The Longest-Reigning Monarchs In Royal History

America, of course, has had no royalty since it overthrew the rule of King George III with its victory in the 1783 Revolutionary War. Even so, monarchy has been a widespread, if not always popular, form of government for thousands of years. Kings, queens, and princes may come and go, of course, but the length of some reigns is simply astonishing. So here’s our question: who’s ruled the longest? Read our rundown of the world’s longest-serving monarchs to find the unexpected answer. Where will King Charles’ III fall on this list?

20. Pedro II, Brazil – 58 years

Dom Pedro de Alcântara was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1825 and became Brazil’s emperor in 1831 aged just five following the abdication of his father. His dad, as you might’ve guessed, was Pedro I, though he’d also held the title of Pedro IV of Portugal. After eight years of rule by regency, Pedro junior ascended to the throne in 1841.

Politics in Brazil were anything but stable, with issues such as the abolition of slavery, which became law in 1888, dividing the nation. But Pedro made a good fist of keeping things together for the best part of 60 years. Eventually, though, events turned against the emperor and he was overthrown by the army in 1889. Pedro spent the brief remainder of his life in Europe until death came in 1891. He was the last emperor of Brazil.

19. Louis XV, France – 58 years

Born in 1710, Louis succeeded to the French throne in 1715 whilst still an infant. That was because his great-grandfather, unsurprisingly called Louis XIV, had died. The great-grandson was next in line thanks to a series of unfortunate family deaths. Though king in name at the age of five, Louis didn’t take the reins of power until 1723 when he turned 13.

Once he had his hands on the levers of power, most historians agree that he was a weak monarch. His court was riven by factionalism, and it seems that Louis was more interested in entertaining his string of mistresses than in his royal duties. By the time his reign ended after 58 years with his death in 1774, the French were primed for their great revolution, which followed 15 years later. 

18. Honoré III, Monaco – 59 years

Prince Honoré III was crowned at the age of 14 in 1733 after his father Prince Jacques I had abdicated from the Monegasque throne. His realm, Monaco, is a strip of land on the French Riviera overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, Honoré was rarely in his own tiny nation as he served with the Royal French Army, which was battling against the British at the time.

With Honoré often absent from his royal lands, they were effectively ruled by a regent, the Chevalier de Grimaldi. But despite his prolonged absences, Honoré’s said to have initiated various improvements in his nation, including the introduction of the printing press. Eventually Honoré would be swept away by the convulsions of the French Revolution and in 1793 he was overthrown. By then he’d ruled for almost six decades.

17. George III, Great Britain & Ireland – 59 years

George III came to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland in 1760 when his grandfather George II died. His own father had shuffled off this mortal coil in 1751. He was the third British king from the German House of Hanover and the earliest for whom English was his native tongue. He wasn’t a very bright child, unable to read before the age of 11.

George’s reign was eventful to say the least. During it, the British were defeated by the colonial rebels of North America. On the plus side from George’s point of view, Napoleon was overcome, leaving Britain as the preeminent European nation. Towards the end of his reign, though, the unfortunate king suffered spells of severe mental collapse. His illness was later portrayed in the 1994 movie The Madness of King George.

16. Christian IV, Denmark and Norway – 59 years

Christian IV was born in 1577 and succeeded his father as king of Denmark and Norway in 1588, although he wasn’t formally crowned until 1596. Encyclopedia Britannica sums the man up by saying that he “won repute as a plucky, hard-drinking man of grim wit and great resource.” But it also points out that Christian’s reign was a terrible period for his country.

Christian went to war with neighboring Sweden twice during his time on the throne. The conflicts produced nothing of value for his people. Worse, he joined in the complex and brutal Thirty Years’ War that plagued Europe, again gaining little. But he did at least commission many handsome buildings during his almost 60 years on the throne, so that’s something.

15. Friedrich Günther, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – 60 years

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a statelet within the Holy Roman Empire. Today it’s part of Germany. Friedrich Günther was 14 when his father passed away in 1807, catapulting him into the position of Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. His mother Karoline acted as regent until his 21st birthday, when he took on the full role of monarch.

During Friedrich Günther’s reign the Holy Roman Empire came to an end and he took his principality into the German Federation. That was a loose union of 39 states that would eventually form the basis of modern German. Wisely, Friedrich Günther declared his country neutral when war broke out between Austria and Prussia in 1866. His 60-year reign concluded with his death a year later, by which time he’d fitted in three marriages.

