List of monarchs in Britain by length of reign

The following is a list, ordered by length of reign, of the monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (... Northern Ireland after 1927), the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of England since A.D. 925, the Kingdom of Scotland since A.D. 1107, and the Principality of Wales from A.D. 1170.

Since 24 September 1896, Queen Victoria has had the longest reign of any king or queen in the various kingdoms of the British Isles. On 9 September 2015, Elizabeth II will, if still reigning, surpass the reign of her great-great grandmother Victoria.^[2]

Overall

#	Name	Reign		Duration
		From	To	(days)	(years, days)
1	Victoria of the United Kingdom	20 June 1837	22 January 1901	23,226	7009200679120000000♠63 years, 216 days
2	Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom	6 February 1952	Present	23,093	7009199521360000000♠63 years, 82 days
3	George III of the United Kingdom	25 October 1760	29 January 1820	21,644	7009187019280000000♠59 years, 96 days
4	James VI of Scotland (I of England)	24 July 1567	27 March 1625	21,066	7009182003760000000♠57 years, 246 days
5	Henry III of England	18 October 1216	16 November 1272	20,483	7009176973120000000♠56 years, 29 days
6	Edward III of England	25 January 1327	21 June 1377	18,410	7009159058080000000♠50 years, 147 days
7	William I of Scotland	9 December 1165	4 December 1214	17,892	7009154586880000000♠48 years, 360 days
8	Llywelyn of Gwynedd	1195	11 April 1240	>16,172	45 years (approximately)
9	Elizabeth I of England	17 November 1558	24 March 1603	16,198	7009139950720000000♠44 years, 127 days
10	David II of Scotland	7 June 1329	22 February 1371	15,235	7009131632560000000♠41 years, 260 days

Post-Treaty of Union

United Kingdom

On 1 January 1801 the Kingdom of Great Britain united with the Kingdom of Ireland to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, later becoming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the independence of the Republic of Ireland.

Name	Reign		Duration
	From	To	(days)	(years, days)
Victoria	20 June 1837	22 January 1901	23,226	7009200679120000000♠63 years, 216 days
Elizabeth II	6 February 1952	Present	23,093	7009199521360000000♠63 years, 82 days
George III	25 October 1760	29 January 1820	21,644	7009187019280000000♠59 years, 96 days
George V	6 May 1910	20 January 1936	9,390	7008811317600000000♠25 years, 259 days
George VI	11 December 1936	6 February 1952	5,535	7008478288800000000♠15 years, 57 days
George IV	29 January 1820	26 June 1830	3,801	7008328363200000000♠10 years, 148 days
Edward VII	22 January 1901	6 May 1910	3,391	7008293004000000000♠9 years, 104 days
William IV	26 June 1830	20 June 1837	2,551	7008220363200000000♠6 years, 359 days
Edward VIII	20 January 1936	11 December 1936	326	326 days

Great Britain

On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union 1707, the Kingdom of England united with the Kingdom of Scotland as the Kingdom of Great Britain.

The longest claimed reign was that of James Francis Edward Stuart (the "Old Pretender"), whose reign as King over the Water lasted 64 years, 3 months and 16 days as the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland, then to the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland (17 September 1701 – 1 January 1766).

Name	Reign		Duration
	From	To	(days)	(years, days)
George III[3]	25 October 1760	29 January 1820	21,644	7009187019280000000♠59 years, 96 days
George II	22 June 1727N.S.	25 October 1760	12,168	7009105125040000000♠33 years, 114 days
George I	1 August 1714	11 June 1727	4,697	7008405820800000000♠12 years, 314 days
Anne[4]	8 March 1702	1 August 1714	4,529	7008391305600000000♠12 years, 146 days

