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John
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John of England Family tree diagram of the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou or Angevin dynasty, showing royal lineage and connections to other European royal families, with names, titles, and dates organized by generation. John, king of England Seventeenth-century engraving of King John of England wearing a crown and ermine-trimmed robe, holding a scepter, with decorative script above his head. Illustration of King John seated at a table, signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede, surrounded by standing nobles in medieval attire.
View the animation on the history behind the baronial revolt and the formulation of the Magna Carta in 1215
Worcester Cathedral Illustration of King John seated at a table signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede, surrounded by standing nobles and clergy in medieval attire, under a canopy.
Know about the reign of King John of England and the events that led to the establishment of Magna Carta
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles to the crowd from Buckingham Palace (London, England) balcony at the end of the Platinum Pageant in London on June 5, 2022 as part of Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee celebrations. The curtain comes down on four days of momentous nationwide celebrations to honor Queen Elizabeth II's historic Platinum Jubilee with a day-long pageant lauding the 96 year old monarch's record seven decades on the throne. (British royalty)
Fit for a King (or Queen): the British Royalty Quiz
Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.
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John of England
John of England John of England, from an early 14th-century illumination.

John

king of England
Also known as: Jean sans Terre, John Lackland
Written by
James Holt
Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge. Author of King John and others.
James Holt
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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‱History

John (born c. 1166—died October 18/19, 1216, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England) was the king of England from 1199 to 1216. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. In England, after a revolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215). John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry’s plan (1173) to assign to John,...

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