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Kings, Queens and Crowns

How monarchs ruled Britain and what a crown really means.

  • Define and explain Kings, Queens and Crowns in your own words
  • Use key terms such as Monarch accurately
  • Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
  • Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic

This lesson focuses on Kings, Queens and Crowns: how monarchs ruled Britain and what a crown really means.

Definition: Kings, Queens and Crowns

How monarchs ruled Britain and what a crown really means.

Key ideas

One event can change everything

Before 1666, London was a crowded city of wooden houses. After the Great Fire burned most of it down, the city was rebuilt in brick and stone with wider streets. A single event, lasting just four days, reshaped the capital for centuries.

Explorers opened up the world

Voyages across the Atlantic and around Africa connected continents that had been unknown to each other. These journeys brought new foods, ideas and maps — but they also led to suffering for the peoples explorers met. Great events can have both bright and dark sides.

Key term — Monarch: A king or queen who rules a country. Britain has had monarchs for over a thousand years.

Worked example: Kings, Queens and Crowns

What is a monarch?

A king or queen who rules a country.

Answer: A king or queen who rules a country.

Common mistakes
  • Thinking the fire was the end of London London was rebuilt quickly in brick and stone, and the new buildings, including St Paul's Cathedral, made it grander than before.
  • Believing explorers found empty lands The lands explorers reached already had peoples living in them. 'Discovery' meant new to the explorers, not empty.

Practice

In which year did the Great Fire of London happen?
It is the famous year sixty-six.
Give one reason the fire spread so quickly.
What were houses made of?

Houses were made of wood and stood close together (any one valid reason).

In which year did humans first walk on the Moon?
It was in the 1960s.
Why do people remember great events?
Events can change how people see themselves.

Because the events changed lives or showed what people can achieve, and remembering them helps people understand their history.

Quick check

Kings, Queens and Crowns — quick check

Which of these best defines "Monarch"?

A king or queen who rules a country. Britain has had monarchs for over a thousand years.

Why is it wrong to say explorers 'discovered' empty lands?

Because peoples already lived in those lands; the explorers were simply new arrivals to them.
Key takeaways
  • Kings, Queens and Crowns: how monarchs ruled Britain and what a crown really means.
  • One event can change everything: Before 1666, London was a crowded city of wooden houses.
  • Explorer: Someone who travels to places unknown to their own people.
  • Watch out for: thinking the fire was the end of London
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