England

Name	Reign		Duration
	From	To	(days)	(years, days)
Henry III	18 or 19 October 1216	16 November 1272	20,482 or 20,483	7009176964480000000♠56 years, 28 days or 29 days
Edward III	25 January 1327	21 June 1377	18,410	7009159058080000000♠50 years, 147 days
Elizabeth I	17 November 1558	24 March 1603	16,198	7009139950720000000♠44 years, 127 days
Henry VI[5]	31 August 1422 31 October 1470	4 March 1461 11 April 1471	14,065 162 Total: 14,227	7009121517280000000♠38 years, 185 days 162 days 38 years, 347 days
Æthelred II[5]	18 March 978 3 February 1014	25 December 1013 23 April 1016	13,065 810 Total: 13,875	7009112888080000000♠35 years, 282 days 7007700272000000000♠2 years, 80 days 37 years, 362 days
Henry VIII	22 April 1509	28 January 1547	13,795	7009119190960000000♠37 years, 281 days
Charles II[6]	30 January 1649	6 February 1685	13,156	7009113667840000000♠36 years, 7 days
Henry I	3 August 1100	1 December 1135	12,903	7009111488400000000♠35 years, 120 days
Henry II (co-ruler with Henry the Young King)	25 October 1154	6 July 1189	12,673	7009109490400000000♠34 years, 254 days
Edward I	20 November 1272	7 July 1307	12,646	7009109274400000000♠34 years, 229 days
Alfred	24 April 871	26 October 899	10,412	7008899596800000000♠28 years, 185 days
Edward the Elder	27 October 899	17 July 924	9,029	7008780192000000000♠24 years, 264 days
Charles I[7]	27 March 1625	30 January 1649	8,710	7008752522400000000♠23 years, 309 days
Henry VII	22 August 1485	21 April 1509	8,642	7008746733600000000♠23 years, 242 days
Edward the Confessor	8 June 1042	5 January 1066	8,612	7008744055200000000♠23 years, 211 days
Richard II	22 June 1377	29 September 1399	8,134	7008702820800000000♠22 years, 99 days
James I[1]	24 March 1603	27 March 1625	8,039	7008694526400000000♠22 years, 3 days
Edward IV[5]	4 March 1461 11 April 1471	3 October 1470 9 April 1483	3,500 4,381 Total: 7,881	7008302421600000000♠9 years, 213 days 7008378496800000000♠11 years, 363 days 21 years, 211 days
William I	12 December 1066	9 September 1087	7,563	7008653443200000000♠20 years, 258 days
Edward II	7 July 1307	20 January 1327	7,137	7008616615200000000♠19 years, 197 days
Cnut	30 November 1016	12 November 1035	6,921	7008598017600000000♠18 years, 347 days
Stephen[5]	22 December 1135 1 November 1141	7 April 1141 25 October 1154	1,933 4,741 Total: 6,674	7008166946400000000♠5 years, 106 days 7008409622400000000♠12 years, 358 days 18 years, 99 days
John	6 April 1199	19 October 1216	6,406	7008553413600000000♠17 years, 196 days
Edgar I	1 October 959	8 July 975	5,759	7008497556000000000♠15 years, 280 days
Æthelstan	2 August 924 (or 925)	27 October 939	5,564 or 5,199	7008480794400000000♠15 years, 86 days or 7008449236800000000♠14 years, 86 days
Henry IV	29 September 1399	20 March 1413	4,920	7008425109600000000♠13 years, 172 days
William III[8] (co-ruler with Mary II)	13 February 1689	8 March 1702	4,770	7008412236000000000♠13 years, 23 days
Henry the Young King (co-ruler with Henry II)	14 June 1170	11 June 1183	4,745	7008409968000000000♠12 years, 362 days
William II	9 September 1087	2 August 1100	4,710	7008406944000000000♠12 years, 327 days
Anne[4]	8 March 1702	1 August 1714	4,529	7008391305600000000♠12 years, 146 days
Richard I	6 July 1189	6 April 1199	3,561	7008307692000000000♠9 years, 274 days
Eadred	26 May 946	23 November 955	3,468	7008299656800000000♠9 years, 181 days
Henry V	21 March 1413	31 August 1422	3,450	7008298101600000000♠9 years, 163 days
Edmund I	27 October 939	26 May 946	2,403	7008207576000000000♠6 years, 211 days
Edward VI	28 January 1547	6 July 1553	2,351	7008203083200000000♠6 years, 159 days
Mary II[9] (co-ruler with William III)	13 February 1689	28 December 1694	2,144	7008185263200000000♠5 years, 318 days
Mary I	19 July 1553	17 November 1558	1,947	7008168242400000000♠5 years, 121 days
Eadwig	23 November 955	1 October 959	1,408	7008121629600000000♠3 years, 312 days
James II[10]	6 February 1685	11 December 1688	1,404	7008121370400000000♠3 years, 309 days
Edward the Martyr	9 July 975	18 March 978	984	7007849744000000000♠2 years, 253 days
Harold I	12 November 1037	17 March 1040	856	7007740016000000000♠2 years, 126 days
Harthacnut	17 March 1040	8 June 1042	813	7007702864000000000♠2 years, 83 days
Richard III	26 June 1483	22 August 1485	788	7007680400000000000♠2 years, 57 days
Louis (disputed)	14 June 1216	22 September 1217	465	7007401976000000000♠1 years, 100 days
Harold II	5 January 1066	14 October 1066	282	282 days
Edmund II	23 April 1016	30 November 1016	221	221 days
Matilda (disputed)	7 April 1141	1 November 1141	208	208 days
Edward V	9 April 1483	26 June 1483	78	78 days
Edgar II	15 October 1066	17 December 1066	63	63 days
Sweyn Forkbeard	25 December 1013	3 February 1014	40	40 days
Jane (disputed)	10 July 1553	19 July 1553	9	9 days

Scotland

The longest claimed reign was that of James Francis Edward Stuart (the "Old Pretender"), whose pretence lasted 64 years, 3 months and 16 days as the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland (17 September 1701 – 1 January 1766).

