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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 17 March 2026 T 04:06 (UTC)
1 Hassanal Bolkiah Brunei 15 July 1946 79 years, 245 days 5 October 1967 58 years, 163 days
2 Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qassimi III Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) 6 July 1939 86 years, 254 days 25 January 1972 54 years, 51 days
3 Carl XVI Gustaf Sweden 30 April 1946 79 years, 321 days 15 September 1973 52 years, 183 days
4 Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) 22 February 1949 77 years, 23 days 18 September 1974 51 years, 180 days
5 Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi III Ajman (United Arab Emirates) 1 January 1931 95 years, 75 days 6 September 1981 44 years, 192 days
6 Mswati III Eswatini 19 April 1968 57 years, 332 days 25 April 1986 39 years, 326 days
7 Hans-Adam II Liechtenstein 14 February 1945 81 years, 31 days 13 November 1989 36 years, 124 days
8 Harald V Norway 21 February 1937 89 years, 24 days 17 January 1991 35 years, 59 days
9 Letsie III Lesotho 17 July 1963 62 years, 243 days 7 February 1996 34 years, 109 days
10 Mizan Zainal Abidin Terengganu (Malaysia) 22 January 1962 64 years, 54 days 15 May 1998 27 years, 306 days
11 Abdullah II Jordan 30 January 1962 64 years, 46 days 7 February 1999 27 years, 38 days
12 Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Bahrain 28 January 1950 76 years, 48 days 6 March 1999 27 years, 11 days
13 Mohammed VI Morocco 21 August 1963 62 years, 208 days 23 July 1999 26 years, 237 days
14 Syed Sirajuddin Perlis (Malaysia) 17 May 1943 82 years, 304 days 17 April 2000 25 years, 334 days
15 Henri Luxembourg 16 April 1955 70 years, 335 days 7 October 2000 25 years, 161 days
16 Sharafuddin Idris Shah Selangor (Malaysia) 11 December 1945 80 years, 96 days 22 November 2001 24 years, 115 days
17 Norodom Sihamoni Cambodia 14 May 1953 72 years, 307 days 14 October 2004 21 years, 154 days
18 Albert II Monaco 14 March 1958 68 years, 3 days 6 April 2005 20 years, 345 days
19 Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 15 July 1949 76 years, 245 days 4 January 2006 20 years, 72 days
20 Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Bhutan 21 February 1980 46 years, 24 days 9 December 2006 19 years, 98 days
21 Muhriz Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia) 14 January 1948 78 years, 62 days 29 December 2008 17 years, 78 days
22 Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla Umm al-Quwain (United Arab Emirates) 1 October 1952 73 years, 167 days 2 January 2009 17 years, 74 days
23 Ibrahim Iskandar Johor (Malaysia) 22 November 1958 67 years, 115 days 23 January 2010 16 years, 53 days
24 Muhammad V Kelantan (Malaysia) 6 October 1969 56 years, 162 days 13 September 2010 15 years, 185 days
25 Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Ras al-Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) 10 February 1956 70 years, 35 days 27 October 2010 15 years, 141 days
26 Tupou VI Tonga 12 July 1959 66 years, 248 days 18 March 2012 13 years, 364 days
27 Francis Vatican City 17 December 1936 89 years, 90 days 13 March 2013 13 years, 4 days
28 Willem-Alexander Netherlands 27 April 1967 58 years, 324 days 30 April 2013 12 years, 321 days
29 Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Qatar 3 June 1980 45 years, 287 days 25 June 2013 12 years, 265 days
30 Philippe Belgium 15 April 1960 65 years, 336 days 21 July 2013 12 years, 239 days
31 Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Perak (Malaysia) 27 November 1956 69 years, 110 days 29 May 2014 11 years, 292 days
32 Felipe VI Spain 30 January 1968 58 years, 46 days 19 June 2014 11 years, 271 days
33 Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Saudi Arabia 31 December 1935 90 years, 76 days 23 January 2015 11 years, 53 days
34 Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) Thailand 28 July 1952 73 years, 232 days 13 October 2016 9 years, 155 days
35 Mahmud Sallehuddin Kedah (Malaysia) 30 April 1942 83 years, 321 days 11 September 2017 8 years, 187 days
36 Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (Malaysia) 30 July 1959 66 years, 230 days 15 January 2019 7 years, 61 days
37 Naruhito Japan 23 February 1960 66 years, 22 days 1 May 2019 6 years, 320 days
38 Haitham bin Tarik Al Said Oman 11 October 1954 71 years, 157 days 11 January 2020 6 years, 65 days
39 Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 11 March 1961 65 years, 6 days 13 May 2022 3 years, 308 days
40 Charles III Antigua and Barbuda 14 November 1948 77 years, 123 days 8 September 2022 3 years, 190 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, 171 days 16 December 2023 2 years, 91 days
42 Frederik X Denmark 26 May 1968 57 years, 295 days 14 January 2024 2 years, 62 days

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