List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death

Last updated

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.

Contents

Natural causes

Monarchs assumed to have died through natural causes (through disease)
NameHouseBornReignDeathNotes
Kenneth I MacAlpin House of Alpin (Scotland)810843–85813 February 858 (aged 47) Tumour
Constantine II before 879900–943952 (aged 73-74)
Eadred West Saxons (England)c. 923946–95523 November 955 (aged c. 32)
Edgar the Peaceable c. 943959–9758 July 975 (aged 31/32)
Ethelred II the Unready c. 968978–1013
1014–1016
23 April 1016 (aged ~50)
Edmund II Ironside c. 988/993101630 November 1016 (aged 25-26)
Sweyn Forkbeard Danish Kings (England)17 April 9631013–10143 February 1014 (aged 50)
Malcolm II House of Alpin (Scotland)c. 9801005–103425 November 1034 (aged 79/80)
Cnut the Great Danish Kings (England)c. 9951016–103512 November 1035 (aged ~45)
Harold I Harefoot c. 10151035–104017 March 1040
Harthacnut 10181040–10428 June 1042 (aged 23-24)
St Edward the Confessor West Saxon Restoration (England)c. 10041042–10664 January 1066 (aged 60-63)
Edgar House of Dunkeld (Scotland)10741097–11078 January 1107 [1]
Alexander I c. 10781107–112423 April 1124 (aged 45)
Edgar the Atheling West Saxon Restoration (England)c. 10511066c. 1126Proclaimed by surviving English nobles, clerics and magnates, but never crowned, as the Normans approached after Hastings.
Henry I The Normans (England)c. September 10681100–11351 December 1135 (aged ~67)Died of food poisoning from eating "a surfeit of lampreys"
David I House of Dunkeld (Scotland)10841124–115324 May 1153 (aged 68-69)Died of illness.
Stephen of Blois House of Blois (England)c. 10961135–115425 October 1154 (aged ~58) Stomach disease
Malcolm IV House of Dunkeld (Scotland)23 April/24 May 11411153–11659 December 1165 (aged 24)His premature death may have been hastened by osteitis deformans. [2]
Matilda (Empress Maud) Angevins or Plantagenets (England)February 1102114110 September 1167 (aged 65)
Henry II 5 March 11331154–11896 July 1189 (aged 56)He collapsed into shock and fever and eventually died.
William I House of Dunkeld (Scotland)c. 11431165–12144 December 1214 (aged 71-72)Natural causes
John "Lackland"Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)24 December 11661199–121619 October 1216 (aged 49)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 11981214–12496 July 1249 (aged 50)Died after suffering a fever on the Isle of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides.
Henry III Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)1 October 12071216–127216 November 1272 (aged 65)Died of illness.
Margaret House of Sverre Dunkeld (Scotland)9 April 12831286–129026 September 1290 (aged 7) Food poisoning and sea sickness.
Edward I "Longshanks"House of Plantagenet (England)17 June 12391272–13077 July 1307 (aged 68) Dysentery (confirmed); cancer (possible)
John Balliol House of Balliol (Scotland)c. 12491292–1296c. November 1314 (aged ~65)Natural causes
Robert I the Bruce House of Bruce (Scotland)11 July 12741306–13297 June 1329 (aged 54)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. 12831332–1336c. 1364 (aged ~81)Natural causes
David II House of Bruce (Scotland)5 March 13241329–137122 February 1371 (aged 46)Natural causes
Edward III Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)13 November 13121327–137721 June 1377 (aged 64)Died of a stroke
Robert II House of Stuart (Scotland)2 March 13161371–139019 April 1390 (aged 74)Died of old age.
Robert III c. 13401390–14064 April 1406 (aged 68-69)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)c. April 13671399–141320 March 1413 (aged 45)Several years of ill health: some type of visible skin ailment. Leprosy is also rumoured to have been possible.
Henry V 16 September 13861413–142231 August 1422 (aged 35)Natural causes, probably dysentery
Edward IV House of York (England)28 April 14421461–1470
1471–1483
9 April 1483 (aged 40)Unclear, possibly apoplexy brought on by excess.
Henry VII House of Tudor (England)28 January 14571485–150921 April 1509 (aged 52) Tuberculosis
James V House of Stuart (Scotland)10 April 15121513–154214 December 1542 (aged 30)Died of ill health shortly after the Battle of Solway Moss
Henry VIII House of Tudor (England)28 June 14911509–154728 January 1547 (aged 55)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 15371547–15536 July 1553 (aged 15) Tuberculosis, arsenic poisoning, or congenital syphilis?
Mary I 18 February 15161553–155817 November 1558 (aged 42)Possibly ovarian cancer
Philip House of Habsburg (England)21 May 15271554–155813 September 1598 (aged 71) Cancer
Elizabeth I House of Tudor (England)7 September 15331558–160324 March 1603 (aged 69)Suffered from frailty and insomnia
James VI and I House of Stuart19 June 15661567–1625 (Scotland)
1603-1625 (England)
27 March 1625 (aged 58)Suffered from senility and died of 'tertian ague', probably brought on by kidney failure and a stroke
Oliver Cromwell (Interregnum)25 April 15991653-16583 September 1658 (aged 59)Struck by a sudden bout of malarial fever, followed directly by an attack of urinary/kidney symptoms.
Charles II House of Stuart29 May 16301660–1685 England
1649–1651 and 1660–1685 Scotland
(1649–1685 de jure )
6 February 1685 (aged 54)Died suddenly of uremia
James II and VII 14 October 16331685–168816 September 1701 (aged 67) Stroke
Mary II 30 April 16621689–169428 December 1694 (aged 32)Died of smallpox at Kensington Palace
Richard Cromwell (Interregnum)4 October 16261658-165912 July 1712 (aged 85)The longest-lived British head of state until Elizabeth II.
Anne House of Stuart6 February 16651702–17141 August 1714 (aged 49)Died of suppressed gout, ending in erysipelas, an abscess and fever. Her 17 ill-fated pregnancies perhaps ravaged her body.
George I House of Hanover28 May 16601714–172711 June 1727 (aged 67) Stroke
George II 30 October 16831727–176025 October 1760 (aged 76) Aortic dissection while on the toilet
George III 4 June 17381760–182029 January 1820 (aged 81) Porphyria (disputed), a genetic disorder. Suffered bouts of mental illness from 1788 onwards.
George IV 12 August 17621820–183026 June 1830 (aged 67) 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 17651830–183720 June 1837 (aged 71) Congestive heart failure and bronchopneumonia.
Victoria 24 May 18191837–190122 January 1901 (aged 81) Old age and heart failure
Edward VII House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha9 November 18411901–19106 May 1910 (aged 68)Bed-ridden by bronchitis; died of a myocardial infarction
George VI House of Windsor14 December 18951936–19526 February 1952 (aged 56)Had lung cancer and arteriosclerosis due to heavy cigarette smoking; died in his sleep of a coronary thrombosis
Edward VIII 23 June 1894193628 May 1972 (aged 77) Throat cancer
Elizabeth II 21 April 19261952–20228 September 2022 (aged 96) Old age; died in Balmoral Castle, Scotland

