Richard I of England reigned from 1189 until his death in 1199." (PROSE: A History of Humankind)
DOCTOR: Oh, Tegan. 1215? King John, of course.
TEGAN: The one who lost something in the Wash?
DOCTOR: Well, you could put it like that. This particular shirt turned out to be the Crown Jewels, but that's next year. (PROSE: The King's Demons)
RUTH: In 1216, the cathedral hosted the coronation of King Henry III, and he was only nine at the time! (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon)
"The fifty years to come, during the reign of Henry III, John's son and successor, would see changes that would establish for ever the basic rights and freedom for all men." (PROSE: The King's Demons)
DOCTOR: Ah, yes, sorry, my dear. Now then where was I? It was taken to England in 1296 by Edward I. Since then it has remained beneath the Coronation Throne in Westminster Abbey, yes? (PROSE: Set in Stone)
The only known in-universe indication of Edward II's regnal years is the fact he was clearly historical by William Shakespeare's time in the late 16th century. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass) In the absence of evidence, he is in his real world place, immediately after Edward I.
RICHARD: We'd already had decades of fighting due to a feeble-minded king. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
DOCTOR: The reign of Richard III really began on the ninth of April 1483. Edward IV, King of England, brother of Richard and father of two young Princes, caught a chill and died suddenly. England had known peace for 12 years, but now that peace looked under threat. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
NOTE: In the real world, the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 abolished the Lordship of Ireland and made Henry VIII the King of Ireland. No known DWU source has dated this event to 1542, however. All monarchs until George III held this title, after which the Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
"Barbara had heard enough. She collected her basket and hurried back to the house. She’d lost track of the dates since they had arrived in London, but if the king had died yesterday then it must be 7 July today." (PROSE: The Nine-Day Queen)
Rani: On this the nineteenth day of July, 1553, Lady Mary makes just claim to the Crown of England. And she calls upon all of her subjects to reject any unlawful claimants.
Jane: We each have a path that we must tread, and this is mine. All I hope is that I will be remembered even though I was Queen just nine days. (TV: Lost in Time)
DOCTOR: You, Doctor Smythe, have to learn the responsibility of time travel. Mary shouldn't die until November 1558. (AUDIO: The Marian Conspiracy)
DOCTOR: November 1558. Then Elizabeth becomes Queen, and within a few months everything's changed. The Spanish alliance, the restoration of Catholicism, gone for good. (AUDIO: The Marian Conspiracy)
EVELYN: But the problem is truly academic, as one of those sources is quite obviously a madman. Elizabeth died in 1603, and you certainly don't look four hundred years old. (AUDIO: The Marian Conspiracy)

Monarchs of Great Britain[]

'They arrived at London in 1603 to a glorious parade, a magnificent spectacle, according to family legend. It was seen as the glorious union of the English and Scottish crowns. James the Sixth of Scotland would become James the First of the United Kingdom.' (PROSE: The Roundheads)
TEXT: James I - King of England - (1603 - 1625) (WC: Case File Eight)
"King Charles was not used to such treatment. From birth, he had been pampered and indulged, both by his father, the slovenly James, and his elder brother, Prince Henry. Then, after Henry’s unexpected death, the beloved and wonderful Duke of Buckingham had taken the underdeveloped, rather sombre Charles and groomed him for the throne."
"The morning of January the thirtieth 1649 was a cold one and Charles Stuart insisted upon wearing an extra shirt so that his enemies would not mistake his shivering for fear." (PROSE: The Roundheads)

Lord Protectors[]

"Oliver Cromwell, the man who was soon to become Lord Protector of the Kingdom, stared into the bright winter morning as though gazing through time itself."
‘Oliver Cromwell,’ he murmured, ‘1599 to 1658.’ (PROSE: The Roundheads)
‘It says I will be known as “Tumbledown Dick”! That I shall rule for only a few scant months after my father’s death and I shall never be half the man he is!’ (PROSE: The Roundheads)

After the restoration of the monarchy[]

