A Royal Romp Through Time Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Alfred the Great (c. 849-899) was King of Wessex and later King of the Anglo-Saxons, remembered as the only English monarch called 'the Great'. He successfully defended his kingdom against the Great Heathen Army of Vikings, most famously at the Battle of Edington (878), after which he secured peace and strengthened his rule. He also promoted learning, literacy, and legal reform, laying the foundations for what would become a more unified England.

The Plantagenet dynasty was the royal house that ruled England from 1154 to 1485, one of the longest continuous dynasties in European history. Richard the Lionheart (Richard I, reigned 1189-1199) was a celebrated warrior king of England, famed for his role in the Third Crusade, one of the wars fought by Western European Christians to capture and defend the Holy Land from Muslim control. He was a bold military leader, though he spent little time governing at home.

His younger brother, King John (reigned 1199-1216), inherited the throne after Richard's death and became notorious for losing English lands in France and for being forced by rebellious barons to seal the Magna Carta, a charter signed in 1215 that limited the power of the English king and established the principle that everyone, including the monarch, was subject to the law, forcing him to acknowledge that his authority was not absolute. He was nicknamed 'Lackland' because, unlike his older brothers, he did not inherit significant lands from his father, Henry II.

Nicknamed Longshanks for his tall stature, Edward I was a powerful medieval king remembered for his military campaigns and legal reforms. He reigned from 1272 to 1307, strengthening royal authority through the development of English common law and the establishment of Parliament as a more regular institution. Edward is most famous for his wars in Wales, where he built massive castles to secure conquest, and for his campaigns in Scotland, earning him the title Hammer of the Scots.

Henry VIII (1491-1547) was King of England from 1509-1547. He was the second Tudor king, succeeding his father, Henry VII and is best remembered for his six marriages and his dramatic break with the Catholic Church, creating the Church of England during the English Reformation. He was called Coppernose because late in his reign, the silver content of English coins was reduced so heavily that they were mostly copper, with only a thin layer of silver on the surface. As the coins wore down, the king's portrait on them would reveal a copper-coloured nose.

King James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He became King of Scotland as James VI in 1567, and later inherited the English throne in 1603, uniting the crowns of England and Scotland for the first time. The French king Henry IV reportedly called him 'the Wisest Fool in Christendom' because of the contrast between his scholarly brilliance and his awkward political style, which frustrated both Parliament and foreign allies. He commissioned the King James Bible (1611), one of the most influential translations in English history.

Charles II (1630-1685) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660 to 1685. He was called the Merry Monarch because his reign marked the Restoration of the monarchy after years of Puritan rule. He spent years in exile during Oliver Cromwell's republican rule. Under Cromwell and the Commonwealth, England had strict Puritan laws, as theatres were closed, dancing and festivals suppressed, and life was rigidly moral. When Charles returned in 1660, he reopened theatres, encouraged music, art and fashion.

George I (1660-1727) was the first monarch of the House of Hanover, ruling Britain from 1714 to 1727. He was born in Hanover, Germany, and was a distant relative of the English royal family; he became king after the Act of Settlement (1701) excluded Catholic claimants. He succeeded Queen Anne in 1714, bringing the Hanoverian dynasty to the British throne. He spoke little English and spent much of his time in Hanover, which made him unpopular with some subjects. He was nicknamed the Turnip King because of his strong German roots and his fondness for Hanoverian agriculture, particularly turnip farming, which became a symbol of his foreignness to the English people.

George III (1738-1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 until 1820, one of the longest-reigning monarchs in British history. He came to the throne at just 22 years old. His reign saw Britain's loss of the American colonies after the Revolutionary War, but also victories in the Napoleonic Wars. He supported agricultural and industrial development, earning him the nickname Farmer George for his interest in rural life. Later in life, he suffered bouts of mental illness, leading to the Regency era (1811-1820) when his son, the future George IV, ruled in his place.