List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death
Monarchs of the British Isles are listed here, grouped by the type of death and then ordered by the date of death. The monarchical status of some people is disputed, but they have been included here for completeness.
Natural causes
[edit]Those monarchs that are assumed to have died through natural causes (through disease).
| Name | House | Born | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth I | House of Alpin (Scotland) | after 800 | 843–858 | 13 February 858 | Tumour |
| Constantine II | before 879 | 900–943 | 952 | ||
| Eadred | West Saxons (England) | c. 923 | 946–955 | 23 November 955 | |
| Edgar the Peaceable | c. 943 | 959–975 | 8 July 975 | ||
| Ethelred the Unready | c. 968 | 978–1013 1014–1016 |
23 April 1016 | ||
| Edmund Ironside | c. 988/993 | 1016 | 30 November 1016 | ||
| Sweyn Forkbeard | Danish Kings (England) | ??? | 1013–1014 | 3 February 1014 | |
| Malcolm II | House of Alpin (Scotland) | c. 980 | 1005–1034 | 25 November 1034 | |
| Canute | Danish Kings (England) | c. 995 | 1016–1035 | 12 November 1035 | |
| Harold Harefoot | c. 1015 | 1035–1040 | 17 March 1040 | ||
| Harthacanute | 1018 | 1040–1042 | 8 June 1042 | ||
| St Edward the Confessor | West Saxon Restoration (England) | c. 1004 | 1042–1066 | 4 January 1066 | |
| Edgar | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | 1074 | 1097–1107 | 8 January 1107 | [1] |
| Alexander I | c. 1078 | 1107–1124 | 23 April 1124 | ||
| Edgar the Atheling | West Saxon Restoration (England) | c. 1051 | 1066 | c. 1126 | Proclaimed by surviving English nobles, clerics and magnates, but never crowned, as the Normans approached after Hastings. |
| Henry I | The Normans (England) | c. 1068 | 1100–1135 | 1 December 1135 | Died of food poisoning from eating "a surfeit of lampreys" |
| David I | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | 1084 | 1124–1153 | 24 May 1153 | Died of illness. |
| Stephen | House of Blois (England) | c. 1096 | 1135–1154 | 25 October 1154 | Stomach disease |
| Malcolm IV | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | 23 April/24 May 1141 | 1153–1165 | 9 December 1165 | His premature death may have been hastened by osteitis deformans.[2] |
| Matilda (Empress Maud) | Angevins or Plantagenets (England) | February 1102 | 1141 | 10 September 1167 | |
| Henry II | 5 March 1133 | 1154–1189 | 6 July 1189 | He collapsed into shock and fever and eventually died. | |
| William I | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | c. 1143 | 1165–1214 | 4 December 1214 | Natural causes |
| John "Lackland" | Monarchs of England and Ireland (England) | 24 December 1166 | 1199–1216 | 18/19 October 1216 | Retreating from the French invasion, John crossed the marshy area known as The Wash in East Anglia and eventually died from dysentery. |
| Alexander II | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | 24 August 1198 | 1214–1249 | 6 July 1249 | Died after suffering a fever at the Isle of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides |
| Henry III | Monarchs of England and Ireland (England) | 1 October 1207 | 1216–1272 | 16 November 1272 | Died of illness. |
| Margaret | House of Sverre Dunkeld (Scotland) | 9 April 1283 | 1286–1290 | 26 September 1290 | Food poisoning and sea sickness. |
| Edward I "Longshanks" | House of Plantagenet (England) | 17/18 June 1239 | 1272–1307 | 7 July 1307 | Dysentery (confirmed); cancer (possible) |
| John | House of Balliol (Scotland) | c. 1249 | 1292–1296 | c. November 1314 | Natural causes |
| Robert I | House of Bruce (Scotland) | 11 July 1274 | 1306–1329 | 7 June 1329 | Suffered for some years from what some contemporary accounts describe as an "unclean ailment"; the traditional story is that he died of leprosy, but this is disputed. Other suggestions include syphilis, psoriasis, and a series of strokes. |
| Edward Balliol | House of Balliol (Scotland) | c. 1283 | 1332–1336 | c. 1364 | Natural causes |
| David II | House of Bruce (Scotland) | 5 March 1324 | 1329–1371 | 22 February 1371 | Natural causes |
| Edward III | Monarchs of England and Ireland (England) | 13 November 1312 | 1327–1377 | 21 June 1377 | Died of a stroke |
