This is a list of parliaments of England from the reign of King Henry III, when the Curia Regis developed into a body known as Parliament, until the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707.
For later parliaments, see the List of parliaments of Great Britain. For the history of the English Parliament, see Parliament of England.
The parliaments of England were traditionally referred to by the number counting forward from the start of the reign of a particular monarch, unless the parliament was notable enough to come to be known by a particular title, such as the Good Parliament or the Parliament of Merton.
Parliaments of Henry III
Parliaments of Edward I
Parliaments of Edward II
Parliaments of Edward III
Parliaments of Richard II
Parliaments of Henry IV
Parliaments of Henry V
Parliaments of Henry VI
Parliaments of Edward IV
Parliament of Richard III
Parliaments of Henry VII
Parliaments of Henry VIII
Parliaments of Edward VI
Parliaments of Mary I
Parliaments of Elizabeth I
Parliaments of James I
Parliaments of Charles I
The Long Parliament, which commenced in this reign, had the longest term and the most complex history of any English Parliament. The entry in the first table below relates to the whole Parliament. Although it rebelled against King Charles I and continued to exist long after the King's death, it was a Parliament he originally summoned. An attempt has been made to set out the different phases of the Parliament in the second table in this section and in subsequent sections. The phases are explained in a note.
The Long Parliament (Royalist phases)
Parliaments of the Revolution and Commonwealth
Parliaments of the Protectorate
These parliaments included representatives of Scotland and Ireland.
Parliaments of the Commonwealth
Parliaments of Charles II
Parliament of James II
Parliaments of William III and Mary II
- Note: The Convention Parliament of 1689 is usually referred to as the 1st Parliament of William & Mary and thus the 1690 parliament is referred to as the "Second Parliament". The very first act of the 1690 parliament (2 Will. & Mar., c.1) was to legitimise the Convention parliament as a lawfully-summoned parliament.
- Note: Queen Mary II died in December 1694, during the sixth session of the second parliament. Subsequent parliamentary sessions are labelled as "William III" alone (rather than "William & Mary"), but their numbering is not reset. The next parliament (1695) is conventionally called the "third parliament", the 1698 parliament the "fourth parliament" etc.
Parliaments of Anne
On 29 April 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain was constituted. The members of the 2nd Parliament of Queen Anne became part of the 1st Parliament of Great Britain.
See also
References
Sources
Further reading