Killed

In battle

Monarchs who died in battle, either as the antagonist or otherwise
NameHouseBornReignDeathNotes
Constantine I House of Alpin (Scotland)unknown862–877877Killed fighting the Viking army
Edward the Elder West Saxons (England)c. 874–877899–92417 July 924Died leading an army against a Cambro-Mercian rebellion at Farndon-Upon-Dee
Malcolm I House of Alpin (Scotland)before 900943–954954The Annals of Ulster merely note that he was killed in 954. Other sources place his death in Kincardineshire or at Blervie Castle. [3]
Indulf 954–962962Killed fighting Vikings near Cullen
Constantine III before 971995–997997Killed in battle against other Scots near the River Almond (either in Perthshire or in Lothian).
Kenneth III before 967997–10051005 (aged 38-39)Killed in battle at Strathearn by Malcolm II
Duncan I unknown1034–104015 August 1040 (aged ~38)Killed by his own men led by Macbeth at Pitgaveny near Elgin
Macbeth c. 10051040–105715 August 1057 (~52)Defeated and mortally wounded by Máel Coluim mac Donnchada at the Battle of Lumphanan, dying at Scone.
Harold II Godwinson West Saxon Restoration (England)c. 1022106614 October 1066 (aged ~44)Killed at the Battle of Hastings
William I, the Conqueror The Normans (England)c. 10281066–10879 September 1087 (aged ~59)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. 10311058–109313 November 1093 (aged ~62)Ambushed by Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, near Alnwick
Richard I, the Lionheart Angevins or Plantagenets (England)8 September 11571189–11996 April 1199 (aged 41)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 14301437–14603 August 1460 (aged 29)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 14521483–148522 August 1485 (aged 32)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 14521460–148811 June 1488 (aged 36)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 14731488–15139 September 1513 (aged 40)Killed at the Battle of Flodden while attacking the English