14. Quianlong, China – 60 years

Qianlong, named Hongli at his birth in 1711, became emperor of China in 1735. He was the fourth ruler of the Qing Dynasty which lasted from 1644 until 1912. Favored by his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, despite the fact that he had three older brothers, he was prepared for his future role from a young age.

Once he became emperor, Qianlong fought and defeated Mongol and Turk invaders in the north of the country. He also added to the Chinese Empire by annexing what was known as the New Province and today is the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Qianlong decided to abdicate after 60 years of rule in 1795 so as not to overshadow his grandfather Kangxi who’d ruled for 61 years.

13. Kangxi, China – 61 years

Kangxi was the third ruler from the Qing Dynasty, which is also known as the Manchu Dynasty. Born in 1654, he became emperor while still a child in 1661. His father, Emperor Shunzi, had died prematurely after contracting smallpox. Though Kangxi had five brothers, his mother was of higher status than theirs, so his claim was stronger under the protocols of the Chinese court.

Since Kangxi was only six when he succeeded to the throne, the empire was ruled by senior government officials. But the young emperor began to concern himself with public affairs in his early teens. And when he was 15, the emperor had to overthrow a powerful official called Oboi to secure his position. From that assertive beginning, Kangxi went on to reign for 61 years until his death in 1722.

12. Victoria, British Empire – 63 years

Few monarchs lend their name to an entire era, but one of those is certainly Queen Victoria. Alexandrina Victoria succeeded to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland in 1837 at the age of 18 after the death of her uncle William IV. When born, she’d only been fifth in line to the throne. But various relatives died or failed to produce children, so she won the royal lineage lottery. 

During her long reign, Victoria’s Britain expanded its empire and she added Empress of India to her royal titles in 1876. She’s also remembered for the prolonged period of mourning she went into when her consort Prince Albert died in 1861. She remained on the throne alone for the rest of the century. By the time she died in 1901, she’d been queen for 63 years.

11. James I, Aragon – 62 years

James I was born in the French city of Toulouse in 1208 and became the King of Aragon in 1213. The kingdom was located in the north-east of modern Spain, where it bordered southern France. His father, Peter II of Aragon, was killed battling Crusaders whom he opposed when James was just five.

During his reign the king became known as James the Conqueror – and with good reason. He enlarged the territory of Aragon by seizing the Spanish region of Valencia and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, which include Mallorca and Ibiza. By the time he died in 1276, he’d ruled Aragon for 62 years.

10. Hirohito, Japan – 62 years

Born in Tokyo’s Aoyama Palace in 1901, Michinomiya Hirohito was Japan’s emperor from 1926. Notably, five years earlier he’d become the only Japanese Crown Prince to have left Japanese soil when he made a trip to Europe. He also holds the distinction of being the only Japanese emperor to write books on the topic of marine biology.

But of course Hirohito’s principally remembered as Japan’s leader during World War Two, when his country fought against the Allied forces with disastrous consequences. Ultimately he was allowed to remain as emperor by the victorious Allies, though his position became merely titular. By the time of his death in 1989, his reign of 62 years made him the longest-serving Japanese emperor of all time.

9. Basil II, Byzantine Empire – 65 years

Nobody seems to be entirely certain of the exact year Basil II was born but it was either 957 or 958. It was 960 when the infant was declared co-emperor of the Byzantine lands alongside his brother. The Byzantine Empire was the eastern section of the old Roman Empire, which long outlived the western part’s demise.

After various power struggles, Basil became the dominant emperor. His somewhat sinister nickname was “Slayer of the Bulgars.” He earned that by brutally conquering Bulgaria as he expanded the Byzantine Empire, with other additions including Armenia, Georgia and Mesopotamia. When he died in 1025 he’d been emperor for 65 years.

8. Constantine VIII, Byzantine Empire – 66 years

Constantine VIII had been declared co-emperor of the Byzantine lands with his brother Basil sometime around 960. But as things turned out, Basil wielded power single-handedly once the two infants reached their majority, though Constantine was always there in the background. And eventually his chance came to rule in more than merely name.

That was in 1025 when Constantine’s brother died, leaving him to enjoy the fruits of power alone. Yet it seems that Constantine didn’t really make the most of his new position. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “He was a pleasure-loving man who allowed the administration to fall into the hands of others.” After his brief period of solo rule, he passed away in 1028 – but officially he’d been an emperor for 66 years.

7. Franz Joseph I, Austrian Empire – 67 years

Franz Joseph I was born in 1830 in one of the 1,440 rooms of the magnificent Schloss Schönbrunn, a palace near Vienna in Austria. He took the title of emperor in 1848 when his uncle, Ferdinand, abdicated and Franz Joseph was favored above his own father. In 1867 Franz Joseph was further crowned as the King of Hungary.

