Remembering Kings and Queens Trivia Quiz

Answer:

You'll have noticed that this rhyme only starts with William I, known as the Conqueror and the first Norman monarch of England, as it then was. He was the first Willie in the rhyme with his son, William II, known as William Rufus, succeeding him in 1087. William II died following a hunting accident, sometimes speculated to be murder, and was quickly followed by his brother, Henry I, referred to as Harry in the rhyme. Stephen then became the next king, reigning from 1135-1154. His reign was marked by disputes with his cousin Matilda, who also claimed the throne, and it was her son who followed Stephen as Henry II. Richard I (Dick) was next with John rather taking advantage of Richard's frequent absences from England to lay claim to the throne in 1199.

Henry III came next, followed by thee kings all named Edward (Ned) before the young Richard II, aged only ten when he succeeded, became the second Richard to rule England. Richard was deposed by Henry IV, son of John of Gaunt, whose claim to the throne was rather tenuous. Then came two more Henrys, numbers five and six. The throne then switched from the House of Lancaster to the House of York with Edward IV and Edward V. The final York monarch was Richard III, described as 'bad' in the rhyme although his reputation was rather shredded by Shakespeare.

Henry VII became king in 1485, establishing the Tudor monarchy and astutely joining the warring houses of Lancaster and York by marrying Elizabeth of York. He was succeeded by Henry VIII whose son, Edward (Ned in the poem) became king when aged only nine and dying when still only a lad, as he is described in the rhyme.

The mnemonic skips over the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey to the remaining Tudor monarchs, Mary and Elizabeth, before naming James, the first king of England with that name but the sixth of Scotland - there is a hint with the words 'you ken', a Scottish expression. We then have Charles I, the only English monarch to be executed, while the Cromwell years are ignored before the monarch is restored with Charles II in 1660. More turbulence follows with James the second's conversion to the Catholic faith leading to his downfall. His daughter, Mary, took the throne jointly with her husband, William of Orange as William III and Mary II. The final monarch of the Stuart line was Anne, who died in 1714 with no surviving children. She was the sister of Mary II.

The next monarch established the Hanover with George I, a descendant of James I, who was followed by three more Georges before we get our fourth King William, in 1830. His reign was relatively short but his successor, his niece Victoria, was to become the longest reigning monarch to date, taking us (just) into the twentieth century.

The more recent monarchs are Edward VII, succeeded by George V in 1910, as the rhyme tells us. Edward VIII abdicated with the throne passing to his brother who reigned as George VI. Elizabeth II became Queen in 1953 and, as we now know, died in 2022 - the rhyme doesn't go that far, but makes it clear the monarchy will continue as it did, with Charles III.