Who was the worst British monarch and why?

Question

Edward 2nd, Henry 6th, Mary, Edward 8th or another?

(or english monarch i should say)

Answer 1

King George III
Many British didn't believe in a war with the American colonies; it had a tremendous price tag for England and it was all for naught.

George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom and much of the rest of Europe. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in North America and India in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in those regions. However, many of its American colonies were soon lost in the American Revolutionary War, which led to the independence of the United States. Later, the kingdom became involved in a series of wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France, which finally concluded in the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. In addition, during George's reign the realms of Great Britain and Ireland were joined, forming the United Kingdom.

Later in his reign George III suffered from recurrent and, eventually, permanent mental illness.
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Answer 2

The last English monarch must have been Richard III in the sense that all his parents and grandparents were born in England. Since 1485, the throne has been occupied by Welsh, Scottish, Dutch and Germans. In this purist context, the worst truly English monarch was Richard Lionheart. He was hardly in the country throughout his entire life and spent most of it killing people, notably Muslims in Palestine. He may have been personally responsible for many of the attitudes and actions against Muslims that are being repeated today.

In the broader understanding of "monarch on the English throne", the worst was Charles I. He tried to reintroduce personal rule (overthrowing 400 years of parliamentary government), the divine right of kings, and the Roman Catholic religion. He made war on his own people and was the main cause of much of the trouble now in Ireland. His descendants repeatedly brought rebellion back to Britain, so that Scotland came under military rule for nearly 100 years just to keep some form of peace. He was deposed, tried, not very satisfactorily legally, and executed. A fitting end for a megalomaniac and stupid ruler.

Mind you, his son James II could also claim to be worst monarch but he didn't hold the job long enough to make a real mess of things!

Answer 3

King Stephen. He took the throne when he had no right to it and provoked a civil war lasting pretty much all his reign.

If by British monarch you also include the Scottish ones, then Robert the Bruce as he was on the English side until Edward 1st died and he had the chance to take the Scottish crown. Nowadays, he would be a self-serving career politican and not the hero Scottish people think he is. John Balliol wasn't much good either, but he was Edward 1st's puppet.

Answer 4

Ethelred II (the Unready) lost his country to the Danes, led by Sweyn Forkbeard, so he's in the running, but the Saxons did temporarily regain the country with his son, Edmond Ironside, and later with Edward the Confessor.

Harold Godwinson lost the country to a foreign invasion by the Norman William I, so he's in the running. The Saxons did not regain the throne, although there was the inevitable interbreeding between Normans and Saxons, so the degree of defeat of the Saxon culture is unclear.

John's unpopularity was such that he was forced to grant the nobles increased power under the Magna Carta.

Henry III, John's son, had much trouble with rebellious nobles, and lost further authority, which his son Edward I largely regained.

Edward II was so unpopular that he was deposed and murdered.

Richard II was overthrown by his cousin, Henry IV - perhaps murdered, and possibly not.

Henry VI was prone to frequent bouts of insanity, and the state deteriorated to the point that his distant cousin Edward IV defeated him in the War of the Roses, overthrew him, and had him murdered.

Edward V was a child, not permitted to rule and never crowned, and he died after being imprisoned by his uncle, Richard III.

Richard III was a very able man, but he was defeated and killed by Henry VII.

Edward VI was sickly and he died at only 15.

Charles I was so dismissive of Parliament, and unaware of its power, that he was deposed and beheaded after the English Civil War.

James II's attachment to Catholicism while king of a protestant land led to his deposition by his daughter and son in law.

George I's poor or nonexistant command of English made him distant from some of the affairs of government.

George II's reign saw the continued decrease of royal power.

George III's mental state was poor in the latter part of his reign, and the power of Parliament and the Prime Minister continued to increase throughout his reign.

George IV was seen as a fat, self indulgent rake, and some believed he suffered from the same mental illness as his father.

William IV's authority declined as Parliament became dominant.

Edward VIII valued his private happiness much higher than the throne, and he abdicated before he had been crowned, in order to marry Mrs. Simpson. Had he remained king, he still would have had very little authority, as government was very thoroughly in the hands of Parliament and the Prime Minister before his time.

I think I would pick Henry VI as the worst of a bad lot.

Answer 5

Edward The Confessor was the worst. For the simple reason he arranged for William The Conqueror, a foreigner, to have the English throne upon his death. The normans were a pretty brutal people who introduced serfdom to England, and ruled as a foreign elite for hundreds of years, also subjugating ireland, wales and scotland. Read The Last English King by Julian Rathbone, great novel, based on fact.

Answer 6

George W. Bush - the worst British monarch to ever rule America

Answer 7

King John. There is a reason why there has neve been a John II. He is the reason the Magna Carta was created in 1215 which laid out the rules by which a King must follow. Up until that point Kings were never told what they could and coudnt do but apparently his actions were so horrid guidlines had to be created. He later broke nearly every rule and left the country in an uproar. There are multiple other reasons why he was widely disliked but that is the main one.

Answer 8

Edward 8Th, bad managing economic depression

Answer 9

This is a good question. My answer is the following of who I think is the worst:

Edward II - He didn't care for his crown or country. He only cared about his own gratification and pleasing his favorites. He completely ignored the aristocracy of England and the rules they were meant to follow. He listened to his favorites advice on this and on military affairs this led to the loss at Bannockburn (this incidentally did not lead to independence as Braveheart makes out. The Scots achieved independence through Roger Mortimer's treachery as Dictator of England 13 years later).

The guy was useless.

Answer 10

The worst British monarch was Ethelred The Unready.

Not an American here. I have to say how much I admire Henry VIII for splitting with the corrupt and dictatorial roman catholic church, and bringing about the Church of England. We owe our progress as human beings to the separation of the church and State, and not following the dictates of some "flawed and mortal man" who claimed to represent "god" in his city/state in Rome.

Answer 11

There are so many so I shall just list my main hates.
William the Conquerer.
Edward ll
Richard l
King John
Richard ll
Henry Vl
Henry Vlll
Mary l
James ll

All these monarch, in one way or another, were bad for England, whether it was by cruelty, self indulgence or sheer stupidity.