| Robert II | House of Stuart (Scotland) | 2 March 1316 | 1371–1390 | 19 April 1390 | Died of old age aged 74. |
| Robert III | c. 1340 | 1390–1406 | 4 April 1406 | Death said to have been caused by the shock of hearing that his son James (later King James I of Scotland) had been captured by the English. | |
| Henry IV | House of Lancaster (England) | 15 April 1367 | 1399–1413 | 20 March 1413 | Several years of ill health- some type of visible skin ailment. Leprosy is also rumoured to have been possible. |
| Henry V | 16 September 1386 | 1413–1422 | 31 August 1422 | Natural causes, probably dysentery | |
| Edward IV | House of York (England) | 28 April 1442 | 1461–1470 1471–1483 |
9 April 1483 | Unclear, possibly apoplexy brought on by excess. |
| Henry VII | House of Tudor (England) | 28 January 1457 | 1485–1509 | 21 April 1509 | Tuberculosis |
| James V | House of Stuart (Scotland) | 10 April 1512 | 1513–1542 | 14 December 1542 | Died of ill health shortly after the Battle of Solway Moss |
| Henry VIII | House of Tudor (England) | 28 June 1491 | 1509–1547 | 28 January 1547 | Suffered from gout and obesity. Obesity dates from a jousting accident in 1536 in which he suffered a leg wound. This prevented him from exercising and gradually became ulcerated. Also possibly suffered from syphilis and/or diabetes |
| Edward VI | 12 October 1537 | 1547–1553 | 6 July 1553 | Tuberculosis, arsenic poisoning, or congenital syphilis? | |
| Mary I | 18 February 1516 | 1553–1558 | 17 November 1558 | Possibly ovarian cancer | |
| Philip | House of Habsburg (England) | 21 May 1527 | 1554–1558 | 13 September 1598 | Cancer |
| Elizabeth I | House of Tudor (England) | 7 September 1533 | 1558–1603 | 24 March 1603 | Suffered from frailty and insomnia |
| James VI & I | House of Stuart | 19 June 1566 | 1567–1625 | 27 March 1625 | Suffered from senility and died of 'tertian ague', probably brought on by kidney failure and a stroke |
| Oliver Cromwell | (Interregnum) | 25 April 1599 | 1653-1658 | 3 September 1658 | Struck by a sudden bout of malarial fever, followed directly by an attack of urinary/kidney symptoms. |
| Charles II | House of Stuart | 29 May 1630 | 1660–1685 England 1649–1651 and 1660–1685 Scotland (1649–1685 de jure) |
6 February 1685 | Died suddenly of uremia |
| James II & VII | 14 October 1633 | 1685–1688 | 16 September 1701 | Stroke | |
| Mary II | 30 April 1662 | 1689–1694 | 28 December 1694 | Died of smallpox at Kensington Palace | |
| Richard Cromwell | (Interregnum) | 4 October 1626 | 1658-1659 | 12 July 1712 | At 85 years, the longest-lived British head of state until Elizabeth II. |
| Anne | House of Stuart | 6 February 1665 | 1702–1714 | 1 August 1714 | Died of suppressed gout, ending in erysipelas, an abscess and fever. Her 17 ill-fated pregnancies perhaps ravaged her body. |
| George I | House of Hanover | 28 May 1660 | 1714–1727 | 11 June 1727 | Stroke |
| George II | 10 November 1683 | 1727–1760 | 25 October 1760 | Aortic dissection while on the toilet | |
| George III | 4 June 1738 | 1760–1820 | 29 January 1820 | Porphyria (disputed), a genetic disorder. Suffered bouts of mental illness from 1788 onwards. | |
| George IV | 12 August 1762 | 1820–1830 | 26 June 1830 | Upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by the rupture of gastric varices. Developed cataracts, alcoholism, opioid dependence, obesity, gout, oedema, arteriosclerosis and possibly porphyria and cancer. | |
| William IV | 21 August 1765 | 1830–1837 | 20 June 1837 | Congestive heart failure and bronchopneumonia. | |
| Victoria | 24 May 1819 | 1837–1901 | 22 January 1901 | Old age and heart failure | |
| Edward VII | House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha | 9 November 1841 | 1901–1910 | 6 May 1910 | Bed-ridden by bronchitis; died of a myocardial infarction |
| George VI | House of Windsor | 14 December 1895 | 1936–1952 | 6 February 1952 | Had lung cancer and arteriosclerosis due to heavy cigarette smoking; died in his sleep of a coronary thrombosis |
| Edward VIII | 23 June 1894 | 1936 | 28 May 1972 | Throat cancer | |
| Elizabeth II | 21 April 1926 | 1952–2022 | 8 September 2022 | Old age; died in Balmoral Castle, Scotland |
Killed
[edit]In battle
[edit]Those that died in battle either as the antagonist or otherwise.
