10 Longest-Ruling Monarchs
On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth I ascended the throne of England and Ireland at the age of 25 and went on to become one of the world’s most famous monarchs. She reigned until she was 69 years old, marking 44 years of rule under her guidance.
In that time, her domain defeated the mighty Spanish Armada, kept England out of any serious wars on the continent, raised the profile and status of England as a regional (and burgeoning global) power, and kept persecution of Catholics in England to a relative minimum. During her reign, a flowering of literature - including the plays of William Shakespeare - enhanced the now-immense cultural impact of England on the world.
But Elizabeth I’s reign wasn’t anywhere near the longest in history. Britain’s current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who will celebrate 70 years of marriage this week, has reigned for 65 years. And she’s still not among the Top 10 longest-tenured rulers in history.
The list below is not comprehensive, and of course the tenure of monarchs grows more and more suspect the further you move away from the present, but it’s an instructive list that can hopefully help us to glean something useful from the past.
ð?. Sobhuza II of Swaziland (82 years): The king of Swaziland from 1889-1982, Sobhuza II is credited with achieving independence from the United Kingdom at a time when many kingdoms in his neighborhood (southern Africa) were being absorbed into the British Empire or the South African Republic. Sobhuza II’s early reign was characterized by Swaziland’s protectorate status within the British Empire, which just means that the British Empire recognized his regency, but nobody else in the world was allowed to because London assumed Swaziland’s foreign policy.
In 1968, the United Kingdom granted Swaziland full independence and, for about five years, Sobhuza II ruled as a monarch in a constitutional system designed to mimic the one found in the United Kingdom. In 1973, he abolished the parliament and the British-influenced constitution and established absolute rule. He seized foreign-owned property and assumed it for himself (in the name of Swaziland) and set up a council based very, very loosely on governance models thought to be indigenous to Swaziland and its neighboring Bantustans.
ð?®. Bernhard VII of Lippe (81 years): Known as Bernhard the Bellicose, Bernhard VII ruled a small kingdom in what is now Germany from 1428-1511 and, as his name implies, he was constantly at odds with neighboring kingdoms. The Lordship of Lippe was part of the Holy Roman Empire and is sometimes referred to as a principality, but make no mistake, Lippe was a kingdom in the exact same manner as Elizabeth I’s Britain or Sobhuza II’s Swaziland.
Bernhard VII’s reputation as a bellicose neighbor probably had less to do with his temperament than it did with Lippe’s general neighborhood and theological climate during his reign. Although Lippe was a member of the Holy Roman Empire, its sovereignty could not be fully guaranteed by this understudied polity. If anything, Bernhard VII’s nickname should be seen in light of his diplomatic skills and especially his ability to keep Lippe’s sovereignty and bloodline intact throughout the Holy Roman Empire’s bloody 15th and early 16th centuries.
ð?¯. Jangsu of Goguryeo (78 years): If any monarch on this list deserves an asterisk next to his name, it’s Jangsu of the ancient Goguryeo Empire. Goguryeo is the largest of the kingdoms featured on this list, in terms of territory and cultural influence, and ruled over what is now much of the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria (which is governed by China today). If the ancient records about Jangsu are to be believed, and the scholarship on this region has become incredibly enlightening and rigorous over the past 15 years or so, then Jangsu was the longest-ruling monarch in East Asia’s illustrious history.
Jangsu ruled from roughly 413 -491 and inherited a much-expanded kingdom from his father’s wars of conquest. Like many of the other long-lasting monarchs on this list, Jangsu was a skilled diplomat most known for playing rivals off on each other abroad, and at home his politics are often attributed for a good economy and a burgeoning Korean culture. His most indirect claim to fame might be his decision to rename his kingdom Goryeo (Koryo), which is where the name Korea from.
ð?°. William IV of Henneberg-Schleusingen (78 years): William IV was another monarch reigning over a small kingdom aligned within the Holy Roman Empire. William IV reigned from 1480-1559 and was known for - you guessed it - having a shrewd diplomatic policy. Perhaps the best example of William IV’s diplomatic gusto was his decision to embrace the Protestant Reformation and fall into league with other kingdoms that had done the same. While the Holy Roman Empire’s protestant princely states ended up producing horrific amounts of bloodshed and a century of war, William IV’s reign lasted more than three-quarters of a century.
