Kings and Queens: Length of Reign

This page gained relevance in the last years of the reign of Elizabeth II, as she broke every previous British record.

No.		Name	Reign	AAS	YOR	AAD	Cause of death
1		Elizabeth II	1952 – 2022	25	70	96	Old age
2		Victoria	1837 – 1901	18	64	81.243	Old age
3		George III	1760 – 1820	22	59.96	81.239	Old age
4		Henry III	1216 – 1272	9	56	65	Old age
5		Edward III	1327 – 1377	14	50	64	Old age
6		Elizabeth I	1558 – 1603	25	45	69	Tonsillar abcess
7		Henry VI	1422 – 1461	0.8	39.0	39	Murdered
8		Henry VIII	1509 – 1547	17	37.9	55	Sinusitis / periostitis
9		Henry I	1100 – 1135	32	35.4	67	Fever
10		Henry II	1154 – 1189	21	34.259	56	Fever
11		Edward I	1272 – 1307	33	34.230	68	?
12		George II	1727 – 1760	44	33	76	Coronary thrombosis
13		George V	1910 – 1936	44	26	70	Bronchitis
14		Charles II	1660 – 1685	30	24.8	54	Uraemia
15		Charles I	1625 – 1649	24	24.0	48	Beheaded
16		Henry VII	1485 – 1509	28	23.8	52	Rheumatoid arthritis / gout
17		Richard II	1377 – 1399	10	22.3	33	Neuroasthaemia
18		James I	1603 – 1625	36	22.0	58	Bright's disease
19		Edward IV	1461 – 1483	18	21.7	40	Pneumonia
20		William I	1066 – 1087	39	20.9	59	Riding injury
21		Edward II	1307 – 1327	23	19.6	43	Murdered
22		Stephen	1135 – 1154	35/39	18.5	54/48	Heart attack
23		John	1199 – 1216	31	17.5	48	Dysentry
24		George VI	1936 – 1952	40	15.2	56	Lung cancer
25		Henry IV	1399 – 1413	33	13.6	46?	Eczema / gout
26		William III	1689 – 1702	38	13.1	51	Pleuropneumonia
27		William II	1087 – 1100	27/31	12.11	40/44	Hunting accident
28		George I	1714 – 1727	54	12.10	67	Coronary thrombosis
29		Anne	1702 – 1714	37	12.5	49	Cerebral haemorrhage
30		George IV	1820 – 1830	57	10.5	67	Rupture of blood vessels in stomach
31		Richard I	1189 – 1199	32	9.8	41	Arrow wound
32		Henry V	1413 – 1422	25	9.6	34	Dysentry
33		Edward VII	1901 – 1910	59	9.4	68	Bronchitis
34		William IV	1830 – 1837	64	7.0	71	Pleuropneumonia
35		Edward VI	1547 – 1553	9	6.6	15	Pulmonary thrombosis
36		Mary II	1689 – 1694	26	5.10	32	Smallpox / pneumonia
37		Mary I	1553 – 1558	37	5.4	42	Influenza
38		James II	1685 – 1688	51	3.10	67	Cerebral haemorrhage
39		Richard III	1483 – 1485	30	2.2	32	Killed in battle

No.		Name	Reign	AAS	Days	AAD	Cause of death
40		Edward VIII	20 Jan – 10 or 11 Dec 1936	41	325	77	Throat cancer
41		Matilda	7 Apr – Nov 1141	39	c. 220	65	?
42		Edward V	9 Apr – 25 Jun 1483	12	77	13/16	Murdered?
43		Charles III	8 Sep 2022 to date	73
44		Jane	6 (10)–19 Jul 1553	15	9 or 13	16	Beheaded

Depositions (etc.)

Six kings and one queen did not die as monarch:

1327	Imprisoned on 16 November 1326, deposed by Parliament on 20 January 1327 (succeeded by his son Edward III) and murdered in Berkeley Castle on 21 September 1327		Edward II
1399	Grandson of Edward III: imprisoned by his cousin Henry IV on 19 August 1399, deposed by him on 30 September 1399, and died in prison in February 1400		Richard II
1471	Grandson of Henry IV: usurped by his cousin Edward IV on II April 1471 (for the second time) and murdered by stabbing in the Tower of London on 21 May 1471		Henry VI
1483	Son of Edward IV: usurped by his uncle Richard III on 25 June 1483 and died (murdered, according to tradition) in 1483 or 1486		Edward V
1553	Deposed on 19 July 1553, succeeded by her second cousin once removed upwards Mary I, and beheaded on 12 February 1554		Queen Jane
1688	Deemed "by legal fiction" to have ended his reign by flight on 11 December 1688. He died in France in 1701		James II
1936	Abdicated on 11 December 1936 in order to marry Bessie Wallis Simpson, a divorcee. He died in Paris in 1972, aged 77		Edward VIII

Landmarks for Charles III

(as long as he survives ... )

Shortest–reigning monarch but one (outlasting Queen Jane)	10 days		18 September 2022
Shortest–reigning monarch but two (outlasting Edward V)	78 days		25 November 2022
Shortest–reigning monarch but three (outlasting Empress Matilda)	221 days		17 April 2023
Shortest–reigning monarch but four (outlasting Edward VIII)	326 days		31 August 2023
Shortest–reigning monarch but five (outlasting Richard III)	2 years 58 days		5 November 2024
Oldest reigning monarch but three (outliving George II)	76 years 352 days		1 November 2025

Charles was 73 years and 298 days old when he acceded to the throne. Only four previous monarchs have lived to be older than this: George II (76 years 351 days), George III (81 years 239 days), Queen Victoria (81 years 243 days) and his own mother, Elizabeth II (96 years 140 days).

This doesn't include Charles's great–uncle, Edward VIII, who was 77 years and 340 days old when he died in 1972. But he was only 42 years and 171 days old when he abdicated.

Landmarks for Elizabeth II

16 December 2007	Replaced as the 2nd oldest reigning monarch ever		George III
20 December 2007	Replaced as the oldest reigning British monarch ever		Queen Victoria
5 March 2008	Replaced as the 3rd longest reigning monarch ever		Henry III
13 May 2011	Replaced as the 2nd longest reigning monarch ever		George III
12 September 2013	Replaced by Prince Charles as the oldest ever heir apparent		Sophia of Hanover

Sophia of Hanover was declared the rightful heir to Queen Anne by the Act of Settlement of 1701, but never became Queen because she died in 1714 at the age of 83, two months before Anne. Sophia's son was duly crowned George I.

15 April 2011

Replaced by Prince Charles as the longest–serving heir apparent

Edward VII

Prince Charles was 3 years and 84 days old when he became heir apparent on the death of his grandfather (George VI) and the accession of his mother.

9 September 2015

Replaced as the longest reigning British monarch ever

Queen Victoria

Elizabeth fell short of the following landmark by one year and 261 days:

(26 May 2024)

Longest reigning monarch of a major European country, to date (came to the throne aged 4 years and 8 months, and died four days before his 77th birthday): will be replaced by Elizabeth if she continues until this date. By this time she will be 98 years and 35 days old

Louis XIV of France (1643–1715)

© Haydn Thompson 2017–22