Key Stage 2 history · British history beyond 1066

KS2 changing power of monarchs: a guide for parents

One of the themes a primary school may choose after 1066 is how the power of the monarch changed over time. Schools that choose this theme often use the three case studies the curriculum suggests: King John and Magna Carta, Queen Anne and the joining of England and Scotland, and Queen Victoria and the growth of Parliament. Children learn to spot connections, contrasts and trends across several centuries, and to ask good questions about change, cause and significance.

The changing power of monarchs, explained

The National Curriculum asks every primary school to teach one theme in British history that stretches children’s knowledge beyond 1066. The changing power of monarchs is one of the examples it suggests, alongside social history, the legacy of Greek or Roman culture, and a turning point such as the first railways. Schools choose one, and may use different monarchs from John, Anne and Victoria, so check with your child’s teacher. The big idea is the same: in the Middle Ages a king had enormous personal power, and over about 700 years power moved towards Parliament and the people.

King John, who reigned from 1199 to 1216, is the usual starting point. He raised heavy taxes, lost much of the land the English kings held in France, and quarrelled with the Pope. In 1215 a group of rebel barons forced him to agree to Magna Carta at Runnymede. It said, among other things, that the king must obey the law, and that free men could not be imprisoned or punished except by lawful judgement. It did not create democracy, and it protected barons more than ordinary people, but the idea that a king is not above the law became very important later.

Queen Anne (1702 to 1714) shows a monarch working with ministers and Parliament. During her reign England and Scotland joined to become Great Britain through the Acts of Union of 1707. Before her reign, the Bill of Rights of 1689 had already said that the monarch needed Parliament’s agreement to raise taxes or keep an army in peacetime. Anne still chose her ministers and could refuse to approve a law, but she depended on Parliament for money and support, and she was the last monarch to refuse royal assent to a bill, in 1708. When she died without surviving children, the throne passed to her German second cousin, George I, because Parliament had decided that only Protestants could inherit it.

Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901, longer than any earlier monarch. By then Britain was a constitutional monarchy: the elected House of Commons and the prime minister made decisions and laws, and the monarch advised, encouraged and warned. During her reign the vote was extended to more men, and Britain’s empire grew, so Victoria had enormous prestige without the personal power John had. Children put these three reigns on a timeline and describe the trend. They also practise asking, and sometimes writing, their own historical questions, such as “Why did Parliament gain power?” or “How significant was Magna Carta?”

Words your child will hear

Monarch: A king or queen who rules a country, usually for life.
Parliament: The group of people who make laws for the country. Over time it gained power from the monarch.
Magna Carta: A charter of 1215, meaning “great charter” in Latin, in which King John agreed to rules limiting his power.
Baron: A powerful nobleman in the Middle Ages who held land from the king.
Absolute monarch: A ruler who can make decisions without having to ask anyone. English kings were never fully absolute, but John had a lot of personal power.
Constitutional monarchy: A system where the king or queen is head of state but the law is made and carried out by elected politicians.
Trend: A general direction of change over a long time, such as monarchs’ power gradually shrinking.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught about a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
Pupils should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.
Pupils should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example: answering an enquiry question

Enquiry question: “Did King John have more power than Queen Victoria?” Write a short, evidence-based answer.

Decide what “power” means. It could be the power to make laws, to collect taxes, to choose ministers, or to be obeyed. Say which you are using, because the answer may differ.
Gather evidence on John. He chose his own advisers, set taxes and made big decisions himself. Even so, in 1215 the barons forced him to agree to Magna Carta, which shows that his power had limits when enough powerful people turned against him.
Gather evidence on Victoria. Laws were passed by Parliament and the government was led by a prime minister who needed the support of the House of Commons. Victoria could advise, encourage and warn, and she was the respected head of a vast empire, but she could not simply do as she wished.
Compare and contrast. John’s personal power over day-to-day decisions was far greater, although it was challenged. Victoria had greater status and influence, but the power to make decisions had largely moved to Parliament.
Write a conclusion that explains the trend and a reason for it: over those nearly 700 years, Parliament slowly gained control of money and law-making, so the monarch’s personal power fell.

King John had more real, personal power than Queen Victoria, although Magna Carta showed that even a medieval king could be limited. Victoria was more famous and respected, but by her reign the power to make laws belonged to Parliament, so the trend over time was that monarchs lost direct power.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking Magna Carta gave everyone rights and created democracy

Children often hear it described as a great turning point and assume it worked at once for everybody. In fact it was agreed by a few barons, John soon broke it, and it was reissued in later reigns.

What helps: Say that its importance came from the idea that even a king must follow the law, which people kept returning to in later centuries. It helped the future, not the present of 1215.

Believing that a famous monarch must have been the most powerful

Victoria is widely remembered and appeared on coins and stamps across an empire, so children assume she held more power than any earlier ruler.

What helps: Separate fame and status from power. Ask: “Who made the decisions? Who could say no?”

Seeing change as a straight line that always goes the same way

Textbook timelines make it look as if power moved steadily to Parliament. In fact there were reversals, and strong monarchs after John held great power.

What helps: Use words like “gradually” and “in general”. A trend can have exceptions, and noticing them is a skill historians value.

Thinking monarchs today have no role or nothing to do with the past

Children sometimes assume that a change in power meant the monarch lost every job, or that the monarchy stopped.

What helps: Explain that the monarch is still head of state with ceremonial and symbolic duties, while elected politicians make the decisions. The story is of shared power changing hands, not of disappearance.

How to help at home

Build a timeline. Draw a long strip of paper with 1200, 1700 and 1900 marked, and add John, Anne and Victoria in the right places. Let your child decide how much space each century needs and add a sentence about what each ruler could and could not do.
Play “who decides?”. Pick everyday decisions in your family, such as what is for tea or when bedtime is, and ask who decides, who can overrule, and who must agree. It is a friendly way into the idea that power can be shared and limited.
Spot the monarchy around you. Coins, stamps and post boxes often carry a royal portrait or cypher, the monarch’s initials such as VR for Victoria. Look at them together and work out whose reign each one comes from.
Make a rule together. Write a short family agreement about, say, screen time or chores, which everyone including the adults signs. Discuss how it is like a charter that applies to the powerful as well as the weak.

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: A long-term theme in British history