The Colony of Virginia (also known frequently as the Virginia Colony an occasionally as the Dominion and Colony of Virginia) was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution (as a British colony after 1707). The Colony of Virginia was named in the 16th century for Queen Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen" who never married. After the English Civil War in the mid 17th century, the Virginia Colony was nicknamed "The Old Dominion" by King Charles II for its perceived loyalty to the English monarchy during the era of the Commonwealth of England.