King Henry VIII named least fashionable British monarch – beheading wives cannot have helped

With around 63 monarchs spanning over 1,200 years, the UK have been sharing their thoughts on their favourite of the historic bunch – with varying and surprising results

Henry VIII has been voted the least popular monarch in British history, a poll has found.

The Tudor tyrant, who beheaded two of his wives, ranked bottom of the list among Brits, with a -42 net score. Oliver Cromwell, who served as Lord Protector following the English Civil War, came second in the YouGov list, with -20. Third was Edward VIII – the late Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle – who famously abdicated in 1936 and is believed to have been a Nazi sympathiser.

Queen Elizabeth II came top of the poll, with an approval rating of 74, followed by her great great grandmother Victoria, and her dad George VI. Henry VIII, who was on the throne from 1509 to 1547, is infamous for being married six times and for changing the main religion of the country from Catholic to Protestant.

He was recently portrayed by Damian Lewis in the BBC’s Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, where he was seen ruthlessly bumping off various rivals and former allies.

The YouGov report said: “For obvious reasons, he is more unpopular still among women (65%). Just 17% of Britons have a favourable view of the man who started the English Reformation.

“Also unpopular overall is Henry VIII’s firstborn, Mary I – also known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of English Protestants.

“Less well known than her father, 27% of Britons have a negative view of Mary, compared to 17% with a positive view.”

Despite being accused of murdered his nephews, hunchback King Richard III was only ninth on the ‘most popular’ list.

Current monarch, King Charles III, came seventh on the popularity list, just behind Richard the Lionheart who ruled from 1189 to 1199.

Least popular monarchs:

1. Henry VIII (-42)
2. Oliver Cromwell (Lord Protector) (-20)
3. Edvard VIII (-13)
4. Mary I (-10)
5. Charles I (-9)
6. King John (-7)
7. Stephen of Blois (-3)
8. Henry VI (-3)
9. Richard III (-2)
10. James II (-2)

Most popular monarchs

1. Elizabeth II (74)
2. Queen Victoria (50)
3. George VI (40)
4. Elizabeth I (36)
5. George V (30)
6. Richard I (29)
7. Charles III (27)
8. Edward VII (14)
9. William I (12)
10. Henry V (10)

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