William IV 1830-1837 King of England, known before his accession to the throne as William Henry, Duke of Clarence, was the third son of George III., and was born August 21, 1765. At fourteen years of age he entered the navy as a midshipman on board the Prince George, a 98-gun ship, commanded by Admiral Digby; […]

George III 1760-1820 George (William Frederick) III was the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and grandson of George II. George III was born June 4th, 1738, being the first sovereign of the Hanoverian line who was actually born in England. On the death of his father, in 1751, his education was intrusted to the […]

William III 1694-1702 King of England, was the son of William II. Prince of Orange, by his wife Mary, daughter of Charles I., and was born at the Hague, November 4th, 1650. His father, stadtholder of the United Provinces, died a few days before his birth; and through the influence of the Republican party he was […]

Henry VII 1485-1509 Henry VII was the son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and his wife, Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of the eldest son of John of Gaunt and thus the first sovereign of the Tudor line. Henry was born most likely at Pembroke Castle, in the year 1456, the same year of his […]

Edward IV 1461-1470 Edward IV was the son of Richard, Duke of York. Edward was born at Rouen in the year 1441. When Edward came of age, a fierce struggle between the Houses of York and Lancaster was underway, which would embroil England in a bitter civil war. During this period of turmoil, Edward proved […]

Henry I 1100-1135 Henry I., King of England, surnamed, on account of his superior education, Beauclerc, was the youngest son ofWilliam the Conqueror, and was born at Selby, in Yorkshire, in 1068. Jealousies and dissensions early broke out between him and his elder brothers, Robert and William (Rufus), and on the sudden mysterious death of William […]

William I The Conquerer 1066-1087 William the Conquerer was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy. William was born at Falaise in the year 1027. He was raised at the court of the King of France, and succeeded to the duchy at the age of only eight. William, while Duke of Normandy, was married to […]

Monetary History of England Henry II Silver Penny Part III 1154-1470 by Martin A. Armstrong PLANTAGENET KINGS c1154-1399 With the treaty in which Matilda’s son Henery II (1154-1189) came to the throne, the coinage of England did not immediately reflect the political change. The coinage Stephen continued to be minted until 1158 before a new […]

Monetary History of England Part I 2nd century BC – 599 AD by Martin A. Armstrong The Birth of the British Monetary System The earliest forms of money in Britain have taken several mediums based upon commodity values. However, Celtic bronze rings are quite common in Britain and served as a medium of exchange. Money […]

Constantine I The Great 307 – 337AD Flavius Valerius Constantinus was the son of Constantius I Chlorus by his first marriage with Helena, known to Christians as St Helena. Constantine was born at Naissus in Upper Moesia on February 27th. The year is not quite certain, however, it was either 280 – 282 or 272 – 273 AD. As […]