Daniel Pradilla
☰

The Braided Crowns of Europe

1519 CE

Jump to

Connection symbols sit below a country involved. Hover or focus for the countries and dates; click for details. Click a region heading to fold its rows.

Time runs down the page; swipe sideways for more monarchies. Tap any mark for details.

Bars Period of monarchy Ruling house, named on the bar (colours repeat, even side by side; read the name or select the bar)
Lines Shared rule (sometimes interrupted) Union or continuation Division, conquest or end
Symbols Union State union Continuity Partition Conquest or dissolution Restoration Reorganization
Reigns Ruler, with a line spanning the reign Major ruler, labelled Monarchy that still exists

Bars show periods of monarchy, colours show ruling houses, and dots show rulers.

Reading guide

How to read this timeline

Each row is one monarchy, and time runs left to right. Here is one real stretch of the chart: Scotland and England from 1590 to 1735.

Example: Scotland, England and Great Britain, 1590 to 1735 Three rows. A union symbol in 1603 links Scotland and England when James VI of Scotland also becomes James I of England; each kingdom keeps its own bar. Both bars break in the 1650s, and a second union symbol marks the shared crown restored in 1660. A plus symbol in 1707 joins both to a new Great Britain row, where the Stuart and Hanover bands share one colour. A blue year line sits on 1707. The numbered steps after the figure explain each mark. 1600 1650 Scotland Stuart Stuart England Tudor Stuart Stuart Great Britain Hanover James VI and I James VI and I Anne 1707 CE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Cut from the full chart: bars that touch the frame carry on beyond it. Only the three rows involved are drawn; Ireland, also part of both shared crowns, is left out.

  1. Grey bar: the monarchy exists. A break means no king or queen: England 1649–1660, Scotland 1651–1660.

  2. Coloured band: the ruling house, named on the band. In England, Tudor gives way to Stuart in 1603.

  3. Colours repeat. Stuart and Hanover share this blue in Great Britain. Read the name, or select the band when it is too short to carry one, like Stuart here. Colour says nothing about power or size.

  4. Dot: one ruler, placed mid-reign; the thin line spans the reign. Blue, named dots are major rulers. This one is James’s English reign, 1603–1625.

  5. Union, 1603. James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. One king, two kingdoms: each kept its own parliament and laws, so each keeps its own row and its own dot for him. The second union symbol marks the shared crown restored in 1660.

  6. State union, 1707. England and Scotland end and Great Britain begins on a new row. Lines run from each symbol to every kingdom involved.

  7. Blue year line: the year set by the “Europe in” slider. Dates are whole years. At this boundary both rows include 1707, because the change happened within that year; it does not mean England and Great Britain existed at the same instant.

Using the chart

Select
Click or tap any bar, band, dot or symbol for its dates, details and sources. With a mouse or keyboard, hover over or focus a symbol for a quick summary.
On a phone
Time runs down the page and each monarchy is a column. Swipe sideways for more.
Lines
Dashed: a shared ruler or looser union, sometimes interrupted. Solid: a state union, continuity or reorganization. Dotted: a division, conquest or end. Dash-dot: a restoration.

Other symbols

  • Continuity The crown carries on in a successor realm.
  • Partition A realm is divided.
  • Conquest or dissolution A realm is taken over or comes to an end.
  • Restoration A monarchy returns.
  • Reorganization A crown changes its rank or legal form.