There have been 41 English monarchs since the Norman Conquest of 1066. Of this number, only six have been queens. This is because the line of succession historically always favoured boys over girls.

When a monarch had boys and girls among their children, the boys, regardless of age, would always succeed first. That’s why when Henry VIII died in 1547, he was succeeded first by his nine-year-old son, Edward VI, rather than by his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, who were then aged 28 and 13 respectively. As it turned out, both eventually became queens anyway.

This law was changed in 2013. This would not have had any affect on the recent line of succession. Edward VII and George V’s oldest children were all boys as are all the oldest children of the queen, Prince Charles and Prince William. The Queen had only one sister, the late Princess Margaret. Had they had a brother, he would have been crowned before they were, even if he had been younger. Queen Victoria’s oldest child was a girl, however. Had the line of succession been reformed at that time, that daughter, also called Victoria, would have succeeded her mother as Queen in 1901 in the place of Edward VII. Instead, she married the German emperor and was the mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II who later led Germany in the First World War.

The most popular names for English monarchs have been Henry and Edward: there have been eight of each. A bad king or queen can damage the reputation of their name, ensuring that no other monarch would be called it again. Though not a total failure, Henry VIII has an air of notoriety about him due to his tyrannical reputation and his six wives. There have thus been no Henrys on the throne since. Edward VIII may also have damaged the name of Edward by abdicating, but 1936 is still comparatively recent. We will have to wait longer to see if there are any more King Edwards.

There have been six King Georges, mostly recently the Queen’s father, George VI (1936-52). Although a reluctant and short-lived king, he is remembered fondly. Prince William’s son, Prince George of Cambridge whose eighth birthday is this month, is thus expected to be King George one day, presumably in the second half of the century. It has also been suggested that Prince Charles might choose to rule as George VII rather than as Charles III.

Four kings have been called William, including William the Conqueror. Prince William, currently just under 40 years old, is expected to one day become King William V. There have only been three King Richards, including the Lionheart. Controversy over the exact nature of Richard III’s personality – was he the evil villain of Shakespeare legend? – has probably ensured that there have been no Richards on the throne since 1485.

There have been two Queen Marys and two Queen Elizabeths. Both Elizabeths succeeded at the age of 25 and have been judged successful. Mary I, also known as “Bloody Mary”, of Tudor notoriety while Mary II uniquely ruled jointly with her husband, William III, before dying of smallpox at the age of 32. Older readers may remember that King George VI’s wife and widow was also called Queen Mary but she was never the monarch. The same is true of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. For some reason, the wives of reigning Kings hold the title of ‘Queen’, but the husbands of reigning Queens such as Prince Albert and the late Prince Philip are not called ‘King’ but ‘Prince’.

Two kings have been called James and two Charles. Prince Charles may well become King Charles III. James II isn’t remembered kindly. He was unpopular and driven out into exile.

Both Stephen and John had such disastrous reigns that no one has ever felt the need to name another king by their names again. There is no need to call them ‘Stephen I’ or’ ‘John I’ as there are no others. Anne and Victoria also remain the only examples of queens with their name thus far. Queen Victoria was deemed a success and if ever there are any more Queens who share her name in the future then she will have to change to Victoria I to distinguish herself from them.