 |
| Prehistoric monoliths at Stonehenge |
THE HISTORY of England did not begin until the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, who came to our shores 1,600 years ago and established separate kingdoms: the Saxons settling in the south and west, the Angles in the east and north, and the Jutes on the Isle of Wight and the mainland opposite. At the height of the Roman Empire, Britannia was under the rule of the Romans. Their rule lasted until about 410, when the Anglo-Saxons gradually gained control of England.
 |
| King Henry VIII |
In 1066, the Normans invaded and conquered England. There was much civil war and battles with other nations throughout the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, the Tudors won the crown on the battlefield and reigned over England from 1485 until 1603. They changed both the nature of kingship and also the nation itself. England became a Protestant nation and began to establishment itself as a trading power. The country's most famous and controversial king, Henry VIII, ruled England from 1509-1547.
 |
| Ceremonial soldiers outside Buckingham Palace, London |
England had conquered Wales in the 12th century and was then united with Scotland in the early 18th century to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Following the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain ruled a worldwide empire, of which, physically, little remains. However, its cultural impact is widespread and deep in many countries of the present day.
The monarchy is the oldest institution of government. Queen Elizabeth II is directly descended from King Egbert, who united England under his rule in 829. The only interruption in the history of the monarchy was the republic, which lasted from 1649 to 1660.
View a timeline of Britain...
