Is Queen Elizabeth II the World's Longest Reigning Monarch?

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning monarch in the thousand year history of the British monarchy, and a royal historian says the 96-year-old Elizabeth can now claim to be the world's longest actively "reigning monarch" ever.

Here, Newsweek looks at the queen's milestone moments and whether she can truly own the title of longest reigning monarch in world history.

How Long Has Elizabeth II Ruled?

Elizabeth II began her reign on February 6, 1952, meaning she has reigned for 70 years as of 2022. This milestone was marked with a Platinum Jubilee, the first of its kind, which saw Britain stage a four-day celebratory weekend with national holidays, a pop concert outside Buckingham Palace and two balcony appearances from the queen and her family.

The queen inherited the throne from her father King George VI, who died aged aged 56 while his eldest daughter was 25 years old.

The queen was not born with the expectation she would ever rule. If the then-Princess Elizabeth's uncle, King Edward VIII, had not abdicated the throne in 1936 and had children then Elizabeth would be considered a minor royal cousin today.

When Elizabeth inherited the throne she also became the de facto head of the royal family, taking seniority in all decision making whether public or private.

Who Is Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch?

Queen Elizabeth II became Britain's longest reigning monarch on September 9, 2015, having reigned for 63 years and 217 days.

In doing so, the monarch surpassed the previous record held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years, 216 days until her death in 1901.

The longest reigning British monarch previous to Victoria was her grandfather, King George III, who had reigned for 59 years, 96 days at the time of his death in 1820.

When Elizabeth II surpassed Victoria's reign, she let it be known that she did not look upon the milestone with any great sense of accomplishment, having preferred not to have passed it as she only did so because her father died so young.

On September 9, 2015, the queen was opening a railway line in Scotland where she gave a speech saying that many "kindly noted another significance attaching to today, although it is not one to which I have ever aspired.

"Inevitably, a long life can pass by many milestones; my own is no exception. But I thank you all, and the many others at home and overseas, for your touching messages of great kindness."

Who Is the World's Longest Reigning Monarch?

In terms of length of rule, the title of world's longest reigning monarch does not yet belong to Queen Elizabeth II.

On June 12, Elizabeth surpassed King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand to take his spot as the second longest reigning monarch at 25,695 days.

The monarch who holds the top spot for longest officially recorded reign is King Louis XIV of France who died in 1715 having ruled for 72 years and 110 days.

For Elizabeth II to beat Louis, she will need to reign until at least May 2024, by which time she would be 98 years old.

What Is an "Actively Reigning" Monarch?

Royal historian Hugo Vickers recently claimed that since Queen Elizabeth II surpassed King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand's reign, she can technically claim to be the world's "longest actively reigning monarch"—owing to the fact that Louis XIV was King in name only during the early years of his rule.

Writing to The Times of London, Vickers stated that in Louis XIV's reign "there was a regency between May 14, 1643 and September 7, 1651, until he reached the age of 13 (his majority). Hence, while he may have been king the longest, our queen is unquestionably the longest actively reigning monarch in the world."

Louis was aged just 4 when he became king and though was king in name, his mother, Queen Anne, acted as regent, an official stand in who undertakes the business of the monarchy while the king or queen is a child, ill or incapacitated.

The queen has reigned in her own capacity since the day of her accession in 1952.

Elizabeth II's reign has passed many milestones and there are still more she could achieve apart from becoming the world's longest reigning monarch.

In April 2026 the queen could become the first British ruler to celebrate their 100th birthday and if she were to reign until 2032, she would celebrate her "oak jubilee."