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Regnal numbers


Regnal numbers are ordinal numbers used to distinguish monarchs and popes with the same name who held the same office.

Test your knowledge of monarch's and pope's regnal numbers

  1. Which George became king unexpectedly following the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936?
  2. Which number Nicholas was the last Emperor of Russia?




  3. Famed for her alliances with Julius Caesar, what was Cleopatra's regnal number?
  4. Born Nicholas Breakspear what was the regnal number of pope Adrian, the only Englishman to have been pope?
  5. Which Louis was also known as the Sun King?
  6. Which regnal number Edward, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, was King of England and Ireland from 1547 until his death in 1553?
  7. Which Catherine, empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, was known as Catherine the Great?
  8. Which regnal number Rainier was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005?
  9. King James I of England was also which regnal number king of Scotland?
  10. Born in Poland, which regnal number John Paul was the first non-Italian pope since the 16th century?
  11. Which Umberto, was the last King of Italy?
  12. Alexander the Great was not the only Alexander of Macedon. What then, was his regnal number?
  13. Again, we're only looking for a regnal number. Which Philip sent the Spanish armada to invade England to overthrow Elizabeth I and re-establish Catholicism?
  14. Which regnal number Ivan was Ivan the Terrible?
  15. Which number Moctezuma or Montezuma was the leader of the Aztecs when the Spanish arrived?
  16. St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great who was either Czar Peter I, Czar Peter II, or Czar Peter III?
  17. VIII or eight, is the highest regnal number for British monarchs. Which two names shares this number?
  18. What was the regnal number of Pope Benedict, who sadly passed away in 2022?


Answers

  1. George VI
  2. Nicholas II
  3. Cleopatra VII
  4. Adrian IV
  5. Louis XIV
  6. Edward VI
  7. Catherine II
  8. Rainier III
  9. James VI
  10. John Paul II
  11. Umberto II
  12. Alexander III of Macedon



  13. Philip II
  14. Ivan IV
  15. Moctezuma II, or Montezuma II
  16. Czar Peter I
  17. Henry and Edward
  18. Pope Benedict XVI