Name	Reign		Duration
	From	To	(days)	(years, days)
James VI[1]	24 July 1567	27 March 1625	21,066	7009182003760000000♠57 years, 246 days
William I	9 December 1165	4 December 1214	17,892	7009154586880000000♠48 years, 360 days
David II	7 June 1329	22 February 1371	15,235	7009131632560000000♠41 years, 260 days
Alexander III	6 July 1249	19 March 1286	13,405	7009115819200000000♠36 years, 256 days
Malcolm III	17 March 1058	13 November 1093	13,025	7009112533840000000♠35 years, 241 days
Alexander II	4 December 1214	6 July 1249	12,633	7009109144800000000♠34 years, 214 days
James I	4 April 1406	21 February 1437	11,281	7008974635200000000♠30 years, 323 days
James V	9 September 1513	14 December 1542	10,688	7008923464800000000♠29 years, 96 days
David I	23 April 1124	24 May 1153	10,623	7008917848800000000♠29 years, 31 days
James III	3 August 1460	11 June 1488	10,174	7008879098400000000♠27 years, 313 days
Charles II[6]	30 January 1649 29 May 1660	3 September 1651 6 February 1685	946 9,019 Total: 9,965	7007817776000000000♠2 years, 216 days 7008779241600000000♠24 years, 253 days 27 years, 104 days
James IV	11 June 1488	9 September 1513	9,220	7008796716000000000♠25 years, 90 days
Mary I	14 December 1542	24 July 1567	8,988	7008776563200000000♠24 years, 222 days
Charles I[7]	27 March 1625	30 January 1649	8,710	7008752522400000000♠23 years, 309 days
James II	21 February 1437	3 August 1460	8,564	7008739994400000000♠23 years, 164 days
Robert I	25 March 1306	7 June 1329	8,475	7008732218400000000♠23 years, 74 days
Robert II	22 February 1371	19 April 1390	6,996	7008604432800000000♠19 years, 56 days
Alexander I	8 January 1107	23 April 1124	6,315	7008545637600000000♠17 years, 106 days
Robert III	19 April 1390	4 April 1406	5,828	7008503604000000000♠15 years, 350 days
William II[8]	11 May 1689	8 March 1702	4,683	7008404697600000000♠12 years, 301 days
Anne[4]	8 March 1702	1 August 1714	4,529	7008391305600000000♠12 years, 146 days
Malcolm IV	24 May 1153	9 December 1165	4,582	7008395884800000000♠12 years, 199 days
Mary II[9]	11 May 1689	28 December 1694	2,057	7008177746400000000♠5 years, 231 days
James VII[10]	6 February 1685	11 December 1688 claimed until 16 September 1701	1,404 claimed 6,065	7008121370400000000♠3 years, 309 days claimed 7008524102400000000♠16 years, 222 days
John Balliol	17 November 1292	10 July 1296	1,331	7008115063200000000♠3 years, 236 days

Wales

Name	Reign		Duration
	From	To	(days)	(years, days)
Llywelyn the Great	1195	11 April 1240	>16172	c. 45 years
Owain Gwynedd	1137	1170	>11688	c. 33 years
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd	1253	11 December 1282	>10572	c. 29 years
Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd	1170	1195	>8766	c. 25 years
Owain Glyndŵr (disputed)	16 September 1400	c. 1416	>5585	c. 16 years
Owain Goch ap Gruffydd	26 February 1246	1253	>2500	c. 7 years
Owain Lawgoch (disputed)	May 1372	July 1378	>2221	c. 6 years
Dafydd ap Llywelyn	12 April 1240	25 February 1246	2,145	7008185349600000000♠5 years, 319 days
Dafydd ap Gruffydd	12 December 1282	3 October 1283	295	295 days

Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II marked her Diamond Jubilee (sixty years on the throne) on 6 February 2012, at the age of 85 years, 291 days.

Should she still be reigning on—

• 9 September 2015 (at age 7009282080880000000♠89 years, 141 days), she would surpass Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning British monarch, and the longest-reigning female monarch in world history.^[2][11][12]
• 23 May 2016 (at age 90 years, 33 days), she would surpass the claimed reign of James Francis Edward Stuart (the "Old Pretender").
• 6 February 2022 (at age 7009302311440000000♠95 years, 291 days), she would celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne.
• 27 May 2024 (at age 7009309575520000000♠98 years, 36 days), she would surpass Louis XIV of France as the longest reigning monarch of a major country in European history.
• 17 October 2034 (at age 7009342368640000000♠108 years, 179 days), she could surpass Sobhuza II as the longest reigning monarch in world history, depending on whether and when the reign of Bhumibol Adulyadej had ended.

See also

• Current reigning monarchs by length of reign
• List of British monarchs by longevity
• List of longest-reigning monarchs
• Line of succession to the British throne
• Monarchy of the United Kingdom

References