The following is a list of the official regnal year

Regnal year

A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin regnum meaning kingdom, rule.The oldest dating systems were in regnal years, and considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a third, and...

s of the monarch

Monarch

A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

s of the Kingdom of England

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

 (subsequently Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

), from 1066 to the present day. The regnal calendar ("8th year of the reign of King X", etc.) is used in many official British government and legal documents of historical interest, notably parliamentary statutes.

Overview

For centuries, English official public documents have been dated by the regnal year

Regnal year

A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin regnum meaning kingdom, rule.The oldest dating systems were in regnal years, and considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a third, and...

s of the ruling monarch

Monarch

A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

. Traditionally, parliamentary

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 statutes are referenced by regnal year, e.g. the Occasional Conformity Act of 1711 is officially referenced as "10 Anne c.6" (read as "the sixth chapter of the statute of the parliamentary session that sat in the 10th year of the reign of Queen Anne").

Regnal years are counted from the official date (year, month and day) of a monarch's ascension. For example, King George III ascended on October 25, 1760. That marks the beginning of his first regnal year. His second regnal year starts on October 25, 1761, his third regnal year on October 25, 1762, and so on. When a monarch dies, abdicates or is deposed, the regnal year comes to an end (whether the full year has run its course or not). A new regnal year begins from a new date, with a new monarch.

As different monarchs begin their reigns at different times, the exact month and day when a regnal year begins varies across reigns. For example, Elizabeth I's regnal year starts on November 17, James I's on March 24, Charles I's on March 27, and so on.

The following table gives the dates of the regnal years for Kings of England (and subsequently Great Britain), from 1066 to the present day. These are official de jure dates, and may or may not coincide with whether a particular king had de facto power or not at that time. For example, as the Commonwealth era was suppressed in the official record, the regnal years of Charles II are measured from January 30, 1649, the day his father Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 was executed; as a result, when Charles II actually became king, on 29 May 1660, he was already in his 12th regnal year. (For the de facto tabulation of English rulers, see any conventional list of English monarchs.)

While "regnal year" is used in public documents, it is not the same as the official "legal year" - that is, the calendar used for legal, civic and ecclesiastical purposes (see Old Style and New Style dates

Old Style and New Style dates

Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...

). Until the 13th C., the legal year began at Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

. From the 14th C. until 1753, the 'legal' year began on March 25, regardless of the regnal year. From January 1, 1753, the legal year was re-set to coincide with the calendar year. This can sometimes be confusing when sorting dates in old documents before 1753. For example, a parliamentary statute that was passed on, say, February 10, 1585 (in normal calendar date) would be dated in the official record as February 10, 1584 (the legal year), and simultaneously said to have been passed in the 27th year of Elizabeth I (the regnal year that started on November 17, 1584).

Regnal calendar table

To calculate the regnal year from a particular date, just subtract the calendar year from the first regnal year. If the month and day fall before the regnal date, do nothing; if it falls after the regnal date, add one.

• Example: July 4, 1776. This falls in the reign of George III, who's first regnal year is 1760; so 1776 - 1760 = 16th year of his reign (July 4 is before October 25).
• Another example: May 2, 1662. This is in the reign of Charles II, who's first regnal year is 1649. So 1662-1649 = 13, add 1 because May 2 is after January 30, so the date falls in the 14th regnal year of Charles II.

Monarch	No. of Years	First regnal year	Regnal year begin date	Regnal year end date	End of final year
William I	21	1066	14 October	13 October	9 Sep 1087
William II William II of England William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...	13	1087	26 September	25 September	2 Aug 1100.
Henry I Henry I of England Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...	36	1100	5 August	4 August	1 Dec 1135
Stephen Stephen, King of England Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...	19	1135	26 December	25 December	25 Oct 1154
Henry II Henry II of England Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...	35	1154	19 December	18 December	6 Jul 1189
Richard I Richard I of England Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...	10	1189	3 September	2 September	6 Apr 1199
John	18	1199	May (Ascension Day)	May (varied)	19 Oct 1216
Henry III Henry III of England Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...	57	1216	28 October	27 October	16 Nov 1272
Edward I Edward I of England Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...	35	1272	20 November	20 November	7 Jul 1307
Edward II Edward II of England Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...	20	1307	8 July	7 July	20 Jan 1327
Edward III Edward III of England Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...	51 (England), 38 (France)	1327	25 January	24 January	21 Jun 1377
Richard II Richard II of England Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...	23	1377	22 June	21 June	29 Sep 1399
Henry IV Henry IV of England Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...	14	1399	30 September	29 September	20 Mar 1413
Henry V Henry V of England Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....	10	1413	21 March	20 March	31 Aug 1422
Henry VI Henry VI of England Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...	39 + 1	1422	1 September	31 August	4 Mar 1461
Edward IV Edward IV of England Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...	23	1461	4 March	3 March	9 Apr 1483
Edward V Edward V of England Edward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...	1	1483	9 April	25 June	25 Jun 1483
Richard III Richard III of England Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...	3	1483	26 June	25 June	22 Aug 1485
Henry VII Henry VII of England Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....	24	1485	22 August	21 August	21 Apr 1509
Henry VIII Henry VIII of England Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...	38	1509	22 April	21 April	28 Jan 1547
Edward VI Edward VI of England Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...	7	1547	28 January	27 January	6 Jul 1553
Mary I Mary I of England Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...	2	1553	6 July	5 July	24 Jul 1554
"Philip Philip II of Spain Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....  and Mary Mary I of England Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547... "	5 & 6	1554	25 July	24 July	17 Nov 1558
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...	45	1558	17 November	16 November	24 Mar 1603
James I James I of England James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...	23	1603	25 March	24 March	27 Mar 1625
Charles I Charles I of England Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...	24	1625	27 March	26 March	30 Jan 1649
Charles II Charles II of England Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...	37	1649	30 January	29 January	6 Feb 1685
James II James II of England James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...	4	1685	6 February	5 February	11 Dec 1688
"William and Mary William and Mary The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II... "	6	1688	13 February	12 February	27 Dec 1694
William III William III of England William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...	8 (7 to 14)	1694	28 December	27 December	8 Mar 1702
Anne	13	1702	8 March	7 March	1 Aug 1714
George I George I of Great Britain George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....	13	1702	1 August	31 July	11 Jun 1727
George II George II of Great Britain George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...	34	1727	11 June	10 June	25 Oct 1760
George III	60	1760	25 October	24 October	29 Jan 1820
George IV	11	1820	29 January	28 January	26 Jun 1830
William IV William IV of the United Kingdom William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...	7	1830	26 June	25 June	20 Jun 1837
Victoria	64	1837	20 June	19 June	22 Jan 1901
Edward VII Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...	10	1901	22 January	21 January	6 May 1910
George V George V of the United Kingdom George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....	26	1910	6 May	5 May	20 Jan 1936
Edward VIII Edward VIII of the United Kingdom Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...	1	1936	20 January	11 December	11 Dec 1936
George VI George VI of the United Kingdom George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...	16	1936	11 December	10 December	5 Feb 1952
Elizabeth II	(ongoing) (2011 = 60th)	1952	6 February	5 February	...