Ceylon, British / King George III

In 1796 the British first entered the island and gained control of the coastal areas from the Dutch. After the Kandyan Wars and the signing of the Kandyan Convention in 1815 the island recognized the King of England as the King of Kandy, hence the British Monarch. This ended 2,357 years of Sri Lankan monarchy. The Monarchs of Ceylon lasted from 1815 to 1972.