Child Rulers

There may be age limitations to becoming a prime minister or a president, but apparently that doesn’t apply to kings. In fact, here are some of the youngest rulers to ascend the doors. Surprisingly, some of them became monarchs while still babies!

Robert Thiemann on Unsplash

1. King Tut

King Tutankhamun became king at the age of 9, c. 1333 BC, and died roughly 10 years later under mysterious circumstances. He is one of the most famous child monarchs in history, though his reign was relatively uneventful. He has become famous in the present largely due to the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922.

Metropolitan Museum of Art on Wikimedia

2. Mary Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots, was queen for only six days when she was born. Her mother ruled in her place, and she was raised in France. Mary became queen of Scotland when she was 18, and unfortunately, her time as queen was rocky to say the least.

Unidentified painter on Wikimedia

3. John I of France

Little John was king of England from his birth in 1316. His father had died months earlier, but his son lived just five days. A few historians believe his uncle, who succeeded him as king, might have poisoned him.

AnonymousUnknown author on Wikimedia

4. Ivan VI of Russia

Ivan VI of Russia was made tsar when he was only two months old, with his mother serving as regent until he was old enough. The following year, his cousin Elizabeth staged a coup and deposed Ivan and his family. He was held in captivity for the next 20 years, leading to the deterioration of his mental health.

Unidentified painter on Wikimedia

5. King Sobhuza II

King Sobhuza II of Swaziland ascended to the throne when he was only one year old. He reigned for 82 years, making him the longest reigning monarch in history. Under his leadership, Swaziland gained independence from the British and advanced economically.

The National Archives UK - Flickr account on Wikimedia

6. Alfonso XIII

Alfonso XIII was the king of Spain from birth in 1886 because his father passed just before he was born. He started his reign at age 16 in 1902, assuming full royal duties. But in 1931, Alfonso was forced to leave Spain by the Socialist and Republican parties, and he did not return.

Kaulak on Wikimedia

7. Pu Yi

Ascended to the throne at the age of two, Pu Yi was deposed three years later with the abolition of the Chinese imperial system. Pu Yi would later live in the Forbidden City in luxury, serve as a puppet of the Japanese, be captured and imprisoned as a war criminal at the end of World War II. And finally, after his pardon in Beijing, he would live out the rest of his life a humble gardener.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

8. Henry VI

Henry VI was crowned king of England at 9 months old, making him the youngest monarch in English history. In his adulthood, a power struggle between his family, the Lancasters, and the Yorks led to the War of the Roses. Henry's side lost, and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London at age 50.

anonymous  on Wikimedia

9. Ivan the Terrible

Ivan became the Grand Prince of Moscow at the age of three, when his father passed in 1533. He reigned for 37 years and is called "Ivan the Terrible" because he had a secret police harass any citizens he deemed disloyal, and he even turned on his own family in violence. Ivan passed away in 1584, probably of a heart attack.

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10. Shapur II

Shapur II was king of the Sasanian Empire of Persia right from his birth in 309 AD, succeeding his father who died. Legend has it he was even crowned as an embryo, his mother's belly having a crown placed on it. He assumed full control of the empire at 16.

The_portrait_of_Shapur_II_on_the_obverse_of_a_silver_drachm,_struck_circa_309–320 on Wikimedia

11. King Oyo of Tooro

King Oyo of Tooro in Uganda is the youngest reigning monarch, having been crowned when only 3 years old, in 1995. He played with toys and crawled into his mother's lap during his coronation. At 27, King Oyo is still the leader of Toro and works with the UN on an AIDS campaign.

Shaayflix Dr Shaay on Wikimedia

12. Christina of Sweden

Christina became queen at age 6, but did not assume her throne until 18, having been raised and educated as a boy and was known for her intelligence. She surprised many when she abdicated the throne after only 10 years of rule, possibly because she refused to marry or converted to Catholicism in secret. Christina fled to Rome when she abdicated and spent the rest of her life as a patron of the arts and friend of several popes.

Sébastien Bourdon on Wikimedia

13. Queen Isabella II

Isabella was only 3 years old when she ascended to the throne of Spain. Her uncle Carlos and his followers, known as the Carlists, refused to recognize a woman monarch and a series of civil wars followed known as the Carlist Wars. Isabella was formally crowned when she was 13, but her reign was constantly troubled and she was eventually driven into exile in Paris in 1868 after a rebellion.

Franz Xaver Winterhalter on Wikimedia

14. Murad IV

Murad IV ascended the throne as the sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1623 at the age of 11. He cracked down on disobedience by banning coffee, wine, and tobacco and by punishing violators severely. Ironically, in 1640, he passed away due to alcoholism.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

15. Pope Benedict IX

Benedict IX was elected pope in 1032 at about the age of 12. He was both head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States. He was extremely unpopular and was driven from Rome by political enemies. During his time as an exile, Benedict was accused of several serious crimes.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

16. Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha

Simeon II became the monarch of Bulgaria when he was only 6 years old in 1943. However, he did not rule for very long as the monarchy was abolished in 1946. Simeon and his mother fled Bulgaria but he returned as an adult and entered politics. In 2001, he established the National Movement for Simeon II party. He was elected prime minister and served for one term.

Nadya Reid on Wikimedia

17. Louis XIV of France

Louis ascended the throne at age 4 in 1643 due to the passing of his father. He reigned over 72 years, one of the longest of any monarch in history. As a child he was king but his mother and the chief minister served as regents until he reached maturity.

Antoine Coysevox on Wikimedia

18. Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria was just 18 when she became the Queen of the United Kingdom in 1837. But, while she was young, she was still an adult. Her reign was 63 years. During her time, the British Empire grew, and it was called the Victorian Era.

John Jabez Edwin Mayall on Wikimedia

19. Charles II

Charles II was King of Spain from 1665 when he ascended the throne as a child. He was the last Habsburg ruler of Spain. He experienced long episodes of poor health for his whole life, which was a reason the issue of his successor was a large issue in European diplomacy. He passed without an heir, which caused the War of the Spanish Succession.

AnonymousUnknown author on Wikimedia

20. Abbas III

Abbas III was made nominal ruler of Iran as an infant in 1732 after the deposition of his father by Nader Khan, who had real power in the country. Abbas III remained on the throne as a figurehead while Nader Khan served as his deputy and viceroy and assumed the office of shah for himself in 1736, ending the Safavid dynasty. Abbas III was deposed with his father and both were imprisoned.

Gulustan on Wikimedia