Longest Reigning Monarchs...

Do you love or hate your job? Can you imagine having to do your job 24/7/365? How about 24/7/365 for 6 or 7 or 8 decades?? Yes, decades!  The other day, I was listening to my favorite podcast, Rex Factor, which I have written about in the past and still find completely enchanting. Co-host Graham Duke happened to mention that King Louis XIV of France reigned for 72 years, to which co-host Ali Hood queried whether that was the longest reign in history. Graham wasn't positive but noted that it was at least one of the longest.  As I have a particular fascination with monarchs, I decided to investigate this subject and came upon a list of interesting monarchs who had incredibly long reigns and most of whom I had never heard about before the research.

Here are the top 10 longest verifiable reigning monarchs:

1. Sobhuza II (Swaziland): Sobhuza II was the Paramount Chief and later King of Swaziland for 82 years, 254 days from 1899 to 1982. When he was four months old, his father, Ngwane V, died suddenly at the age of 23 while dancing incwala. Sobhuza was chosen King soon after that and his grandmother Labotsibeni Mdluli served as regent until his majority in 1921. He directly reigned Swaziland for 60 years, during which he presided over Swaziland's independence from United Kingdom in 1968, after which the British government recognized him as King of Swaziland. Sobhuza continued the tribal tradition of having many concurrent wives. During his lifetime, he married 70 women who gave him 210 children. "About 180 children survived infancy, and 97 sons and daughters are reported living. At his death he had more than 1000 grandchildren" (Wikipedia). This is the second time that Swaziland has appeared on one of my lists - having appeared as an honorable mention in my weird flags post. Well done, Swaziland.

2. Bernhard VI (Lippe): The second longest reigning monarch ruled the Principality of Lippe, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, for 81 years, 234 days. Bernhard inherited Lippe just before his first birthday in 1429 and ruled until his death in 1511. During his reign, he was involved in so many bloody feuds that he became known as "Bernhard the Bellicose". He married Anna, the daughter of Count Otto II of Holstein-Schauenburg, and had 7 children. Lippe was a historical state in Germany and was located between the Weser River and the southeast part of the Teutoburg forest.

3. William IV (Henneberg-Schleusingen): The third monarch on the list was a member of the House of Henneberg and ruled of the County of Henneberg, within the Holy Roman Empire for 78 years, 243 days. Henneberg was a state in Germany. The son of William III of Henneberg, William IV inherited the County of Henneberg at ~5 years of age in 1480, when his father died, and reigned until his own death in 1559. He married Anastasia of Brandenburg in 1500 and had 13 children. In 1543–1544, William embraced the Protestant Reformation.

4. Heinrich XI (Reuss-Greiz): In 1723, at the age of one, Heinrich XI succeeded his brother Henry IX as Count of Reuss-Obergreiz. Heinrich ruled for 77 years, 103 days until his death in 1800. In 1743, he married Countess Conradine Reuss of Köstritz and had eleven children. A few months after Conradine's death in 1770, he married Countess Alexandrine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim. They had no children. Reuss-Greiz was yet another state in Germany and part of the Holy Roman Empire.

5. Christian Augustus (Palatinate-Sulzbach): The fourth straight monarch on the list who ruled part of Germany and under the Holy Roman Empire, Christian Augustus reigned for 75 years, 253 days. At the age of 10, he succeeded his father in 1632. Christian Augustus was a tolerant ruler. He granted his citizens the right to choose their Christian denomination and introduced the Simultaneum, whereby churches offered both Protestant and Catholic services. In 1666, he permitted Jews to settle in the Duchy of Sulzbach. Under his rule, Sulzbach also became an intellectual center and the site of a regionally significant printing industry. Christian Augustus married Amalie of Nassau-Siegen and they had 5 children. Christian Augustus died at the age of 85 in Sulzbach in 1708 and was buried in the Church of St Maria in Sulzbach.

6. Mudhoji IV Rao Naik Nambalkar (Phaltan): Starting at the age of 3, the Hindu ruler of Phaltan State in India, Mudhoji IV Rao governed his state under British rule from 7 December 1841 until 17 October 1916 for a total of 74 years, 315 days. He married and had two children. Despite being the longest reigning monarch in India, I could not find any further information about him - not even a Wiki page <gasp!>.

7. Bhagvatsingh Sahib (Gondal State): Bhagvatsingh was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Gondal in India from 1869 till his death in 1944, for a total of 74 years, 87 days. He was 4 years old when he succeeded his father. Bhagvatsingh was the only Maharaja to earn a medical degree and was regarded as a progressive and enlightened ruler. He has an impressive list of advancements which include: reforming the state administration, developing its resources, erecting schools, colleges and hospitals, providing free and compulsory education for both men and women through university, building technical schools for engineers and training facilities for labourers, and championing women's rights. By the 20th century, Gondal boasted having the finest medical services and the finest municipal works system in the subcontinent. During his reign, Bhagvatsingh abolished all rates, taxes, customs, and export duties making Gondal the only Indian state to be tax-free. Additionally, he not only removed the purdah system for women, but restricted women's wings were no longer built in subsequent palaces. By 1918, Gondal was the only state to have compulsory education for girls in all villages. Bhagvatsingh married Her Highness Maharani Shri Nand Kunverbaiji Sahiba in 1881 and they had a total of 9 children (six sons and three daughters) - all of whom received exceptional educations. Hands down, this monarch is my favorite on this list based on his revolutionary achievements.

8. Georg Wilhelm (Schaumburg-Lippe): We return to Germany with monarch number 8. Georg Wilhelm was a Count and later Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. He ruled for 73 years, 282 days after succeeding his father at age 3 from 1787 to 1860. He was married on June 23, 1816 at Arolsen to Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont; they had nine children.

9. Charles Frederick (Baden): Yet another German monarch with a lengthy reign, Charles Frederick was the first duke of Bade who ruled for 72 years, 228 days from 1738-1811. He succeeded his grandfather at the age of 10 and was regarded as a good example of an enlightened despot. He supported schools, universities, jurisprudence, civil service, economy, culture, and urban development, outlawed torture in 1767, and serfdom in 1783. Charles Frederick's first marriage was to  Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt and together, they had 5 children. Four years after his first wife's death, he married  Louise Caroline, Baroness Geyer of Geyersberg and they had 5 children. 

10. John Louis (Nassau-Saarbrücken): John Louis was the Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken and succeeded his father posthumously. Born three months after his father's death, John Louis reigned for 72 years, 100 days. Nassau-Saarbrücken was an imperial state in the Upper Lorraine region (present day France). His marriage to his first wife, Elisabeth, resulted in the birth of 6 children. Six years after Elisabeth's death, John remarried to Catherine of Moers and they had 8 children.

Interestingly, the monarch which instigated this post (Louis XIV) comes in at 11th on the list. 30th on the list is the longest current reigning monarch - Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand whose reign started at the age of 19 in 1946. He has been ruling Thailand for 67 years and counting.

Additionally, there is a list of monarchs with lengthy, but unverifiable, reigns. First, there is Pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare in Ancient Egypt who possibly reigned for 94 years. Second, King Teajo from Goguryeo (Korea) arguably reigned for 93 years. Third, Ermanaric the Ostrogoth from Oium might have reigned for 80 years. There are another 161 names on this list.

I cannot possibly imagine doing the same job for 80+ years, but then again, I suppose ruling a country is probably not your typical job. Of course, none of these monarchs actually ruled from day 1 as they were children when handed the reins to their respective kingdoms, but still, it's a pretty impressive feat.