This is a list of currently reigning monarchs sorted by length of service.
This list includes monarchs who do not reign over entire nations, such as Muhammad V of Kelantan, but does not include former monarchs and pretenders, such as Simeon II of Bulgaria, ex officio monarchs such as Emmanuel Macron who in his capacity as President of France is also Co-Prince of Andorra, monarchs without physical territories such as the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, constituent monarchs such as the traditional African rulers, or monarchs whose position is unofficial, such as Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama.
Hassanal Bolkiah is currently the longest-reigning monarch, having been Sultan of Brunei since 5 October 1967. [1] He became the longest-reigning monarch upon the death of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on 8 September 2022. [2]
Rank | Monarch | State | Born | Current age | Acceded | Years reigned |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reigns as of 10 April 2024 T 15:19 (UTC) | ||||||
1 | Hassanal Bolkiah | Brunei | 15 July 1946 | 77 years, 270 days | 5 October 1967 | 56 years, 188 days |
2 | Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qassimi III | Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) | 6 July 1939 | 84 years, 279 days | 25 January 1972 | 52 years, 76 days |
3 | Carl XVI Gustaf | Sweden | 30 April 1946 | 77 years, 346 days | 15 September 1973 | 50 years, 208 days |
4 | Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi | Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) | 22 February 1949 | 75 years, 48 days | 18 September 1974 | 49 years, 205 days |
5 | Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi III | Ajman (United Arab Emirates) | 1 January 1931 | 93 years, 100 days | 6 September 1981 | 42 years, 217 days |
6 | Mswati III | Eswatini [lower-alpha 1] | 19 April 1968 | 55 years, 357 days | 25 April 1986 | 37 years, 351 days |
7 | Hans-Adam II | Liechtenstein | 14 February 1945 | 79 years, 56 days | 13 November 1989 | 34 years, 149 days |
8 | Harald V | Norway | 21 February 1937 | 87 years, 49 days | 17 January 1991 | 33 years, 84 days |
9 | Letsie III | Lesotho | 17 July 1963 | 60 years, 268 days | 7 February 1996 [lower-alpha 2] | 32 years, 134 days [lower-alpha 2] |
10 | Mizan Zainal Abidin | Terengganu (Malaysia) | 22 January 1962 | 62 years, 79 days | 15 May 1998 | 25 years, 331 days |
11 | Abdullah II | Jordan | 30 January 1962 | 62 years, 71 days | 7 February 1999 | 25 years, 63 days |
12 | Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa | Bahrain | 28 January 1950 | 74 years, 73 days | 6 March 1999 | 25 years, 35 days |
13 | Mohammed VI | Morocco | 21 August 1963 | 60 years, 233 days | 23 July 1999 | 24 years, 262 days |
14 | Syed Sirajuddin | Perlis (Malaysia) | 17 May 1943 | 80 years, 329 days | 17 April 2000 | 23 years, 359 days |
15 | Henri | Luxembourg | 16 April 1955 | 68 years, 360 days | 7 October 2000 | 23 years, 186 days |
16 | Sharafuddin Idris Shah | Selangor (Malaysia) | 11 December 1945 | 78 years, 121 days | 22 November 2001 | 22 years, 140 days |
17 | Norodom Sihamoni | Cambodia | 14 May 1953 | 70 years, 332 days | 14 October 2004 | 19 years, 179 days |
18 | Albert II | Monaco | 14 March 1958 | 66 years, 27 days | 6 April 2005 | 19 years, 4 days |
19 | Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum | Dubai (United Arab Emirates) | 15 July 1949 | 74 years, 270 days | 4 January 2006 | 18 years, 97 days |
20 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | Bhutan | 21 February 1980 | 44 years, 49 days | 9 December 2006 | 17 years, 123 days |
21 | Muhriz | Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia) | 14 January 1948 | 76 years, 87 days | 29 December 2008 | 15 years, 103 days |
22 | Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla | Umm al-Quwain (United Arab Emirates) | 1 October 1952 | 71 years, 192 days | 2 January 2009 | 15 years, 99 days |
23 | Ibrahim Iskandar | Johor (Malaysia) [lower-alpha 3] | 22 November 1958 | 65 years, 140 days | 23 January 2010 | 14 years, 78 days |
24 | Muhammad V | Kelantan (Malaysia) | 6 October 1969 | 54 years, 187 days | 13 September 2010 | 13 years, 210 days |
25 | Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi | Ras al-Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) | 10 February 1956 | 68 years, 60 days | 27 October 2010 | 13 years, 166 days |
26 | Tupou VI | Tonga | 12 July 1959 | 64 years, 273 days | 18 March 2012 | 12 years, 23 days |
27 | Francis | Vatican City | 17 December 1936 | 87 years, 115 days | 13 March 2013 | 11 years, 28 days |
28 | Willem-Alexander | Netherlands | 27 April 1967 | 56 years, 349 days | 30 April 2013 | 10 years, 346 days |
29 | Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani | Qatar | 3 June 1980 | 43 years, 312 days | 25 June 2013 | 10 years, 290 days |
30 | Philippe | Belgium | 15 April 1960 | 63 years, 361 days | 21 July 2013 | 10 years, 264 days |
31 | Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah | Perak (Malaysia) | 27 November 1956 | 67 years, 135 days | 29 May 2014 | 9 years, 317 days |
32 | Felipe VI | Spain | 30 January 1968 | 56 years, 71 days | 19 June 2014 | 9 years, 296 days |
33 | Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud | Saudi Arabia | 31 December 1935 | 88 years, 101 days | 23 January 2015 | 9 years, 78 days |
34 | Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) | Thailand | 28 July 1952 | 71 years, 257 days | 13 October 2016 | 7 years, 180 days |
35 | Mahmud Sallehuddin | Kedah (Malaysia) | 30 April 1942 | 81 years, 346 days | 11 September 2017 | 6 years, 212 days |
36 | Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah | Pahang (Malaysia) | 30 July 1959 | 64 years, 255 days | 15 January 2019 | 5 years, 86 days |
37 | Naruhito | Japan | 23 February 1960 | 64 years, 47 days | 1 May 2019 | 4 years, 345 days |
38 | Haitham bin Tarik Al Said | Oman | 11 October 1954 | 69 years, 182 days | 11 January 2020 | 4 years, 90 days |
39 | Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) | 11 March 1961 | 63 years, 30 days | 13 May 2022 | 1 year, 333 days |
40 | Charles III | Antigua and Barbuda | 14 November 1948 | 75 years, 148 days | 8 September 2022 | 1 year, 215 days |
Australia | ||||||
Bahamas | ||||||
Belize | ||||||
Canada | ||||||
Grenada | ||||||
Jamaica | ||||||
New Zealand | ||||||
Papua New Guinea | ||||||
Saint Kitts and Nevis | ||||||
Saint Lucia | ||||||
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | ||||||
Solomon Islands | ||||||
Tuvalu | ||||||
United Kingdom | ||||||
41 | Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah | Kuwait | 27 September 1940 | 83 years, 196 days | 16 December 2023 | 116 days |
42 | Frederik X | Denmark | 26 May 1968 | 55 years, 320 days | 14 January 2024 | 87 days |
A monarch is a head of state for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, or others may wield that power on behalf of the monarch. Usually a monarch either personally inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights or is selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may proclaim oneself monarch, which may be backed and legitimated through acclamation, right of conquest or a combination of means.
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic, to fully autocratic, and can span across executive, legislative, and judicial domains.
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A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as prince. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be titled as a king because it is perceived as a higher title than queen, however, some monarchies use the title of king consort for the role.
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