William IV ended up dying in South Tyrol, a region in present-day northern Italy with a significant amount (30%) of German speakers and a little-known but persistent secessionist movement.
ð?±. Karansinhji Vajirajji of Lakhtar (78 years): Karansinhji was the king of Lakhtar from 1846-1924. Lakhtar was a Princely State within the British Raj during Karansinhji’s reign and was located in present-day Gujarat, one of India’s wealthiest states.
Not much is known about Karansinhji from a scholarly standpoint, but Lakhtar was founded in 1604 and managed to secure its sovereignty under the British Raj until Indian independence in 1948. The monarchs of Lakhtar, called “Thakur Sahib” instead of “King,” were known for using the British Raj system to not only protect their kingdom from the predatory instincts of larger, neighboring ones, but also as a way to spur economic growth and enhance civil liberties.
ð?². Heinrich XI of Reuss-Obergreiz (77 years): Heinrich XI, who ruled from 1723-1800, might be the most boring member of the entire Top 10. Again it’s important to stress that boring is not such a bad thing if it’s longevity you are concerned about. Heinrich XI’s kingdom was also a part of the Holy Roman Empire, albeit a small one -- the population was just 71,000 before Reuss-Obergreiz was absorbed into Thuringia in 1920.
ð?³. Idris ibni Muhammad al-Qadri of Tampin (76 years): Al-Qadri actually died in 2005, which makes him the most contemporary monarch to make this list. Tampin is a small monarchy in Malaysia and it sends representatives to Kuala Lumpur that are elected by the people rather than chosen by the monarch.
So why even include al-Qadri in the list, if his monarchy is so weak that it cannot even speak for itself via representatives in Malaysia’s parliament? Because the monarchy can speak for itself, it just doesn’t have to go through the messy parliamentary process to do so. If you’ve got a kingdom that a larger polity is happy to govern for you, why risk the status quo? You get money, your own kingdom, and a stable peace of mind.
ð?´. Christian August of Palatinate-Sulzbach (75 years): Here we have the fourth and final monarch who can attribute his long reign, in part, to being a member of the Holy Roman Empire. He reigned benevolently from 1632-1708. Christian August let his subjects choose their own brand of Christianity – a rarity in his day and age - and even allowed Jews to settle on his lands beginning in 1666.
Perhaps because of his tolerant manner of reigning, his capital, Sulzbach, became a center of intellectual and cultural life not only in the Holy Roman Empire but throughout continental Europe.
ð?µ. Mudhoji IV of Phaltan (74 years): Mudhoji IV ruled the Princely State of Phaltan from 1841-1916, and is known only for his long reign over Phaltan.
Today, Phaltan is a part of Maharashtra, the richest state in India. Like Lakhtar, Phaltan was a non-salute state within the British Raj, meaning it wasn’t important enough to merit recognition from the British military and its empire, which, again, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
ð?ð??. Bhagvat Singh Sahib of Gondal (74 years): Rounding out this week’s Top 10 is Bhagvat Singh Sahib of the Princely State of Gondal, another monarchy aligned with the British Raj. He reigned from 1869-1944 and is considered to be one of the most progressive monarchs in India, ever.
He earned a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and built schools, hospitals, a police force, dams, irrigation networks for farming and sewage systems, railroads, telephone cables, brought electricity to his kingdom, and ensured that girls could attend schools through compulsory education initiatives. Gondal was raised to the status of 11-gun salute state within the British Empire during Bhagvat Singh Sahib’s reign. Gondal is today, along with Lakhtar, part of Gujarat, one of India’s wealthiest states.
Further thoughts
This list is actually a bit of a snore fest. It turns out the longest-tenured monarchs in history are bores. When you take a little time to think about it, though, this makes a lot of sense. Those who live by the sword end up conquering land and creating myths. They also end up dying by the sword, too, and often at a much earlier age than they otherwise would.
The big issue that stood out to me while making this list was sovereignty. In the age of Brexit, Nexit, Catalonia, and the rise of China, I think it is important to remember the lessons of the past these long-reigning monarchs can teach us. Sovereignty is not an absolute. It is not necessary for good governance, or even long-lasting governance. It can be used in degrees or layers. It can be traded and negotiated upon. Sovereignty can be used to establish relationships with other polities to that ensure a healthy element of equality between political units large and small.
