Longest ever reigns

The longest uninterrupted reign by a monarch of a sovereign state is that of Louis XIV of France (b. 5 September 1638). He ruled for 72 years, 110 days, from 14 May 1643 to 1 September 1715.

Minhti, King of Arakan, which is now part of Myanmar (formerly Burma), is reputed to have reigned for 95 years between 1279 and 1374. The longest documented reign of any monarch is that of Phiops II (also known as Pepi II or Neferkare) a Sixth-Dynasty pharaoh of ancient Egypt. His reign began c. 2281 BCE, when he was six years of age, and is believed to have lasted c. 94 years. Musoma Kanijo, although not a monarch, was chief of the Nzega district of western Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) and reputedly reigned for more than 98 years from 1864, when aged eight, until his death on 2 February 1963. As of 10 December 2020, the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II has enjoyed the fourth-longest reign by a monarch, at 68 years 308 days.