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List of current reigning monarchs by length of reign facts for kids

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Hassanal Bolkiah, October 2021
Hassanal Bolkiah, the current longest-reigning monarch

This article lists the monarchs who have been ruling their countries for the longest time. A monarch is a king, queen, sultan, or prince who is the head of a country. They usually inherit their position from their family.

This list includes monarchs who rule over entire nations or important parts of nations. It does not include former rulers, people who claim to be monarchs but don't actually rule, or leaders who are only monarchs because of another job they have. It also doesn't include traditional rulers who don't have official power over a country.

Currently, Hassanal Bolkiah is the longest-reigning monarch. He has been the Sultan of Brunei since October 5, 1967. He became the longest-reigning monarch after Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom passed away on September 8, 2022.

Longest-Reigning Monarchs Today

This section shows a list of monarchs who are currently ruling, ordered by how long they have been in power.

Rank Monarch State Born Current age Acceded Years reigned
Reigns as of 18 May 2026 T 09:09 (UTC)
1 Hassanal Bolkiah Brunei 15 July 1946 79 years, 307 days 5 October 1967 58 years, 225 days
2 Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qassimi III Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) 6 July 1939 86 years, 316 days 25 January 1972 54 years, 113 days
3 Carl XVI Gustaf Sweden 30 April 1946 80 years, 18 days 15 September 1973 52 years, 245 days
4 Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) 22 February 1949 77 years, 85 days 18 September 1974 51 years, 242 days
5 Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi III Ajman (United Arab Emirates) 1 January 1931 95 years, 137 days 6 September 1981 44 years, 254 days
6 Mswati III Eswatini 19 April 1968 58 years, 29 days 25 April 1986 40 years, 23 days
7 Hans-Adam II Liechtenstein 14 February 1945 81 years, 93 days 13 November 1989 36 years, 186 days
8 Harald V Norway 21 February 1937 89 years, 86 days 17 January 1991 35 years, 121 days
9 Letsie III Lesotho 17 July 1963 62 years, 305 days 7 February 1996 34 years, 171 days
10 Mizan Zainal Abidin Terengganu (Malaysia) 22 January 1962 64 years, 116 days 15 May 1998 28 years, 3 days
11 Abdullah II Jordan 30 January 1962 64 years, 108 days 7 February 1999 27 years, 100 days
12 Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Bahrain 28 January 1950 76 years, 110 days 6 March 1999 27 years, 73 days
13 Mohammed VI Morocco 21 August 1963 62 years, 270 days 23 July 1999 26 years, 299 days
14 Syed Sirajuddin Perlis (Malaysia) 17 May 1943 83 years, 1 day 17 April 2000 26 years, 31 days
15 Henri Luxembourg 16 April 1955 71 years, 32 days 7 October 2000 25 years, 223 days
16 Sharafuddin Idris Shah Selangor (Malaysia) 11 December 1945 80 years, 158 days 22 November 2001 24 years, 177 days
17 Norodom Sihamoni Cambodia 14 May 1953 73 years, 4 days 14 October 2004 21 years, 216 days
18 Albert II Monaco 14 March 1958 68 years, 65 days 6 April 2005 21 years, 42 days
19 Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 15 July 1949 76 years, 307 days 4 January 2006 20 years, 134 days
20 Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Bhutan 21 February 1980 46 years, 86 days 9 December 2006 19 years, 160 days
21 Muhriz Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia) 14 January 1948 78 years, 124 days 29 December 2008 17 years, 140 days
22 Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla Umm al-Quwain (United Arab Emirates) 1 October 1952 73 years, 229 days 2 January 2009 17 years, 136 days
23 Ibrahim Iskandar Johor (Malaysia) 22 November 1958 67 years, 177 days 23 January 2010 16 years, 115 days
24 Muhammad V Kelantan (Malaysia) 6 October 1969 56 years, 224 days 13 September 2010 15 years, 247 days
25 Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Ras al-Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) 10 February 1956 70 years, 97 days 27 October 2010 15 years, 203 days
26 Tupou VI Tonga 12 July 1959 66 years, 310 days 18 March 2012 14 years, 61 days
27 Francis Vatican City 17 December 1936 89 years, 152 days 13 March 2013 13 years, 66 days
28 Willem-Alexander Netherlands 27 April 1967 59 years, 21 days 30 April 2013 13 years, 18 days
29 Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Qatar 3 June 1980 45 years, 349 days 25 June 2013 12 years, 327 days
30 Philippe Belgium 15 April 1960 66 years, 33 days 21 July 2013 12 years, 301 days
31 Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Perak (Malaysia) 27 November 1956 69 years, 172 days 29 May 2014 11 years, 354 days
32 Felipe VI Spain 30 January 1968 58 years, 108 days 19 June 2014 11 years, 333 days
33 Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Saudi Arabia 31 December 1935 90 years, 138 days 23 January 2015 11 years, 115 days
34 Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) Thailand 28 July 1952 73 years, 294 days 13 October 2016 9 years, 217 days
35 Mahmud Sallehuddin Kedah (Malaysia) 30 April 1942 84 years, 18 days 11 September 2017 8 years, 249 days
36 Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (Malaysia) 30 July 1959 66 years, 292 days 15 January 2019 7 years, 123 days
37 Naruhito Japan 23 February 1960 66 years, 84 days 1 May 2019 7 years, 17 days
38 Haitham bin Tarik Al Said Oman 11 October 1954 71 years, 219 days 11 January 2020 6 years, 127 days
39 Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 11 March 1961 65 years, 68 days 13 May 2022 4 years, 5 days
40 Charles III Antigua and Barbuda 14 November 1948 77 years, 185 days 8 September 2022 3 years, 252 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 85 years, 233 days 16 December 2023 2 years, 153 days
42 Frederik X Denmark 26 May 1968 57 years, 357 days 14 January 2024 2 years, 124 days

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