Royal Families England/Scotland 1603 to Present

United Kingdom Royal Families - Union of the Crown/Acts of Union - 1603 to Present

Upon the death of Elizabeth I, the last of the Tudors, in 1603, politicians arranged for James VI of Scotland to succeed her, to strengthen the position of England/Scotland in the European sphere of influence. James was the cousin of Elizabeth, and a legitimate successor to the throne after the marriage of James IV to Margaret, daughter of Henry VII brought the Stuarts into the Tudor/English line of succession.

James also was a believer in the absolute Monarchy, or Divine Right of Kings, and found himself at odds with the English Parliament, who had grown used to being consulted during the Tudor reign. This eventually led to the execution of Charles I and the interregnum from 1649-1660, with Cromwell taking the role of Lord Protector. In 1660, against all odds, the Monarchy was reinstated, with Charles II as King.

A note on the spelling of Stuart/Stewart. In 1714, Mary, Queen of Scots changed the spelling from Stewart to Stuart. She had been in exile in France, and “W” was not in the French spelling, so she adopted the Stuart spelling to ensure the correct pronunciation.

Until the Acts of Union in 1707, England and Scotland were sovereign states, united only in foreign policy and a common Monarch with two crowns (Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland). In 1707, with the Acts of Union, they became merged in to the common Kingdom of Great Britain.