List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death

This is a list of Monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death.

They are 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 the sake of completeness.

Natural causes

Those monarchs that are assumed to have died through natural causes (through disease).

Name	House	Born	Reign	Death	Notes
Kenneth I	House of Alpin (Scotland)	after 800	843–858	13 February 858	Tumour
Constantine II	House of Alpin (Scotland)	before 879	900–943	952
Edred	West Saxons (England)	c. 923	946–955	23 November 955
Edgar the Peaceable	West Saxons (England)	c. 942	959–975	8 July 975
Ethelred the Unready	West Saxons (England)	c. 968	978–1013 1014–1016	23 April 1016
Edmund Ironside	West Saxons (England)	c. 988/993	1016	30 November 1016
Sweyn Forkbeard	Danish Kings (England)	???	1013–1014	3 February 1014
Malcolm II	House of Alpin (Scotland)	c. 980	1005–1034	25 November 1034
Canute	Danish Kings (England)	c. 995	1016–1035	12 November 1035
Harold Harefoot	Danish Kings (England)	c. 1015	1035–1040	17 March 1040
Harthacanute	Danish Kings (England)	1018	1040–1042	8 June 1042
St Edward the Confessor	West Saxon Restoration (England)	c. 1004	1042–1066	4 January 1066
Edgar	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	1074	1097–1107	8 January 1107	[1]
Alexander I	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	c. 1078	1107–1124	23 April 1124
Edgar the Atheling	West Saxon Restoration (England)	c. 1051	1066	c. 1126	Proclaimed by surviving English nobles, clerics and magnates, but never crowned, as the Normans approached after Hastings.
Henry I	The Normans (England)	c.1068	1100–1135	1 December 1135	Died of food poisoning from eating "a surfeit of lampreys"
David I	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	1084	1124–1153	24 May 1153
Stephen	House of Blois (England)	1096	1135–1154	25 October 1154
Malcolm IV	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	c. 1141	1153–1165	9 December 1165	His premature death may have been hastened by osteitis deformans.[2]
Matilda (Empress Maud)	Angevins or Plantagenets (England)	February 1101	1141	10 September 1167
Henry II	Angevins or Plantagenets (England)	5 March 1133	1154–1189	6 July 1189
William I	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	around 1142	1165–1214	4 December 1214	Natural causes
John "Lackland"	Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)	24 December c. 1166	1199–1216	18/19 October 1216	Retreating from the French invasion, John crossed the marshy area known as The Wash in East Anglia and eventually succumbed to dysentery.
Alexander II	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	24 August 1198	1214–1249	6 July 1249	Died after suffering a fever at the Isle of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides
Henry III	Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)	1 October 1207	1216–1272	16 November 1272
Margaret	House of Fairhair (England)	9 April 1283	1216–1272	26 November 1290
Edward I "Longshanks"	House of Plantagenet (England)	16 November 1239	1272–1307	7 July 1307	Dysentery (confirmed); cancer (possible)
John	House of Balliol (Scotland)	1248	1292–1296	1314	Natural causes
Robert I	House of Bruce (Scotland)	11 July 1274	1306–1329	7 June 1329	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. 1282	1332–1336	1364	Natural causes
David II	House of Bruce (Scotland)	5 March 1324	1329–1371	22 February 1371	Natural causes
Edward III	Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)	13 November 1312	1327–1377	21 June 1377	Died of a stroke
Robert II	House of Stuart (Scotland)	2 March 1316	1371–1390	19 April 1390
Robert III	House of Stuart (Scotland)	c. 1340	1390–1406	4 April 1406
Henry IV	House of Lancaster (England)	3 April 1367	1399–1413	20 March 1413	Several years of ill health- some type of visible skin ailment. Leprosy is also rumoured to have been possible.
Henry V	House of Lancaster (England)	16 September 1387	1413–1422	31 August 1422	Natural causes, probably dysentery
Edward IV	House of York (England)	28 April 1442	1461–1470 1471–1483	9 April 1483
Henry VII	House of Tudor (England)	28 January 1457	1485–1509	21 April 1509	Tuberculosis
James V	House of Stuart (Scotland)	10 April 1512	1513–1542	14 December 1542	Died of ill health shortly after the Battle of Solway Moss
Henry VIII	House of Tudor (England)	28 June 1491	1509–1547	28 January 1547	Suffered from gout, 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	House of Tudor (England)	12 October 1537	1547–1553	6 July 1553	Tuberculosis, arsenic poisoning, or congenital syphilis?
Mary I	House of Tudor (England)	18 February 1516	1553–1558	17 November 1558	Possibly ovarian cancer
Philip	House of Habsburg (England)	21 May 1527	1554–1558	13 September 1598
Elizabeth I	House of Tudor (England)	7 September 1533	1558–1603	24 March 1603	Suffered from frailty and insomnia
James VI & I	House of Stuart	19 June 1566	1567–1625	27 March 1625	Suffered from senility and died of 'tertian ague', probably brought on by kidney failure and a stroke	Charles II	House of Stuart	29 May 1630	1660–1685 England 1649–1651 and 1660–1685 Scotland (1649–1685 de jure)	6 February 1685	Died suddenly of uremia
James II & VII	House of Stuart	14 October 1633	1685–1689	16 September 1701	Stroke
Mary II	House of Stuart	30 April 1662	1689–1694	28 December 1694	Died of smallpox at Kensington Palace
Anne	House of Stuart	6 February 1665	1702–1714	1 August 1714	Died of suppressed gout, ending in erysipelas, an abscess and fever. Her 17 ill-fated pregnancies perhaps ravaged her body.
George I	House of Hanover	28 May 1660	1714–1727	11 June 1727	Stroke
George II	House of Hanover	10 November 1683	1727–1760	25 October 1760	Aortic dissection while on the toilet
George III	House of Hanover	4 June 1738	1760–1820	29 January 1820	Senile dementia. Suffered bouts of mental illness from 1788 onwards.
George IV	House of Hanover	12 August 1762	1820–1830	26 June 1830	Upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by the rupture of gastric varices. Suffered from cataracts, alcoholism, opioid dependence, obesity, gout, oedema, arteriosclerosis and possibly porphyria and cancer.
William IV	House of Hanover	21 August 1765	1830–1837	20 June 1837	Congestive heart failure and bronchopneumonia.
Victoria	House of Hanover	24 May 1819	1837–1901	22 January 1901	Age and heart failure
Edward VII	House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	9 November 1841	1901–1910	6 May 1910	Bed-ridden by bronchitis, he died of a myocardial infarction
George VI	House of Windsor	14 December 1895	1936–1952	6 February 1952	Suffered from lung cancer and arteriosclerosis due to heavy smoking; died of a coronary thrombosis
Edward VIII	House of Windsor	23 June 1894	1936	28 May 1972	Throat cancer

