British Monarchy: Why are the Queens who ruled England much more famous than the Kings?

The Queens that have ruled do tend to have been on the throne for many years: Elizabeth I:  1558 - 1603 (45 years) Victoria:  1837 - 1901 (64 years) Elizabeth II:  1952 - > (61 years +) Total = 170 years They ruled long, lived long and so a lot happened during their reigns.  But consider: Mary I: 1553 - 1558 (5 years) Mary II:  1688 - 1694 (6 years.  Her husband William III ruled until 1702) Anne:  1702 - 1714 (12 years) You may be thinking 'who they'? I'll now list some Kings of whom we have also heard quite a bit: Alfred the Great:  871 - 899 William the Conqueror:  1066 - 1087 Richard the Lion Heart:  1189 - 1199 John:  1199 - 1216 Henry V:  1413 - 1422 Richard III:  1483 - 1485 Henry VIII:  1509 - 1547 George III:  1760 - 1820 Total = 185 years (NB:  the long reign of George III is clearly not the norm for men.  Long reigning Kings also include: Henry II: 1154 - 1189; Henry III: 1216 - 1272; Edward III: 1327 - 1377; Henry VI: 1422 - 1461 & 1471 - that one's complicated). Conclusions: The first three Queens ruled for so long that they have all given their names to 'periods' or 'ages':  Elizabethan, Victorian and, although not often used, New Elizabethan. Of the four King George's that ruled consecutively, George III is the only famous Georgian - amongst Americans especially because of the War of Independence. Without getting into too deep an analysis of the three Queens reigns we can conclude that longevity is one main component. It's also worth noting that not all of the 'famous' Kings listed above were good Kings.  Some have been given a boost to fame via the powers of William Shakespeare and Walt Disney.

Because you can only remember the famous ones. Quick - name a Queen who ruled England since 1066.... ... name a second one... ... name a third... ... fourth.... ... fifth... ... sixth... ... only two more to go.... I'm guessing you had trouble after the three listed in the question.... so What do you know about Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II, Victoria? What do you know about Henry VIII.... George III.... William "The Bastard / The Conqueror" I... Richard "The Lionheart"? Now, what do you know about Queen Matilda? Queen Mary II? Now, what do you know about Edward III, Philip? George VI? There are famous Kings and famous Queens...

One thing that really helps is that there are just a few ruling Queens to remember.  Really, just two [1]:  Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria.  They both lived a very long time, and their reigns thus spanned a lot more interesting historical events.  One can add Queen Elizabeth II who is of course currently ruling (a big plus in the memory department), as well as ruling for a long period and having many interesting things happen during her time. -------------------------------------------- [1] Not to slight other ruling Queens.

I'm going to say that it's probably because there have been much less than there have been kings. But I would say that around half of the Queens aren't so famous. I never hear people talking about Queen Anne or Mary and William, as much as Elizabeth or Victoria. But I agree with, Graham. They tend to have long reigns too so there's always a good chance that something has been discovered or invented or some big war happened during their reign that help bring their name forward in history.

Because amongst their number was a lady called Elizabeth I. If you wanted to be really frightened she could make your worst nightmares come true, whilst being intensively supportive of her friends.   She's the one that watched an execution and decided that the executioner had gone too far so had him done over the same way.   She's also the one that stood calmly watching men ride across the fields to get at her, with a real possibility she was to be taken and executed. And when they tumbled off their horses and told her she was Queen it did come as a surprise.   She also refused to meet her maker whilst in bed, so stood for three days while she waited for death to overcome her.   Hard act to follow. By anyone. Queens of England have been trying to live up to her standards ever since.