The foundations of the British monarchy date from the era, more than a millennium ago, when Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Viking peoples competed for dominance. Early sovereigns exercised near-absolute power but over time that authority dwindled as the changing role of women, the democratization of society, dynastic intermarriage, financial demands, religious convictions, struggles for economic and political control, and territorial aggrandizement combined to promote change. The strengths and weaknesses of rulers such as William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and Mary, Queen of Scots, and...
The foundations of the British monarchy date from the era, more than a millennium ago, when Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Viking peoples competed for domin...
