Here's what I found:
Shortest Monarch: Victoria, who was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837-1901 and Empress of India from 1876-1901, was 4'11" tall (tall?) which makes her the shortest monarch in history - not including child monarchs. Her husband, Prince Albert, was 5'10" which made them a bit of a Mutt and Jeff couple.
Tallest Monarch: At 6'8", the Russian Tsar/Emperor from 1682-1725 Peter the Great is the tallest monarch on record. It was enough to put him a massive 1'4" above the average male height for the time (the European average was approximately 5'4"). Set against other world leaders, he would be four inches taller than the tallest U.S. presidents (Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) were both 6'4") and the tallest British monarch (Edward IV of England (1461-1470) also 6'4"). Gustav V, King of Sweden from 1907-1950 gave Peter a run for his money, topping off at 6'7".
Heaviest Monarch: You might think that the notorious Henry VIII of England weighing in at nearly 400 lbs by the end of his reign would win this category, but you'd be wrong. The heaviest monarch that can be verified was Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga from 1965-2006 who at his peak in 1976 weighed in at a whopping 462 lbs, though he subsequently lost around 40% of his weight, whereas Henry just kept ballooning up the older he got.
Richest Monarch: The richest monarch in the world as of April 2011, is Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, also known as King Rama IX of the Chakri dynasty, with an estimated wealth of $30 billion, which was accumulated through investments derived from the Bureau of the Crown Property. He has ruled Thailand since 1946. The complete list of wealthiest royals can be found here.
Richest Monarch: The richest monarch in the world as of April 2011, is Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, also known as King Rama IX of the Chakri dynasty, with an estimated wealth of $30 billion, which was accumulated through investments derived from the Bureau of the Crown Property. He has ruled Thailand since 1946. The complete list of wealthiest royals can be found here.
Oldest Monarch to Ascend the Throne: When Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah ascended the throne in Malaysian in December 2011, he became, at the age of 84, the oldest constitutional monarch to be crowned. If Charles, Prince of Wales, ever gets crowed, he will be the oldest person to ascend the British throne, but the Queen is going strong, so goodness knows if and when that will happen.
Youngest Monarch to Ascend the Throne: Legend has it that in year 309, Persian nobles placed a crown upon the belly of King Hormizd II’s widow. Inside was history’s first fetal king: Shapur II. The in utero ruler was the ninth leader of the Sassanid Empire, a powerful Persian kingdom covering modern Iran. Shapur II ruled for 70 years. In the late 4th century, he successfully ousted Christianity from the Middle East. Of course, there were two other kings who were crowned on the same day they were born - John I of France (which I mentioned in my shortest reigns post) and Alfonso XIII of Spain (1886-1931).
Most Marriages: With this category, I'm going to discount any monarch in polygamist relationships. Therefore, the King of Israel from c. 970-931 BC, Solomon and his purported 700 wives will not be counted, nor will Sobhuza II of Swaziland and his 70 wives. Here's where we give the prize to England's notorious Henry VIII of England with six marriages. Oddly, Henry was married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon for 24 years before he lost his mind and started divorcing wives and cutting their heads off. Henry ruled England from 1509-1547.
Most Illegitimate Children: This category was completely fun to research. Top of this list is Henry I of England (1100-1135), who had approximately 25 illegitimate children by an untold number of mistresses. Notable mentions are Charles II of England (1660-1685) with approximately 20 illegitimate children (14 of which were acknowledged by Charles) and Louis XIV of France (1643-1715) with 14 documented children. Of course, it is possible that there are many more undocumented so we'll never really be sure who has the most.
Monarchs really are an interesting bunch.
Most Illegitimate Children: This category was completely fun to research. Top of this list is Henry I of England (1100-1135), who had approximately 25 illegitimate children by an untold number of mistresses. Notable mentions are Charles II of England (1660-1685) with approximately 20 illegitimate children (14 of which were acknowledged by Charles) and Louis XIV of France (1643-1715) with 14 documented children. Of course, it is possible that there are many more undocumented so we'll never really be sure who has the most.
Monarchs really are an interesting bunch.
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| (Pictured, top row (l to r): Queen Victoria, Peter the Great, Bhumibol Adulyadej,and Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah. Bottom row (l to r): Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, Shah Shapur III, King Henry VIII, and King Henry I) |
1 comment:
I really love your blog, but are you including Roman Emperors? i know not technically monarchs, but Maximinus Thrax surely wins the height section at (reportedly ) 8'6"?
: )
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