Killed

In battle

Those that died in battle either as the antagoniser or otherwise.

Name	House	Born	Reign	Death	Notes
Constantine I	House of Alpin (Scotland)	unknown	862–877	877	Killed fighting the Viking army
Edward the Elder	West Saxons (England)	c.874–877	899–924	17 July 924	Died leading an army against a Cambro-Mercian rebellion at Farndon-Upon-Dee
Malcolm I	House of Alpin (Scotland)	before 900	943–954	954
Indulf	House of Alpin (Scotland)		954–962	962	Killed fighting Vikings near Cullen
Kenneth III	House of Alpin (Scotland)	before 967	997–1005	1005	Killed in battle at Strathearn by Malcolm II
Duncan I	House of Alpin (Scotland)	unknown	1034–1040	15 August 1040	Killed by his own men led by Mac Bethed at Pitgaveny near Elgin
Macbeth	House of Alpin (Scotland)	c. 1005	1040–1057	15 August 1057	Defeated and mortally wounded by Máel Coluim mac Donnchada at the Battle of Lumphanan, dying at Scone.
Harold Godwinson	West Saxon Restoration (England)	c. 1022	1066	14 October 1066	Killed at the Battle of Hastings
William I, the Conqueror	The Normans (England)	c. 1028	1066–1087	9 September 1087	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)	1030 or 1038	1058–1093	13 November 1093	Ambushed by Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, near Alnwick
Richard I, the Lionheart	Angevins or Plantagenets (England)	8 September 1157	1189–1199	6 April 1199	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 1430	1437–1460	3 August 1460	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 1452	1483–1485	22 August 1485	Killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field
James III	House of Stuart (Scotland)	1451/ 1452	1460–1488	11 June 1488	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 1473	1488–1513	9 September 1513	Killed at the Battle of Flodden while attacking the English

Murdered, assassinated, executed or euthanised

Those that were murdered, assassinated, executed away from the battlefield, or euthanised by their doctors.