‘The Protectorate will end with you. Your side will realise too late that they should not have used the hereditary principle and Charles the Second will be invited to take the throne.’ (PROSE: The Roundheads)
DOCTOR: Mary of Modena. Queen Mary of England, which means her husband must be..
JAMIE: King James VII!
DOCTOR: You see Zoe, in this year 1688, there was what they call the glorious revolution. A few miles away, William of Orange has an army preparing to march on London, hence the local unrest. (AUDIO: The Glorious Revolution)
DOCTOR: In fact, William was invited here by some members of the parliament. The king has made himself rather unpopular, you see, so they've asked for William's help in persuading him to reconsider some policies. Although he would later replace him as King. His wife is King James' daughter, and they'll rule as joint monarchs, William and Mary.
CROWD: God bless King William the third! (AUDIO: The Glorious Revolution)
DOCTOR: The King's just died. How very convenient.
DOCTOR: No, I suppose not, but very handy for us. King William, Prince of Orange.
DOCTOR: It's the eighth of March seventeen hundred and two. (AUDIO: Phantasmagoria)
EVELYN: Queen Anne, last of the Stuarts, reigned 1702 to 1714. (AUDIO: Doctor Who and the Pirates)
NOTE: In the real world, the Acts of Union 1707 united England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. No known DWU source has dated this event to 1707, however.
"The English had been alienated by the autocratic Scottish Stuart Kings, and some forty years before had thrown them out of the United Kingdom, replacing them with the Hanoverian German Georges." (PROSE: The Highlanders)
DOCTOR: They were singing it to drive me out of my mind, as I'm a loyal subject to King George the Second! (TV: The Highlanders)
NOTE: In the real world, the Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. No known DWU source has dated this event to 1800, however.
"She campaigned for the Whig party in the great London elections of 1784, became the mistress of the Prince of Wales (later King George IV)" (PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street)
"The longest-reigning monarch of Great Britain, Victoria came to the throne at the age of 18 following the death of her uncle, William IV, on 20 June 1837."
"Born in 1819, Victoria became Queen of England in 1837, when she was just eighteen. Victoria's reign spanned sixty-three years and saw great change." (PROSE: A History of Humankind)
In an alternate timeline, Victoria marries and is ultimately succeeded by King John Hart, who she had met during her Golden Jubilee in 1887, following the premature death of her son. John's reign lasts until the end of the universe in 2017. (AUDIO: The Death of Captain Jack)
"I was born in 1906... Anyway Edward VII was the King. That's why I'm called Edward - did I ever tell you that?" (PROSE: Childhood Living)
"It was a Saturday in May, and the hotel was sombre and quiet. The King had died the day before. Edward VII had finally given out and given up." (PROSE: In Case of Emergencies)
"I listened all day to people in muted conversations, staff and guests alike, everyone discussing the new king, George V, and how the family would be coping at this tragic time." (PROSE: In Case of Emergencies)
NOTE: In the real world, the Anglo-Irish Treaty resulted in the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State, which later became the Republic of Ireland, as two seperate nations. No known DWU source has dated this event to 1922, however. All future monarchs thus ruled the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
"King Edward VIII, formerly the fantastically popular Prince of Wales, had only recently succeeded to the throne. Even so, the crowning ceremony had been mysteriously delayed." (PROSE: Players)
MATRIX VOICE: Humanian Era, Earth, December the tenth, 1936. Abdication of King Edward the Eighth. (AUDIO: Neverland)
"Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne following the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952." (PROSE: A History of Humankind)
"'This is St Edward's crown, your majesty. It dates back to the time of Edward the Confessor, as far as we can tell. When I place this upon your head, you will be the rightful King of England.' Xznaal hissed his pleasure. As the crown was lowered, the first few voices were raised. 'All hail King Xznaal the First,' Greyhaven said quietly." (PROSE: The Dying Days)
"Queen Elizabeth sat on the coronation throne, the Imperial State Crown on her head, restored to its former glory. The Recoronation would clear the constitutional way for the election of a new Parliament." (PROSE: The Dying Days)
NOTE: Varying accounts indicate that Queen Elizabeth left the throne for good by the 2000s, (AUDIO: The Longest Night) 2010, (PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen) 2012, (PROSE: The Shadows of Avalon) and 2020. (AUDIO: Black and White) Others stated that she was still the reigning monarch by her Platinum Jubilee on 2 June, 2022. (PROSE: The Platinum Sceptre)
'No Elizabeth the Second, God bless her, and no King Charles the Third and Queen Camilla, no King William the Fifth - no, you haven't got there yet, have you?' (PROSE: Revenge of the Judoon)
'No Elizabeth the Second, God bless her, and no King Charles the Third and Queen Camilla, no King William the Fifth - no, you haven't got there yet, have you?' (PROSE: Revenge of the Judoon)
Interviewer: Apologies to all those who complained about missing the broadcast of the King's birthday message, and to those unhappy about seeing it twice. (TV: Oroborus)
"[Lady Jane Grey's time as queen] was the shortest reign of a British monarch until Queen Liz IV's coronation space yacht passed through the Time Vortex. Her entire reign lasted thirty-six minutes." (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)
Liz Ten: Old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. (TV: The Beast Below)
DOCTOR: Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over two hundred years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not fifty. Nearer three hundred. And it's been a long old reign. (TV: The Beast Below)
LIZ: This is the Royal Collection, and I'm the bloody Queen. What are you doing here? (TV: The Pandorica Opens)
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