Regnal years of English and British monarchs facts for kids

The regnal years of English and British monarchs are a special way of counting years based on when a king or queen ruled. Imagine if every official paper or law was dated by how many years the current ruler had been on the throne! This system was used in England starting in 1066, then in Great Britain from 1707 to 1801, and in the United Kingdom ever since. Even today, you might see old government papers or laws that use this "regnal calendar" system. It's like saying "the 10th year of Queen Anne's reign" instead of "1711."

What are Regnal Years?

For hundreds of years, official documents in England were dated using the regnal year of the monarch who was ruling. For example, laws passed by Parliament were often named after the regnal year. The Occasional Conformity Act 1711, a law from 1711, was officially called "10 Anne c. 6." This meant it was the sixth law (chapter 6) passed during the tenth year of Queen Anne's rule.

Sometimes, if Parliament met more than once in the same regnal year, they would add "s. 2" (for second session) or "Stat. 2" (for second Parliament). For instance, the Riot Act is known as "1 Geo 1 Stat. 2. c. 5." This means it was the fifth law passed in the second Parliament during the first year of King George I's reign.

How Regnal Years Work

Regnal years start counting from the exact day a monarch officially begins their reign. Let's take King George III, for example. He became king on 25 October 1760. That day marked the beginning of his first regnal year. His second regnal year started exactly one year later, on 25 October 1761. His third year began on 25 October 1762, and so on.

When a monarch dies, steps down, or is removed from power, their regnal year ends. It doesn't matter if the full year has passed or not. A brand new regnal year then begins with the new monarch. Because different kings and queens started their reigns on different dates, the start of a regnal year changed with each new ruler. For instance, Queen Elizabeth I's regnal year started on 17 November, while King James I's began on 25 March.

Old Calendars and Dates

It's important to know that the regnal year was different from the "legal year." The legal year was the calendar used for official purposes like law and church matters. For a long time, the legal year didn't even start on January 1st!

• Until the 1200s, the English legal year began on Christmas (25 December).
• From the 1300s until 1752, it started on 25 March.
• Only since 1752 has the legal year started on 1 January, just like our modern calendar.

These differences can make old documents confusing. For example, King Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649. But official legal records from that time might show it as 30 January 1648. To avoid confusion, historians often write dates between 1 January and 25 March in a "double-barreled" way, like "30 January 1648–49." The first year is the legal year, and the second is the historical year we use today.

Also, before 1752, England used the Julian calendar. Most other European countries had already switched to the Gregorian calendar. By 1752, the Julian calendar was eleven days behind the Gregorian one. This means an event in England might have a different date than the same event recorded in Europe. For example, William of Orange landed in England on 5 November 1688 (Old Style, or OS, for Julian calendar) or 15 November 1688 (New Style, or NS, for Gregorian calendar). The dates in the table below follow the English calendar: Old Style until 1752, then New Style afterwards.

The table below shows the regnal years for the Kings of England and later Great Britain, from 1066 to today. These are the official dates, even if a king didn't always have full control of the country. For example, after Charles I was executed, his son Charles II's regnal years were counted from that day (30 January 1649). So, when Charles II actually returned to England and became king on 29 May 1660, he was already in his 12th regnal year!

How to Calculate a Regnal Year

Want to figure out a regnal year from a specific date? Here's a simple way:

1. Subtract the monarch's first regnal year from the calendar year you're looking at. 2. If the month and day of your date are before the monarch's regnal year start date, you're done. 3. If the month and day are on or after the monarch's regnal year start date, add one to your result. 4. There's one special rule for William III after his wife Mary died (from 28 December 1694 onwards): you also add 6 to the final number.

Let's look at some examples:

• Example 1: 4 July 1776. This was during the reign of George III. His first regnal year started in 1760.

* 1776 minus 1760 equals 16. * 4 July is before his regnal year start date (25 October). * So, it was the 16th year of his reign.

• Example 2: 2 May 1662. This was during the reign of Charles II. His first regnal year started in 1649.

* 1662 minus 1649 equals 13. * 2 May is after his regnal year start date (30 January). So, we add 1. * This means it was the 14th regnal year of Charles II.

• Example 3: 31 December 1695. This was during the reign of William III alone (after Mary's death). His "first" regnal year for this period was 1694.

* 1695 minus 1694 equals 1. * 31 December is after his regnal year start date (28 December). So, we add 1, making it 2. * Since this date is after Mary's death, we also add 6. * So, it was the 8th year of his reign.

Table of Monarchs and Their Regnal Years

See also

• Citation of United Kingdom legislation
• Acts of Parliament Numbering and Citation Act 1962
• List of English monarchs
• List of British monarchs