Our King is Charles III. Before he reigned, our Queen was Elizabeth II. She was the longest reigning king or queen this country had ever had. Lots of kings and queens came before them, some of them you might have already heard of.

When a country has a king or queen it is called a monarchy. In the past lots of countries had monarchies but now most countries are republics, which mean they don’t have a king or queen. Great Britain has a monarchy. The country is ruled at the moment by King Charles III and the government, which is made up of a Prime Minister and lots of other ministers. 

Kings and queens are born into their role. They inherit it from their father or mother who were king and queen before them. In the past this wasn’t quite as straight forward and sometimes people battled it out to take over the country and become king. When they do become king or queen it is a role they usually have for the rest of their life until they die and their heir takes over. When King Charles III dies his son William will become king.

Prime Ministers and other ministers that make up the government are different and are voted into their roles by the people living in the country. They have their role for a number of years and then someone else takes over. The government rules the country along side the King.  

There have been many kings and queens of Great Britain. Here you will find some facts on some of the most well known kings and queens.

Click on a picture to learn about some of the kings and queens that have ruled this country, or you can use the links below.