| Name | House | Born | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constantine I | House of Alpin (Scotland) | unknown | 862–877 | 877 | Killed fighting the Viking army |
| Edward the Elder | West Saxons (England) | c. 874–877 | 899–924 | 17 July 924 | Died leading an army against a Cambro-Mercian rebellion at Farndon-Upon-Dee |
| Malcolm I | House of Alpin (Scotland) | before 900 | 943–954 | 954 | The Annals of Ulster merely note that he was killed in 954. Other sources place his death in Kincardineshire or at Blervie Castle.[3] |
| Indulf | 954–962 | 962 | Killed fighting Vikings near Cullen | ||
| Constantine III | before 971 | 995–997 | 997 | Killed in battle against other Scots near the River Almond (either in Perthshire or Lothian). | |
| Kenneth III | before 967 | 997–1005 | 1005 | Killed in battle at Strathearn by Malcolm II | |
| Duncan I | unknown | 1034–1040 | 15 August 1040 | Killed by his own men led by Macbeth at Pitgaveny near Elgin | |
| Macbeth | c. 1005 | 1040–1057 | 15 August 1057 | Defeated and mortally wounded by Máel Coluim mac Donnchada at the Battle of Lumphanan, dying at Scone. | |
| Harold Godwinson | West Saxon Restoration (England) | c. 1022 | 1066 | 14 October 1066 | Killed at the Battle of Hastings |
| William I, the Conqueror | The Normans (England) | c. 1028 | 1066–1087 | 9 September 1087 | Died at the Convent of St Gervais, near Rouen, France, from abdominal injuries received from his saddle pommel when he fell off a horse at the Siege of Mantes. |
| Malcolm III | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | c. 1031 | 1058–1093 | 13 November 1093 | Ambushed by Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, near Alnwick |
| Richard I, the Lionheart | Angevins or Plantagenets (England) | 8 September 1157 | 1189–1199 | 6 April 1199 | Died during a siege of the castle of Châlus-Charbrol in Limousin, France, facing a rebellion by the Viscount of Limoges and his half-brother, the Count of Angoulême |
| James II | House of Stuart (Scotland) | 16 October 1430 | 1437–1460 | 3 August 1460 | An early-adopter of artillery, James was killed when a cannon exploded while attacking one of the last Scottish castles still held by the English after the Wars of Independence. |
| Richard III | House of York (England) | 2 October 1452 | 1483–1485 | 22 August 1485 | Killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Last English king to be killed in battle. |
| James III | House of Stuart (Scotland) | 10 July 1451/May 1452 | 1460–1488 | 11 June 1488 | Killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn while fighting an army raised by disaffected nobles, former councillors, and his son, the future James IV of Scotland. |
| James IV | House of Stuart (Scotland) | 17 March 1473 | 1488–1513 | 9 September 1513 | Killed at the Battle of Flodden while attacking the English |
Murdered, assassinated, executed or euthanised
[edit]Those that were murdered, assassinated, executed away from the battlefield, or euthanised by their doctors.
| Name | House | Born | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Áed | House of Alpin (Scotland) | unknown | 877–878 | 878 | Killed by his successor, Giric |
| Edmund I | West Saxons (England) | c. 921 | 939–946 | 26 May 946 | Murdered at a party in Pucklechurch by Leofa, an exiled thief |
| Dub | House of Alpin (Scotland) | 962–966 | 967 | Killed in internal strife by Cuilén, possibly at Forres. | |
| Cuilén | 966–971 | 971 | Killed in Lothian when the hall he was in was burnt to the ground | ||
| Amlaíb | ?–977 | 977 | Killed by Kenneth II | ||
| St Edward the Martyr | West Saxons (England) | c. 962 | 975–978 | 18 March 978 | Killed at Corfe Castle by his stepmother Ælfthryth or one of her party. Canonised as Saint Edward the Martyr in 1001. |
| Kenneth II | House of Alpin (Scotland) | 971–? 977–995 |
995 | Assassinated; tradition states that he was killed at Fettercairn at the instigation of Fionnguala, daughter of Cuncar of Angus. | |
| Lulach | before 1033 | 1057–1058 | 17 March 1058 | Assassinated and succeeded by Malcolm III | |
| Duncan II | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | before 1069 | 1094 | 12 November 1094 | Killed by Máel Petair of Mearns |
| Edward II | Monarchs of England and Ireland (England) | 25 April 1284 | 1307–1327 | 21 September 1327 | Supposedly murdered in Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire after a metal tube (or, in some versions, a sawn-off ram's horn) and a red-hot poker were inserted into his anus. Allegedly by Sir John Maltravers of Dorset. No contemporary account survives to this effect, which is probably a later interpolation |
