Style of the British sovereign

These styles were sometimes accompanied by extravagant epithets; for instance, Æthelstan was "King of the English, raised by the right hand of the Almighty to the Throne of the whole Kingdom of Britain".

In 1152 Henry II acquired many further French possessions through his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine; soon thereafter, he added "Duke of the Aquitanians" and "Count of the Angevins" to his style.

Edward III claimed the French throne, arguing that it was to pass to him through his mother Isabella, Charles IV's sister.

Though he stopped using the title in legal documents, he did not formally exchange letters confirming the renunciation with the French King.

After Henry wrote a book against the Protestant Martin Luther, Pope Leo X rewarded him by granting the title "Defender of the Faith".

[5] Mary I, Henry VIII's Catholic daughter, omitted "of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head" in 1553, replacing it with "etc.

The monarchs adopted a joint style, "King and Queen of England and France, Naples, Jerusalem and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy and Brabant, Count and Countess of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol", acknowledging both Mary's and Philip's titles.

When the Protestant Elizabeth I ascended the throne, she used the simpler "Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.".

"; his mother Mary, Queen of Scots, had already laid claim to these titles (in a different order, jointly with Francis II of France, then with the King's father, Lord Darnley), but she was beheaded by her Protestant opponent, Elizabeth I.

Her successor, Edward VII, changed the style in 1901, by the Royal Titles Act, to reflect the United Kingdom's other colonial possessions, adding "and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas" after "Ireland".

In general usage the monarch came to be called the King-Emperor, especially in the Crown's overseas possessions and in British India and the princely states.

The 1927 Act was also significant for opening the door to dominions (later Commonwealth realms) having the right to determine their own style and title for the sovereign, a right which was first exercised in 1953.

In the same year the phrase "Head of the Commonwealth" was also added, and "British Dominions beyond the Seas" was replaced with "other Realms and Territories".

Thus, the style of the present sovereign is "By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith".

[8] Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the FaithElizabeth II, Dei Gratia Britanniarum Regnorumque Suorum Ceterorum Regina, Consortionis Populorum Princeps, Fidei DefensorOfficial styles of previous sovereigns are shown below.

James VI and I proclaimed himself "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland” by Royal Proclamation, but this was not accepted by the English Parliament.