The Worst British Monarch (1066-present)

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   Hi all,
Since William arrived from Normandy almost a 1000 years ago, Britain has had many Kings and Queens, and, inevitably, not all of them have done a particularly good job. So I ask you now: Who is the WORST British Monarch of all? Here is a provisional list of candidates:

Stephen (1135-54) - Rubbish king who almost lost the country to the marauding Scots and Welsh and to the Norman barons. He further weakened his position when he signed away his succession to Henry of Anjou.

John (1199-1216) - Greedy, cash-grabbing, avaricious, bad at battles, cowardly - in his 17 years on the throne, John managed to lose most of the French territories his dad and brother had won, turn the barons, the church AND the general public against him resulting in excommunication and being forced to sign the Magna Carta. Surely a frontrunner for the "Worst Monarch" title.

Edward II (1307-27) - weak, incompetent, probably gay, dominated and cuckolded by his wife. He was hammered by the Scots and deposed by his wife and her lover. They claim that he was killed by having a redhot poker shoved up his anus but I've also read he was thrown down a well. He did, however, found Oriel College in Oxford where I went for a time so not all bad... still, pretty terrible king.

Henry VI (1422-61) - by all accounts, a bit of a wallflower, Henry was a child king at first but he was never able to control his court with any authority. The infighting between the nobility led to Henry losing almost all of the French territories his dad had regained and to the start of the Wars of the Roses, a period of intense instablity for the crown. Way to go Henry!

Richard III (1483-5) - although he was a fairly decent monarch, Richard's villainy in deposing of his nephews, his intense unpopularity and his loss at Bosworth field mean that he has to be mentioned on this list.

George IV (1820-30) - a notorious gambler and womaniser, George was bad at almost every aspect of being a king save for extravegance. He did build Buckingham Palace though.

So there we have it - feel free to suggest other monarchs too, I hope this will spark some debate!