| James I | House of Stuart (Scotland) | c. 25 July 1394 | 1406–1437 | 21 February 1437 | A group of Scots led by Sir Robert Graham assassinated James at the Friars Preachers Monastery in Perth. He attempted to escape his assailants through a sewer but, three days earlier, he had had the other end of the drain blocked up because of its connection to the tennis court outside. |
| Henry VI | House of Lancaster (England) | 6 December 1421 | 1422–1461 1470–1471 |
21 May 1471 | Imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was murdered |
| Jane | House of Tudor (England) | c. October 1537 | 1553 | 12 February 1554 | Executed (beheaded) |
| Mary I | House of Stuart (Scotland) | 8 December 1542 | 1542–1567 | 8 February 1587 | Convicted of treason against the English Crown and beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire |
| Charles I | 19 November 1600 | 1625–1649 | 30 January 1649 | Found guilty of high treason by 59 commissioners after the Second English Civil War and was beheaded | |
| George V | House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha House of Windsor |
3 June 1865 | 1910–1936 | 20 January 1936 | Drug overdose (Euthanasia lethal injection administered by his doctor) |
Other
[edit]| Name | House | Born | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard II | Angevins or Plantagenets (England) | 6 January 1367 | 1377–1399 | c. 14 February 1400 | Placed in Pontefract Castle, and probably murdered (or starved to death) there. |
| Edward V | House of York (England) | 4 November 1470 | 1483 | c. 1483 | Imprisoned in the Tower of London along with his younger brother Richard, Duke of York; the date and cause of death of both Princes in the Tower remain unknown. |
Accidental death
[edit]| Name | House | Born | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William II, Rufus | The Normans (England) | c. 1056 | 1087–1100 | 2 August 1100 | Killed by an arrow through the heart during a hunting trip |
| Alexander III | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | 4 September 1241 | 1249–1286 | 19 March 1286 | Fell from his horse in the dark while riding to visit the queen at Kinghorn in Fife. He had been separated from his guides and it is assumed that in the dark his horse lost its footing. |
| William III & II | House of Orange | 14 November 1650 | 1689–1702 | 8 March 1702 | Died of pneumonia, a complication from a broken collarbone resulting from a fall off his horse. He was asthmatic. |
Unknown
[edit]| Name | House | Born | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald I | House of Alpin (Scotland) | unknown | 858–862 | 13 April 862 | According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, died "at the palace of Cinnbelathoir", possibly near or at Scone, probably from natural causes |
| Eochaid | 878–889 | An obscure figure who disappears from historical records after 889. | |||
| Giric | |||||
| Alfred the Great | West Saxons (England) | c. 849 | 871–899 | 26 October 899 | Married to Ealhswith in 868.Father of Edward the Elder |
| Donald II | House of Alpin (Scotland) | 889–900 | According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba killed in battle against Vikings at Dunnottar | ||
| Ælfweard | West Saxons (England) | 924 | 2 August 924 | Apparently natural causes | |
| Athelstan | c. 895 | 924–939 | 27 October 939 | Died at Gloucester, apparently natural causes | |
| Edwy the Fair | c. 941 | 955–959 | 1 October 959 | Presumed to be natural causes | |
| Donald III | House of Dunkeld (Scotland) | before 1040 | 1093–1094 1094–1097 |
1097 or after | William of Malmesbury states that he was "slain by the craftiness of David ... and by the strength of William [Rufus]".[4] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says of Domnall that he was expelled,[4] while the Annals of Tigernach have him blinded by his brother, for which we should read nephew.[5] John of Fordun, following the king-lists, writes that Domnall was "blinded, and doomed to eternal imprisonment" by Edgar, omitting that the place of his imprisonment was said to be Rescobie, by Forfar, in Angus.[6] |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Duncan, p. 60
- ^ Duncan, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. Pages 252–4. ISBN 1-871615-03-8
- ^ a b Scottish Annals, p. 119.
- ^ Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 1097.
- ^ Fordun, V, xxvi; Duncan, pp. 57–58; Oram, David I, pp. 47–48.
References
[edit]- Anderson, Alan Orr, Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers A.D. 500–1286. D. Nutt, London, 1908.
- Duncan, A.A.M., The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8
- John of Fordun, Chronicle of the Scottish Nation, ed. William Forbes Skene, tr. Felix J.H. Skene, 2 vols. Reprinted, Llanerch Press, Lampeter, 1993. ISBN 1-897853-05-X
- McDonald, R. Andrew, Outlaws of Medieval Scotland: Challenges to the Canmore Kings, 1058–1266. Tuckwell Press, East Linton, 2003. ISBN 1-86232-236-8