A Biography of Shakespeare | Elizabethan England | Timeline of Kings

Starting with the earliest King Shakespeare wrote about, King John, we have a timeline of kings that go through the latest he wrote about, Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth's father.

JOHN
Reigned:1199-1216
Born:Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England (1167)
Died: Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England (1216)
Father: Henry II, King of England
Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine
Buried: Worcester Cathedral
Alias: John Lackland

HENRY III
Reigned:1216-1272
Born:Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England (1207)
Died: Westminster Palace, London, England (1272)
Father: John, King of England
Mother: Taillefer, Isabella of Angouleme, Queen of England
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England

EDWARD I
Reigned: 1272-1307
Born: Westminster Palace, London, England (1239)
Died: Burgh-On-Sands, Cumberland, England (1307)
Father: Henry III, King of England
Mother: Berenger, Eleanor of Provence
Alias: Edward Longshanks
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England

EDWARD II
Reigned: 1307-1327
Born: Caernarvon Castle, Wales (1284)
Died: Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England (1327)
Father: Edward I, King of England
Mother: Eleanor of Castile
Alias: Edward Caernarvon
Buried: Gloucester Cathedral

EDWARD III
Reigned: 1327-1377
Born: Windsor Castle, Windsor, England (1312)
Died: Sheen Palace, Surrey (1377)
Father: Edward II, King of England
Mother: Isabella of France
Son: John of Gaunt
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England

RICHARD II
Reigned: 1377-1399 (deposed)
Born: Bordeaux, Gascony, France (1367)
Executed: Pontefract Castle, Yorkshire, England (1400)
Father: Edward (the Black Prince), Prince of Wales
Mother: Plantagenet, Joan, Countess of Kent
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England (1413)

HENRY IV
Reigned: 1399-1413
Born: Bolingbrooke Castle, Lincolnshire, England (1366)
Died: Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster Abbey, London, England (1413)
Father: Plantagenet, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
Mother: Plantagenet, Blanche of Lancaster, Countess of Derby
Alias: Henry Bolingbroke
Buried: Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England

HENRY V
Reigned: 1413-1422
Born: Monmouth Castle, Wales (1387)
Died: Bois de Vincennes, France (1422)
Father: Plantagenet, Henry IV, King of England
Mother: Mary de Bohun
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England

HENRY VI
Reigned: 1422-1461 (deposed)
Born: Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England (1421)
Murdered: Tower of London, London, England (1471)
Father: Plantegenet, Henry V, King of England
Mother: Catherine de Valois of France
Buried: St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England (1485)

EDWARD IV Reigned: 1461-70, 1471-1483
Born: Rouen, France (1442)
Died: Westminster Palace, London, England (1483)
Father: Plantagenet, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
Mother: Lady Cicely Neville
Buried: St George's Chapel, Windsor England

EDWARD V Reigned: 1483-1483 (deposed after reigning seventy-seven days)
Born: Westminster Abbey, England (1470)
Murdered: Tower of London, London, England (1483)
Father: Plantagenet, Edward IV, King of England
Mother: Elizabeth Woodville
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London, England (1678)

RICHARD III
Reigned: 1483-1485
Born: Fotheringhay Castle, Northants, England (1452)
Died: Battle of Bosworth, Leicestershire (1485)
Father: Plantagenet, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
Mother: Lady Cicely Neville
Buried:Grey Friars Abbey, Leicester

HENRY VII
Reigned: 1485-1509
Born: Pembroke Castle, Wales (1457)
Died: Richmond Palace, Richmond, Surrey, England (1509)
Father: Tudor, Edmund, Earl of Richmond
Mother: Margaret Beaufort of Richmond, Countess of Richmond
Buried: Westminster Abbey, London

HENRY VIII
Reigned: 1509-1547
Born: Greenwich Palace, London, England (1457)
Died: Whitehall Palace, London, England (1547)
Father: Tudor, Henry VII, King of England
Mother: Plantagenet, Elizabeth of York
Buried: St.George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England

(Source: Shakespeare's Kings and Queens: A Timeline)