The reader may find it helpful to note the following points:
1. Britain’s Royal Families covers the period from A.D. 800 to the present day. The monarchs belonging to each royal house appear in chronological order. Every member of the various royal dynasties of England, Scotland and Great Britain is included, even children who died in infancy. Since the succession has usually been invested in the male line, the descendants of female members of the royal families beyond the first generation have not been included, except where relevant to the succession. Likewise, the descendants of the illegitimate children of monarchs have not been included.
2. All names in the book have been Anglicised or Latinised for the sake of clarity. Where a person is known by more than one name, all the alternatives are given.
3. Where any fact or date is in dispute, this is indicated in the text, and all the possibilities are listed.
4. Many dates are either not known or disputed, and the following examples serve to illustrate how they appear in the text:
Example 1 c.848 means around the year or date specified.
Example 2 848/9 means during the period or years specified.
Example 3 848? means the date has been estimated using circumstantial evidence and guesswork, and is purely conjectural.
5. The following rule applies to the listing of subjects by name:
Example 1 Name followed by a question mark (?) means there is doubt that the person actually existed.
Example 2 Name preceded by a question mark (?) means there is doubt that the name is correct.
6. County boundaries given are those relevant to the period in question.