All Scottish monarchs held the title King of Scots or Queen of Scots, with the exception of the last three: Mary II, William III and Anne I used the style "of Scotland" rather than "of Scots".
Royal titles are complicated because in some cases names of kingdoms are used that did not officially come into existence until later, or came into existence earlier without immediate adoption of the royal title. * For example, in October 1604, one year after James VI of Scotland had become King of England, he decreed that the Royal Title would use the term Great Brittaine to refer to the "one Imperiall Crowne" made up of England and Scotland[1]. However using that title is problematic because the 'state' of Great Britain was not created until the Act of Union 1707. Nor was the united crown generally referred to as 'imperial'. To avoid confusion, historians in general thus refer to all monarchs up to 1707 as monarchs of England and Scotland. Thus James II of England was also James VII of Scotland; and William III of England was also William II of Scotland. Many English and British monarchs also claimed France as part of their official title, though this had no reality in substance. After the Union, the ordinal has been the English number (for "George", "Edward" and "Elizabeth") and, until recently, there was no formal rule (see List of regnal numerals of future British monarchs). * In different documents, the terms Kingdom of Great Britain and United Kingdom of Great Britain feature, even documents as official as the Act of Union 1707. Most historians presume the United was meant to be descriptive, indicating a union as a form of unity by marriage rather than coercion. For clarity and because the United is far more strongly associated with the later name United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland produced in the Act of Union 1800, the 1707 Kingdom is generally referred to as the Kingdom of Great Britain. * Similarly, though the Irish Free State ceased to be part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1922, neither the full name of the United Kingdom nor the royal title were changed until the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927. In this instance historians generally retrospectively date the coming into being of the modern United Kingdom to December 1922, even though in this case the formal change did not occur for another five years.
The list of monarchs below cannot be exhaustive. Succession to the many thrones often did not pass smoothly from parent to child; lack of heirs, civil wars, murders and invasions affected the inheritance in ways that a simple list does not show.The relationships that formed the basis for claims to throne are noted where we know them, and the dates of reign indicated.
The Danish Kings Both the Saxon and Danish royal houses claimed the English throne, 1013 to 1016. Denmark and England had the same king from 1016 to 1042.
Monarchs of England and Ireland In 1199, John, already Lord of Ireland, inherited the English throne. The title "Lord of Ireland" was used until it was replaced by "King of Ireland" in 1542.
The House of Stuart Engaged to the Dauphin at age five, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots was thus brought up in the French court where she became "Marie Stuart, Reine de l'Écosse," etc., to render the sound of 'Stewart' into French as accurately as possible. Mary kept the French spelling on her return to Scotland in 1560.
Monarchs of England, Scotland and Ireland In 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne upon the death of Elizabeth I. From then until 1707, England, Scotland and Ireland had shared monarchs.
The House of Hanover Under the Act of Settlement 1701, the English (thus, the successor British) throne could only be held by a Protestant. Sophia of Hanover, the nearest such relative, thus became statutorily designated as the next heir. She died shortly before Anne, and her place was taken by her son, who thus founded the House of Hanover (aka Guelph and Brunswick).
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland In 1922, the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom. The name of the Kingdom was amended in 1927 to reflect the change.
