Queen Elizabeth Becomes 2nd-Longest Reigning Monarch In World History

Queen Elizabeth II is officially the second-longest reigning monarch in world history, with 70 years and 127 days on the throne as of Monday, June 13.

The queen, who began her reign in 1952 at age 25, is already the longest-serving British monarch ever, surpassing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, in 2015. This month, the U.K. celebrated Queen Elizabeth II's 70-year reign with the Platinum Jubilee — four days of events honoring her service. 

On Monday, the queen surpassed the long reign of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who held his role from 1946 until his death in 2016, BBC News reported. 

That leaves just one monarch ahead of Elizabeth in the record books: France's King Louis XIV. Louis gained his title at the age of just 4 years old, in 1643, and remained king until his death in 1715 — 72 years and 110 days. He began to rule personally in 1661, when he was finally old enough.

Should Queen Elizabeth reign for about two more years, until May 2024, she would surpass King Louis XIV as the longest-reigning monarch ever, according to the BBC.

Elizabeth became queen after her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952. The following year, she was officially crowned at age 27 in a coronation ceremony that was the first to be broadcast on live television, with about 27 million people watching in United Kingdom alone.

As a princess, she served in World War II as the first female member of the royal family to serve as a full-time active member of the military. She served in the women's branch of the British Army — the Auxiliary Territorial Service — and she learned to drive and maintain vehicles.

Since becoming queen she has met 13 of the 14 U.S. presidents who have served during her reign — all of them except President Lyndon Johnson. 

Haley Ott contributed to this report.

First published on June 13, 2022 / 10:18 AM

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