Mnemonic verse of monarchs in England

A mnemonic verse listing the monarchs ruling in England since William the Conqueror was traditionally used by English schoolchildren in the era when rote learning formed a major part of the curriculum.^[1]

The verse omits mentioning any pre-Conquest Saxon kings. The main part of the verse is largely constant, but the stanza from the 20th century has a number of variations. Alan Bennett's staging of the verse in Forty Years On works around the issue by stopping at Victoria.^[2] The 1991 film King Ralph included a brief section of the mnemonic.

The verse

(Can be sung to the tune of "Good King Wenceslas".)

Willie, Willie, Harry,^{[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]} Stee,^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Harry, Dick, John, Harry three;

One, two, three Neds, Richard two^{[lower-alpha 4]}

Harrys four, five, six... then who?

Edwards four, five, Dick the bad,

Harrys twain ^{VII VIII[lower-alpha 5]} and Ned the Lad;^{[lower-alpha 6]}

^{[lower-alpha 7]}Mary, Bessie,^{[lower-alpha 8]} James the Vain,^{[lower-alpha 9]}

Charlie,^{[lower-alpha 10]} Charlie, James again...

William^{[lower-alpha 11]} and Mary, Anna Gloria,^{[lower-alpha 12]}

Four Georges ^{I II III IV}, William and Victoria;^{[lower-alpha 13]}

Edward seven next, and then

George the fifth in 1910;

Ned the eighth soon abdicated

Then George the sixth was coronated;

After which Elizabeth

And that's the end until her death.^{[lower-alpha 14]}

Alternatives to last 2 lines (Elizabeth II)

And if you've not lost your breath

Give a cheer for Elizabeth.

Alternatives to last 6 lines (Edward VII onwards)

Edward seven, George and Ned [or Ted],

George the sixth, now Liz instead.

Eddie, Georgie, Ned the Eighth;

George the sixth, Elizabeth.

Edward, George, and both again,

Now Bessie Two and that's the end.

Edward, George, the same again

And now Elizabeth doth reign

Ned, George, Ned, and George again,

And Lizzie two, long may she reign!

Edward, George, then Ned the eighth

Quickly goes and abdicat’th,

Leaving George, then Liz the second,

And with Charlie next it’s reckoned.

Edward seven, Georgie five,

Ed eight, George six, Liz two, alive.

Edward seven, Georgie five,

Edward, George, and Liz alive.

Edward the seventh stands on his own

George, then Ned gave up the throne

George we love, the people say

And Elizabeth the second is Queen today.

Edward, George, then Edward Eight,

George, now Bess is head of state.

Edward seven, George five

Edward eight, George six who

Elizabeth two now does reign

Then we'll have a Charles again!

Edward ruled until 1910

Then George V was King and then

Edward ruled til Mrs Simpson beckoned

George VI and Liz the second

Alternative to last 4 lines (Edward VIII onwards)

Ned went when Mrs Simpson beckoned

Leaving George and Liz the second.

2012 update

Now it’s Liz, then we’ll arrive . . .

At Charlie three, then William five.

Alternative as used in Forty Years On (1976 production)

Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee

Harry, Dick, John, Harry Three

One Two Three Neds, Richard Two

Henrys Four Five Six, Eds Two

Dick, then Henrys seven and eight

Ned, Jane, Mary and Elizabeth.

James, two Charlies, James again

William and Mary, Anne the Plain

Four Georges from Hanover

William Four, Victoria.

Another mnemonic on the same subject

(Can be sung to the tune of "William the First was the First of Our Kings".)

First William the Norman,

Then William his son,

Henry, Stephen, Henry,

Then Richard and John.

Next Henry the Third,

Edwards One, Two and Three,

And again after Richard,

Three Henrys we see.

Two Edwards, Third Richard,

If rightly I guess,

Two Henrys, Sixth Edward,

Queen Mary, Queen Bess.

Then Jamie the Scotsman,

And Charles whom they slew,

Yet received after Cromwell,

Another Charles too.

Next James the Second,

Acceded the Throne,

Then good William and Mary,

Together came on.

Not till Anne, Georges Four,

And Fourth William all passed,

Came the reign of Victoria,

Whose longest did last.

Then Edward the Peacemaker,

(He was her son),

The fifth of the Georges,

Was next in the run.

Edward the Eighth,

Gave the Crown to his brother,

Now God's sent Elizabeth,

All of us love her.

Some additional verses for the mnemonic given above

Charles III is the future,

And William is after,

Then baby George VII,

Who fills us with laughter.

The Royal line is long,

With its ups and its downs,

And all, except Cromwell,

Have worn the Royal Crown.

Two more alternatives

Willie Willie Harry Steve

Harry Dick John Harry 3.

Edward 1 2 3 Dick two

Harrys 4 5 6 then who?

Edward 4 5 Dick the bad,

Harrys twain and Ned the lad.

Mary Bessie James you ken

Charlie Charlie James again.

William and Mary Anne of Gloria,

Georges (4) Will 4 Victoria.

Edward 7 Georgie 5

Edward George and Liz (alive)

Billy, Billy, Henry, Steve,

Henry, Dick, John, Henry Three,

Three Teds, Richard Two,

Three more Henrys - then what's new?

Two more Teds and Dick the Bad,

Two more Henrys, Ted the Lad,

Mary, Bess and Silly Jim,

Charles (they beheaded him),

One more Charles, Jamie Two,

Bill-and-Mary, Anne: then who?

Four Georges, Billy, then Victoria,

(This little list's not meant to bore ya!)

Ted the Seventh liked his fun,

Georgie was a quiet one,

Ted was an abdicator reckoned,

Then came George and Bess the Second.

Mnemonics detailing the Royal Houses of England and Great Britain

Never A Plan Like Yours To Study History So Wisely

Never Play, Letting Your Trousers Slip Half-Way

Neighbours Persuaded Lovely Yvonne To Shut Her Window

(Norman, Angevin Plantagenet, Lancaster, York, Tudor, Stuart, Hanover, Saxe-Coburg-GothaWindsor (or Wettin.)

As the Houses of Lancaster and York were really branches of the House of Plantagenet, the first mnemonic can be simplified to No Plan To Study History Wisely. In addition, The House of Windsor was a branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which in turn is a branch of the House of Wettin, thus keeping the mnemonic.

Or, to go for the full package, the mnemonic can be extended to No Plan Like Yours To Study Our Saxon History So Wisely: Norman, Plantaganet, Lancaster, York, Tudor, Stuart, Orange, Stuart, Hanover, Saxe-Coburg, Windsor.

Mnemonic used in Horrible Histories show

William, William, Henry, Stephen

Henry, Richard, John, oi!

Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two

Then three more Henrys join our song!

Edward, Edward, Rich the third

Henry, Henry, Ed again^{[lower-alpha 15]}

Mary 1, good Queen Bess

Jimmy, Charles and Charles and then

Jim, Will, Mary, Anna Gloria

George, George, George, George

Will, Victoria!

Edward, George, Edward, George six

And Queen Liz two completes the mix!^[3]

All the Kings and Queens of England

Comedian and actor John Henry Falle (alias The Story Beast) wrote and performed a "complete" ^[4] version of the poem which begins with the traditional verse, but then extends into the far future through a series of fictitious (and occasionally bizarre) monarchs up to the final dissolution of the monarch through national apathy.

See also

• List of English monarchs

Notes

References