The following is a list of heads of state throughout history who were reportedly LGBTQ but lived at a time with different views on sexuality and gender and/or never publicly came out, or were privately closeted. The article is for those who are reported by posthumous sources as being LGBTQ (or a sexual and/or gender minority) [a] and head of a sovereign state. It is difficult to piece together how historical figures would have self-identified, and modern terms and frameworks around sex and gender can be very different from past cultures. [5] Additionally, the criminalization and stigmatization of gender and sexual diversity is common throughout history, which motivated many LGBTQ people to remain closeted, [6] [7] and excluded LGBTQ topics and people from historical records. [8] The list is sorted by year of death from oldest to newest.