Murdered, assassinated, executed or euthanised

Monarchs who were murdered, assassinated, executed away from the battlefield, or euthanised by their doctors
NameHouseBornReignDeathNotes
Áed House of Alpin (Scotland)unknown877–878878Killed by his successor, Giric
Edmund I West Saxons (England)c. 921939–94626 May 946 (aged 24-26)Murdered at a party in Pucklechurch by Leofa, an exiled thief
Dub House of Alpin (Scotland)962–966967Killed in internal strife by Cuilén, possibly at Forres.
Cuilén 966–971971Killed in Lothian when the hall he was in was burnt to the ground
Amlaíb ?–977977Killed by Kenneth II
St Edward the Martyr West Saxons (England)c. 962975–97818 March 978 (aged ~16)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
995Assassinated; tradition states that he was killed at Fettercairn at the instigation of Fionnguala, daughter of Cuncar of Angus.
Lulach before 10331057–105817 March 1058 (aged 25/26)Assassinated and succeeded by Malcolm III
Duncan II House of Dunkeld (Scotland)before 1069109412 November 1094Killed by Máel Petair of Mearns
Edward II Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)25 April 12841307–132721 September 1327 (aged 43)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 13941406–143721 February 1437 (aged 42)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 14211422–1461
1470–1471
21 May 1471 (aged 49)Imprisoned and murdered in the Tower of London.
Jane House of Tudor (England)c. October 1537155312 February 1554 (aged 16/17)Executed (beheaded)
Mary I House of Stuart (Scotland)8 December 15421542–15678 February 1587 (aged 44)Convicted of treason against the English Crown and beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire.
Charles I 19 November 16001625–164930 January 1649 (aged 48)Found guilty of high treason by 59 commissioners after the Second English Civil War and beheaded.
George V House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
House of Windsor
3 June 18651910–193620 January 1936 (aged 70) Drug overdose (euthanasia lethal injection administered by his doctor)

Other

NameHouseBornReignDeathNotes
Richard II Angevins or Plantagenets (England)6 January 13671377–1399c. 14 February 1400 (aged 33)Placed in Pontefract Castle, and probably murdered (or starved to death) there.
Edward V House of York (England)2 November 14701483c. 1483 (aged 12)Imprisoned in the Tower of London along with his younger brother Richard of Shrewsbury. The date and cause of death of both Princes in the Tower remain unknown.

Accidental death

NameHouseBornReignDeathNotes
William II, Rufus The Normans (England)c. 10561087–11002 August 1100 (aged ~44)Killed by an arrow through the heart during a hunting trip. Widely suspected, though not proven, to be murder to benefit one of his brothers.
Alexander III House of Dunkeld (Scotland)4 September 12411249–128619 March 1286 (aged 44)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 and II House of Orange4 November 16501689–17028 March 1702 (aged 51)Died of pneumonia, a complication from a broken collarbone resulting from a fall off his horse. He was asthmatic.

Unknown

NameHouseBornReignDeathNotes
Donald I House of Alpin (Scotland)unknown858–86213 April 862According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba , died "at the palace of Cinnbelathoir", possibly near or at Scone, probably from natural causes.
Eochaid 878–889An obscure figure who disappears from historical records after 889.[ Unclear whether this description (in the singular) applies to both Eochaid and Giric. ]
Giric
Alfred the Great West Saxons (England)c. 849871–89926 October 899 (aged 50–52)Married to Ealhswith in 868. Father of Edward the Elder.
Donald II House of Alpin (Scotland)889–900According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba , killed in battle against Vikings at Dunnottar.
Ælfweard West Saxons (England)9242 August 924 (aged 21–22)Apparently natural causes
Athelstan c. 895924–93927 October 939 (aged ~45)Died at Gloucester, apparently natural causes
Edwy the Fair c. 941955–9591 October 959 (aged ~19)Presumed to be natural causes
Donald III “Donalbain” House of Dunkeld (Scotland)before 10401093–1094
1094–1097
1097 or after (aged 66–67)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

Notes

  1. Duncan, p. 60
  2. Duncan, pp. 74–75.
  3. Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 5001286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. Pages 252–4. ISBN   1-871615-03-8
  4. 1 2 Scottish Annals, p. 119.
  5. Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 1097.
  6. Fordun, V, xxvi; Duncan, pp. 57–58; Oram, David I, pp. 47–48.

References