The Queen will soon reach a new milestone. On June 13th 2022, she becomes the second longest reigning Monarch in recorded history. However, an argument from the tailend of the reign of Queen Victoria might just be enough to propel her into an even more historic position. Should we actually count The Queen as the longest ruling monarch of them all by June?
This is about a bit more than numbers. The longest reigning Monarch in recorded history is King Louis XIV of France who reigned for 72 years and 110 days, a landmark that The Queen overtakes in May 2024. But this is where Victoria comes in. For as she was marking her Diamond Jubilee, in 1897, some rather passionate journalists began to make a case for her actually being the longest reigning monarch of them all.
For Louis XIV was just four when he became king. For the first part of his reign, others ruled on his behalf. And so as the first Diamond Jubilee got under way, there were claims that his actual tenure was far shorter than the seven plus decades written down. The Eastern Daily Press published a claim, from an unnamed ‘Paris correspondent’, that Louis, in reality, ruled for far less time than Victoria for the years spent under the regency of his mother couldn’t be counted.
The Cheltenham Examiner agreed, noting just ahead of Victoria’s Jubilee the ”nominal reign” of Louis was longer but his actual rule was not. Victoria, by contrast, had been an adult when she took the throne and had been in charge for every moment of her reign.
It’s an interesting proposition and one that the 20th century had its own opinion about. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands marked her own Silver Jubilee in 1923 and a Golden celebration in 1948. However, she’d taken the throne in 1890. But Wilhelmina didn’t count the first eight years as her personal rule for she had been a child and under a regency.
So can we actually make a more historic claim for Elizabeth II this summer? On June 13th 2022, she becomes the second longest reigning Monarch in recorded history as she overtakes Rama IX of Thailand. Louis is the only royal standing in her way of total historic domination. But has her actual reign exceeded his?
Given that The Queen has no desire to collect historic titles, she is probably the person least interested in the argument. When she became the longest reigning Monarch in British history, in September 2015, she described the title as ”not one to which I have ever aspired”. However, she acknowledged the interest of others and thanked them for their good wishes.
And she doesn’t really need any help when it comes to making a mark. This year has already seen her become the only British Monarch to rule for 70 years while her Platinum Jubilee is unique. That really is historic.
