Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for a long time but who is or was the world's longest reigning monarch?

Tabby Tom

King Louis XIV of France reigned 72 years from 1643 to 1715. John II of Liechtenstein (1858 to 1929) and the Emperor Franz-Josef of Austria-Hungary (1848 to 1916) also reigned longer than Victoria (1837 to 1901), who was the longest-reigning British monarch. ('The Top Ten of Everything'; 2001 edition) Feb 06 03, 9:33 AM

Baloo55th

With a reign of over 80 years, King Sobhuza II of Swaziland has a fairly good claim. Admittedly he came to the throne at 5 months old, and the Kingdom of Swaziland was a British Protectorate for a large part of his reign, but he was a reigning monarch. For the benefit of Americans, a British Protectorate was not the same as a colony. The native ruler was left in place and handled most of the country's affairs. Britain took charge of international relations and guaranteed safety from attack by others. http://www.sntc.org.sz/cultural/sobhuza.html Thu Feb 06 10:06:25 CST 2003 (Reposted to fix link - McG) Feb 16 03, 4:00 PM

Luftnangle

Pepi II Neferkare 2278 BC-2184 BC 94 years Pepi II (c. 2278 BC–c. 2184 BC) was a pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. His throne name, Neferkare (Nefer-ka-Re), means "Beautiful is the Ka of Re". He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the premature death of his father Merenre I, and is generally credited with having the longest reign of any monarch in history at 94 years (c. 2278 BC - c. 2184 BC), though this figure has been disputed by some Egyptologists who favour a shorter reign length of 64 years, given the absence of attested dates known for Pepi after his 31st Count, which would equate to 62 years assuming the count to be biennial. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepi_II_Neferkare [Added reference - McG] Jan 13 08, 8:34 PM