Much of Franz Joseph’s reign was characterized by ill-advised military conflicts abroad and upheavals at home. But his name will perhaps live on in infamy for one particular foreign policy incident. In 1914 the Emperor issued an ultimatum to Serbia. According to Encyclopedia Britannica this then plunged Europe into the horrors of World War One. Franz Joseph died a couple of years later after 67 years as Emperor.

6. Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal, Palenque – 68 years

Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal, or Pakal the Great for simplicity’s sake, was the ruler of an ancient Mayan city-state, Palenque. This territory was located in what’s now Mexico’s Chiapas State. Born in 603, Pakal came to power in 615 when he was only 12 years old. It’s said that during his reign the relative backwater of Palenque emerged as a real force in the Mayan world.

When Pakal’s reign started, Palenque was a small city but the king then carried out large-scale building works. Only a small portion of the city he created can be seen today, with the most imposing feature being the soaring Temple of Inscriptions. The greater extent of the former metropolis now lies under thick jungle. By the time Pakal died in 683, he’d ruled Palenque for 68 years.

5. Elizabeth II, United Kingdom – 70 years

Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne in 1952 when her father George VI died. Elizabeth was of course a constitutional monarch and her position was largely symbolic and ceremonial. Even so, throughout the 70 years of her reign she was a central figure in the fabric of modern British society. And over that time, no fewer than 14 different prime ministers were in office. 

Previously, Victoria was Britain’s longest-serving monarch, but that honor has since fallen to Elizabeth, who passed away aged 96. Her mother, the Queen Mother, lived until she was 101. In 2022 she marked her platinum jubilee, following seven decades on the throne. No other British monarch has reached that milestone.

4. Johann II, Liechtenstein – 70 years

Johann II became the Prince of Liechtenstein in 1858 during his late teens. At the time of his accession his tiny, mountainous principality, sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland, was part of the German Confederation. But under Johann’s rule, Liechtenstein abandoned that institution and in 1862 the Prince signed off on his country’s first constitution.

Though he was a popular ruler who earned the title of Johann the Good, he never actually resided in Liechtenstein. He’s also said to have avoided the public functions that you might expect royalty to participate in. Instead he devoted much time to his art collection and to acts of philanthropy. Johann ruled until his death in 1929, by which time he’d been on the throne for 70 years.

3. Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand – 70 years

Bhumibol Adulyadej, sometimes known as Phumiphon Adunlayadet or Rama IX, acceded to the Thai throne in 1946. Actually born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1927, he was the ninth monarch from the Chakkri Dynasty. Bhumibol’s rule began when his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, was discovered dead in his bedroom. The reasons for his death have never been fully explained according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Though Bhumibol’s powers were strictly limited, he still had a key part in settling various crises in Thailand during his reign. In 1973, for example, after military rulers ruthlessly crushed public demonstrations, the king convinced the ruling generals to stand down. He was by all accounts a popular monarch and he’d been on the throne for 70 years when he died in 2016.

2. Louis XIV, France – 72 years 

Thanks to the death of his father Louis XIII, Louis XIV came to the French throne in 1643 when he was not yet five years old. He was known variously as Louis the Great and the Sun King. Despite, or perhaps because of, his royal status, it’s said that his upbringing was largely left to servants. His mother, Anne of Austria, appears to have taken little interest in her boy.

After civil war broke out in France in 1648, Cardinal Mazarin’s forces emerged victorious following five years of conflict. The Cardinal took the young Louis under his wing and effectively ruled France. But when Mazarin died in 1661, the young king seized the opportunity to take full control of his kingdom. He insisted on his status as an absolute monarch who ruled by divine right. And he maintained that position for the rest of his 72-year reign until death came in 1715.

1. Sobhuza II, Swaziland – 82 years

According to the annals of history, the world’s longest-reigning monarch is Sobhuza II who ruled the African nation of Swaziland for an astonishing 82 years. Born in 1899, Sobhuza was named King of Swaziland in the year of his birth. Renamed Eswatini in 2018, the landlocked nation lies to the east of South Africa and is still ruled by an absolute monarch, Mswati III.

Sobhuza was a man with numerous titles including the Great Mountain, the Inexplicable and the Son of a She-elephant. When he came of age in 1921 and took power, Swaziland was a British protectorate and remained so until 1968 when it became independent. Sobhuza steered his nation through its early decades of independence until his death in 1982.