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No. A queen bed is not bigger than a king size. Wherever both names are used, the king is the larger bed. The order runs single, double, queen, king, super king, with queen sitting below king rather than above it.
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The reason this question comes up so often is that queen is not a UK standard size at all. British bed sizing runs single, small double, double, king and super king. When a queen bed appears in a UK conversation, it has usually come from American film and television, from imported furniture, or from a mattress listing aimed at more than one market.
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These are the sizes British retailers and mattress manufacturers actually work from:
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There is no queen in that list. Occasionally a UK seller will label a 150cm bed as a queen to help international customers, but the mattress is a UK king and takes UK king bedding.
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Compare the American sizes with ours and the source of the muddle becomes obvious:
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An American queen is within a couple of centimetres of a UK king in width, and three centimetres longer. Functionally they are close cousins. Meanwhile an American king is wider than our super king. So someone reading American advice about upgrading from a queen to a king is describing a jump that has no direct UK equivalent.
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It is worth being precise about the claim, though. An American queen is not bigger than an American king, and it is not bigger than a UK super king. It is marginally longer than a UK king while being almost the same width, which is the only sense in which a queen ever measures up favourably against any king.
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Continental European beds are sold in centimetres and follow their own conventions. A common couples’ size is 160cm by 200cm, which sits between our king and super king. Another frequent size is 140cm by 200cm, slightly wider than a UK double and ten centimetres longer.
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Neither has a UK equivalent, which matters if you have bought furniture abroad or are shopping from a European seller. A 140cm or 160cm mattress will not fit a UK frame properly, and UK bedding will either strain or hang loose.
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For most people who arrive at this question, the practical answer is that a UK king size is the size they were looking for. It gives 150cm of width for two sleepers, which is 75cm each, and 200cm of length, which suits sleepers up to around 185cm comfortably.
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A king needs a bedroom of roughly 3m by 3.6m to allow walking space on both sides. In tighter rooms it still works with one side against a wall. Our modern king size fabric beds UK sale range covers upholstered designs at this size, with overall frame measurements listed so you can check the fit against your room rather than working from the mattress size alone.
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If the room cannot take 150cm plus frame allowance, a standard double at 135cm is the next step down. It is 15cm narrower and 10cm shorter, and in a room under about 2.9m wide it often produces a better result overall.
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Bed names do not travel, but bedding sizes do not either, and this is where cross border confusion becomes expensive.
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A UK king duvet cover is typically 225cm by 220cm. An American queen duvet is around 230cm by 220cm. Close, but fitted sheets are the real problem, because they are cut to an exact mattress size with a fixed depth allowance. An American queen fitted sheet on a UK king mattress will be slightly loose in length and may not hold the corners.
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The rule is straightforward: buy UK sized bedding for a UK sized mattress, and check the centimetre measurement on the packaging rather than trusting the name printed on the label.
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Whichever size you settle on, the frame will be larger than the mattress. A UK king frame typically measures 155cm to 168cm wide overall, depending on whether it is a slim metal design or a deeply upholstered one. Length can run to 210cm or more with a tall headboard.
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If the bed sits in an alcove or between fixed walls, measure the space at three heights and use the smallest figure, then allow a couple of centimetres of tolerance. Our modern king size leather beds UK sale listings give overall frame dimensions, which is the number to compare against your wall to wall measurement.
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If you have been reading American sources, the size they call a king is closer to our super king at 180cm by 200cm. Before assuming that is the right upgrade, consider the room.
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A super king needs approximately 3.4m by 3.6m to leave sensible clearance on both sides. In an average UK main bedroom it tends to fill the room, leaving little space for wardrobes or bedside cabinets. It is genuinely useful in large rooms, or where children and pets share the bed most nights, but it is not automatically the better choice.
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Whichever you choose, plan the storage around the bed rather than after it. Sliding wardrobe doors need no clearance in front, and narrow bedside cabinets with drawers give more usable storage per centimetre than open tables. Our modern mirrored bedside cabinets UK sale range includes slim widths that work alongside a large bed.
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Tape it out. Mark 150cm by 200cm on the floor in masking tape, then add the frame allowance from the product page. Do the same for 135cm by 190cm if you are torn. Leave the tape down for a day, open the wardrobe, walk past with a laundry basket, and the answer usually presents itself.
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It is a five minute job that prevents the most common bedroom furniture regret, which is a bed that fits the floor but not the life happening around it. Our full size range is set out across modern bedroom furniture UK sale so you can compare footprints before taping.
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We stock all UK standard bed sizes from single to super king, in fabric, leather, wood, metal and high gloss finishes. You can shop modern furniture for every room at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.
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Whichever size you settle on, depth affects the fit of bedding as much as width does. UK king fitted sheets are typically cut for mattresses up to around 25cm to 30cm deep. A thicker hybrid or pocket sprung mattress needs deep fill sheets, which cover up to around 40cm.
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This is worth checking at the point of purchase rather than afterwards, because a sheet that lifts off the corners is a daily irritation that no amount of careful bed making solves.
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At 150cm the base carries load across a substantial span. Sprung slats spaced no more than around 7cm apart give even support, and a central rail with at least one leg to the floor prevents the middle from dipping over time.
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Divan bases spread load differently and are usually supplied as two linked halves at king size, which also makes them easier to carry up a staircase than one rigid platform.
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If you have inherited or imported a bed built for an American queen mattress, measure the internal frame before ordering anything. A UK king mattress at 150cm by 200cm will sit inside a queen frame with a small gap at each side and at the foot.
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In practice that gap is manageable: a couple of centimetres disappears once bedding is on. What does not work is the reverse, forcing a 152cm queen mattress into a UK king frame, since the side rails will bow and the mattress edges will compress permanently. If the frame is the fixed element, buy the mattress to match the frame rather than the name.
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No. King is always the larger size where both names are used. Queen sits below king in every sizing system.
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Not as a standard size. UK sizing runs single, small double, double, king and super king. A 150cm bed sometimes labelled queen is a UK king.
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A UK king at 150cm by 200cm. An American queen is around 152cm by 203cm, so the width is nearly identical and the length is three centimetres longer.
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Yes, slightly. An American king is around 193cm wide against 180cm for a UK super king.
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Duvet covers usually work, but fitted sheets are cut to exact mattress sizes and may not hold the corners properly. UK sized bedding is the safer choice.
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Most UK beds are either 190cm or 200cm long. Singles, small doubles and doubles measure…
A king bed in the UK has mattress dimensions of 150cm by 200cm, which is…
A standard size single bed in the UK has a mattress of 90cm by 190cm,…
A queen size bed is approximately 150cm by 200cm, which is 5ft by 6ft 7in…
Double beds are 190cm long in the UK, which is 6ft 3in, and that length…
An American queen size bed measures 152cm by 203cm, or 60in by 80in, while Australia…
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