Two Kingdoms 38: Leopards

[LauraS]

the custom of numbering, in England, is usually traced to Edward I, Edward II and Edward III - having three successive kings with the same name causing some confusion.

It's why the count of Edwards begins from them and not from the Anglo-Saxon kings of that name.

The English numbering conventionally commences with the Norman Conquest. Before that, English Kings had nicknames: The Unraed, Confessor, Ironside, Martyr, etc. When Elizabeth II came to the throne, some Scots objected that she was "Elizabeth I" to them. Churchill came up with a solution: whatever regnal number was higher between England and Scotland would be used. This won't effect either William or George, but will effect, say, a future King James, who would be James VIII and not James III.

I still have my fingers crossed for a Richard IV.