After I wrote the code to make the bar graph of papal names for the previous post, I decided to reuse the code to make a similar graph for monarchs of England. Just as there is some complication in counting papal names, there are even more complications in counting names of English monarchs.

Who was the first king of England? I went with Æthelstan (924–927). Was Lady Jane Grey queen of England? Not for my chart. Note that Edward the Elder and Edward the Martyr came before Henry I.

Incidentally, John is the most common name for a pope and the least common for a king of England. Several monarch names are unique, but John’s name is conspicuously not reused since he was an odious king. I remember my world history teacher saying there would never be another English king named John, something I found disappointing at the time.

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