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129 free Kings & Royalty trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free Kings & Royalty trivia questions with answers. Test your knowledge of the world's most famous kings, queens, and dynasties with our comprehensive Kings & Royalty Quiz. From ancient pharaohs to modern monarchs, explore 50 engaging questions about coronations, royal traditions, and palace intrigue. Discover how much you really know about royalty across history and cultures!
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Q 01Which English king was forced to seal the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215?
King John
King John sealed the Magna Carta at Runnymede on June 15, 1215. The charter was a peace treaty between the king and his rebellious barons, guaranteeing feudal rights and limiting royal power.
Q 02What famous nickname was given to Louis XIV of France?
The Sun King
Louis XIV was the Sun King (le Roi Soleil): he took the sun as his emblem after dancing the role of Apollo, the sun god, in the 1653 Ballet de la Nuit.
Q 03How many wives did King Henry VIII of England have?
Six
Henry VIII had six wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Their fates are often remembered as: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.
Q 04In what year did William the Conqueror win the Battle of Hastings?
1066
William won the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold Godwinson, whose army had marched south after beating Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge three weeks earlier.
Q 05Which ancient Egyptian pharaoh's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922?
Tutankhamun
Howard Carter discovered the nearly intact tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley of the Kings on November 4, 1922. It was one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
Q 06Roughly how many years did Louis XIV reign as King of France?
72 years
Louis XIV reigned for 72 years, from 1643, when he inherited the throne aged four, until his death at Versailles in September 1715, the longest verified reign of any sovereign monarch.
Q 07What was the first language of Cleopatra, the last active pharaoh of Egypt?
Koine Greek
Cleopatra's first language was Koine Greek, the tongue of her Macedonian Greek dynasty; Plutarch wrote that she was the first of her line to learn Egyptian as well.
Q 08What is the name of the palace built by Louis XIV outside Paris?
Palace of Versailles
Louis XIV transformed a hunting lodge into the magnificent Palace of Versailles, which became the seat of French royal power. Construction and expansion continued throughout his reign, and it remains one of the most visited landmarks in the world.
Q 09Which country has the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world?
Japan
Japan's imperial house is the world's oldest continuous hereditary monarchy; tradition dates it to Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC, though historians regard the first several emperors as legendary.
Q 10How old was Alexander the Great when he died in Babylon in June 323 BC?
32
He died at 32 in June 323 BC in Nebuchadnezzar II's palace, having built an empire from Greece to northwestern India.
Q 11On what date was King Charles III crowned at Westminster Abbey?
May 6, 2023
Charles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023, eight months after acceding on the death of Elizabeth II; Buckingham Palace announced the date in October 2022.
Q 12Which Russian tsar traveled incognito across Europe on the "Grand Embassy" of 1697?
Peter the Great
Peter the Great travelled as 'Peter Mikhailov' on the 1697-98 Grand Embassy, even working as a shipwright at the Dutch East India Company yard in Amsterdam.
Q 13Which English king spent only about six months of his ten-year reign in England?
Richard I (the Lionheart)
Q 21Which of Henry VIII's wives was beheaded in 1536 after being accused of adultery and treason?
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife, was beheaded at the Tower of London on 19 May 1536 after being convicted of adultery and treason; their daughter became Elizabeth I.
Q 22Why did Tsar Peter I tax beards in 1698?
To make his subjects look Western
Peter I taxed beards to make his subjects look Western, part of his drive to remodel Russia on European lines; those who paid carried a copper 'beard token' as proof.
Q 23Where are the British Crown Jewels kept and displayed?
Tower of London
Richard I, the Lionheart, spent barely six months of his 1189-1199 reign in England; the rest went to crusading in the Holy Land, captivity in Germany, and defending his French lands.
Q 14Generations of cousin marriages gave which European dynasty a protruding lower jaw that now bears the family's name?
The Habsburgs
The Habsburgs' jaw, mandibular prognathism, was common in both the Spanish and Austrian branches of the family.
Q 15Which queen of France was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution?
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette, the Austrian-born queen of France, was guillotined in Paris on 16 October 1793 after a two-day trial in which the Revolutionary Tribunal convicted her of high treason.
Q 16Who was the only woman in Chinese history to officially hold the title of Emperor?
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian proclaimed her own Zhou dynasty in 690 in place of the Tang and ruled as emperor until a coup restored the Tang in 705.
Q 17Which conqueror founded the largest contiguous land empire in world history?
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in world history, eventually covering about 9 million square miles. He unified the Mongol tribes and was proclaimed their ruler in 1206.
Q 18In which year was Queen Elizabeth II's coronation ceremony held?
1953
Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, sixteen months after acceding in February 1952; it was the first British coronation to be televised in full.
Q 19Which British monarch gave her name to an entire era spanning much of the 19th century?
Queen Victoria
Her reign ran from June 1837 to January 1901, and historians often split it into early, mid and late Victorian phases.
Q 20On what Christian holiday was Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III?
Christmas Day
Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day, December 25, 800 CE, at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. He was the first emperor in the West since the fall of Rome in 476 CE.
The Crown Jewels have been stored and displayed at the Tower of London since 1661. The collection contains 23,578 gemstones and includes items still used by the monarch for state ceremonies.
Q 24According to the Bible, which king of Israel was renowned for his extraordinary wisdom?
Solomon
Solomon, son of David, asked God for wisdom rather than long life or riches (1 Kings 3); his judgment between two women claiming the same baby became the byword for royal wisdom.
Q 25Which royal line, Macedonian Greek in origin, did Cleopatra belong to?
Ptolemaic
The Ptolemaic dynasty descended from Ptolemy I Soter, a general and companion of Alexander the Great; Cleopatra VII was its last active ruler, dying in 30 BC.
Q 26The boy pharaoh whose tomb Howard Carter opened in 1922 died at approximately what age?
18
Tutankhamun died at about 18, around 1323 BC, after a reign of roughly ten years that began when he was nine; born Tutankhaten, he restored the old gods Akhenaten had swept aside.
Q 27Which king is the only native-born English monarch to carry the epithet 'the Great'?
Alfred
Alfred the Great, king of Wessex 871-899, is the only native-born English monarch styled 'the Great'; the epithet, first recorded in the 13th century, honours his defence of Wessex against the Vikings.
Q 28What additional title did Parliament vote to grant Victoria in 1876?
Empress of India
The Royal Titles Act of 1876, steered through Parliament by Disraeli, made Victoria Empress of India; her successors held the title until George VI dropped it in 1948, after Indian independence.
Q 29Which king of Spain, the last of his line, was so inbred his jaw kept him from chewing food properly?
Charles II
Charles II of Spain, the last Spanish Habsburg, was born to an uncle-niece marriage; his death without heirs in 1700 triggered the War of the Spanish Succession and brought the Bourbons to Spain.
Q 30Which city, founded by the tsar in 1703 on a captured Swedish fortress site, became Russia's 'window to the West'?
St. Petersburg
It was named for the apostle Saint Peter, not its founder, and served as capital from 1712 until 1918.