Records of heads of state

=Longest-serving=

Monarch

All-time

* "Main article: List of longest reigning monarchs of all time"

The longest-reigning monarch of all-time is a matter of some debate. Candidates include Pepi II Neferkare, pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, believed to have ruled for around 94 years between 2278 BC and 2184 BC, however some sources put the length of his reign at only 64 years. Minhti, king of Arakan (now in Burma) is reputed to have reigned for 95 years from 1279 to 1374, but little documentary evidence exists for this claim. Similarly Taejo of Goguryeo (now in Korea) is listed as reigning for 93 years between 53 and 146 eventually dying at the age of 119 in 165.

The longest undisputed reign is that of Sobhuza II of Swaziland who ascended to the throne on December 10 1899 at the age of four months and ruled until his death on August 21 1982, a reign of 82 years 254 days.

Current

* "Main article: List of longest reigning current monarchs"

The longest-serving current monarch is King Rama IX of Thailand who has been king of Thailand since June 9, 1946.

hortest-serving

Monarch

The shortest reign is believed to be that of Luis Filipe of Portugal who was assassinated at the same time as his father on February 1 1908. He could thus be claimed to have been King of Portugal for 20 minutes.cite book | last = McWhirter | first = Norris
title = Guinness Book of Records | publisher = Guinness Publishing
date = 1996 | pages = pp. 181-2 | isbn = 0-85112-646-4 ] However the Portuguese monarchy lacked automatic succession and so any claim that he was "de facto" king does not hold up to scrutiny.

Ruling houses

Oldest

The current Emperor of Japan, Akihito is the 125th in line from the first emperor Jimmu Tenno, who is variously believed to have reigned in the 1st or 7th century BC.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is well-documented as being descended from Arnulf of Metz, forefather of Charlemagne, thus representing a lineage of 47 generations. (See Descent of Elizabeth II from the Franks.)

Post-nominal numbers

The highest post-nominal number representing a member of a royal house is 75 for Count Heinrich LXXV House of Reuss, who was Count in 1800-1. All male members of the family were named Heinrich, and so the numbers are merely "personal" as opposed to "regnal".

Physical attributes

Heaviest

The heaviest monarch is believed to have been Taufa'ahau Tupou IV king of Tonga between 1965 and 2006 who at his peak in 1976 was measured as 209.5 kg, though he subsequently lost around 40% of his weight.p182]

See also

*Head of state
*Records of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

References