Name	House	Born	Reign	Death	Notes
Áed	House of Alpin (Scotland)	unknown	877–878	878	Killed by his successor, Giric
Edmund I	West Saxons (England)	921	939–946	26 May 946	Murdered at a party in Pucklechurch by Leofa, an exiled thief
Dub	House of Alpin (Scotland)		962–966	967
Cuilén	House of Alpin (Scotland)		966–971	971	Killed in Lothian when the hall he was in was burnt to the ground
Amlaíb	House of Alpin (Scotland)		?–977	977	Killed by Kenneth II
St Edward the Martyr	West Saxons (England)	c. 962	975–978	18 March 978	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	995
Constantine III	House of Alpin (Scotland)	before 971	995–997	997
Lulach	House of Alpin (Scotland)	before 1033	1057–1058	17 March 1058	Assassinated and succeeded by Malcolm III
Duncan II	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	before 1069	1094	12 November 1094	Killed by Máel Petair of Mearns
Edward II	Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)	25 April 1284	1307–1327	21 September 1327	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)	10 December 1394	1406–1437	21 February 1437	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 1421	1422–1461 1470–1471	21/22 May 1471	Imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was murdered
Jane	House of Tudor (England)	c. September–October 1537	1553	12 February 1554	Executed (beheaded), but not for being the 9 Day Queen
Mary I	House of Stuart (Scotland)	8 December 1542	1542–1567	8 February 1587	Convicted of treason against the English Crown and beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire
Charles I	House of Stuart	19 November 1600	1625–1649	30 January 1649	Found guilty of high treason by 59 commissioners and was beheaded
George V	House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha House of Windsor	3 June 1865	1910–1936	20 January 1936	Drug overdose (Euthanasia lethal injection administered by his doctor)

Other

Name	House	Born	Reign	Death	Notes
Richard II	Monarchs of England and Ireland (England)	6 January 1367	1377–1399	14 February 1400	Placed in Pontefract Castle, and probably murdered (or starved to death) there.
Edward V	House of York (England)	4 November 1470	1483	c. 1483	Imprisoned in the Tower of London along with his younger brother Richard, Duke of York; the date and cause of death of both Princes in the Tower remain unknown.

Accidental death

Name	House	Born	Reign	Death	Notes
William II, Rufus	The Normans (England)	c. 1056	1087–1100	2 August 1100	Killed by an arrow through the heart during a hunting trip
Alexander III	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	4 September 1241	1249–1286	19 March 1286	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 & II	House of Orange	14 November 1650	1689–1702	8 March 1702	Died of pneumonia, a complication from a broken collarbone resulting from a fall off his horse. He was asthmatic.

Unknown

Name	House	Born	Reign	Death	Notes
Donald I	House of Alpin (Scotland)	unknown	858–862	13 April 862	According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, died "at the palace of Cinnbelathoir", possibly near or at Scone, probably from natural causes
Eochaid	House of Alpin (Scotland)		878–889
Giric	House of Alpin (Scotland)		878–889
Alfred the Great	West Saxons (England)	c. 849	871–899	26 October 899	Married to Earlswith in 868.Father of Edward the Elder
Donald II	House of Alpin (Scotland)		889–900		According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba killed in battle against Vikings at Dunnottar
Ælfweard	West Saxons (England)		924	2 August 924	Apparently natural causes
Athelstan	West Saxons (England)	c. 895	924–939	27 October 939	Died at Gloucester, apparently natural causes
Edwy the Fair	West Saxons (England)	c. 941	955–959	1 October 959	Presumed to be natural causes
Donald III	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	before 1040	1093–1094 1094–1097	1097 or after	William of Malmesbury tells us that he was "slain by the craftiness of David ... and by the strength of William [Rufus]".[3] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says of Domnall that he was expelled,[3] while the Annals of Tigernach have him blinded by his brother, for which we should read nephew.[4] 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.[5]
Margaret	House of Dunkeld (Scotland)	early 1283	1286–1290	September/October 1290

See also

• List of British monarchs by longevity

Notes

1. Duncan, p. 60
2. Duncan, pp. 74–75.
3. Scottish Annals, p. 119.
4. Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 1097.
5. Fordun, V, xxvi; Duncan, pp. 57–58; Oram, David I, pp. 47–48.

References

• Anderson, Alan Orr, Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers A.D. 500–1286. D. Nutt, London, 1908.
• Duncan, A.A.M., The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8
• John of Fordun, Chronicle of the Scottish Nation, ed. William Forbes Skene, tr. Felix J.H. Skene, 2 vols. Reprinted, Llanerch Press, Lampeter, 1993. ISBN 1-897853-05-X
• McDonald, R. Andrew, Outlaws of Medieval Scotland: Challenges to the Canmore Kings, 1058–1266. Tuckwell Press, East Linton, 2003. ISBN 1-86232-236-8