List of shortest-reigning monarchs
Less than a year
Currently reigning

List of shortest-reigning monarchs

Section Title: Less than a year
Table Section Text: Currently reigning

Name	Country	Royal house/dynasty	Reign began	Reign ended	Length	Comments

King Jeonggang	Silla (Korea)	Kim	July 886	5 July 887	≈1 year	After his death, his sister Man succeeded to the throne because he had no sons. She was named Queen Jinseong and was the last queen in Korean history.

King Chang of Goryeo	Goryeo (Korea)	Wang	1388	1389	≈1 year	When was in his reign, the general Yi Seong-gye took the throne as regent because he was only 7 years old when took the throne.

Empress Lý Chiêu Hoàng	Vietnam	Lý	October 1224	21 October 1225	≈1 year	Succeeded to the throne through the suicide of her father Lý Huệ Tông. Renounced her claim on the throne in favour of her husband Trần Thái Tông, founder of the Trần Dynasty.

Emperor Hồ Quý Ly	Vietnam	Hồ	February 1400	c. 1400–1401	≈1 year	Hồ Quý Ly succeeded to the throne after persuading emperor Trần Thuận Tông to relinquish power to a three-year-old prince named An.

Tsar False Dmitry I	All Russia	10 June 1606	17 May 1607	11 months, 7 days	Claimed to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich. He was killed by the boyars.

Emperor Hàm Nghi	Vietnam	Nguyễn	1 August 1884	4 July 1885	11 months, 3 days	Captured during the Mandarins' Revolt and the French replaced him with Đồng Khánh.

King Fuad II of Egypt	Egypt and The Sudan	Muhammad Ali	26 July 1952	18 June 1953	10 months, 23 days	Succeeded with the abdication of his father, Farouk, following the Egyptian revolution of 1952. Never exercised real power over his country, as he was an infant and had been exiled with his father.

King Edward VIII	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and British dominions	Windsor	20 January 1936	11 December 1936	10 months, 22 days	Abdicated in favour of his brother, George VI, to avoid a constitutional crisis.

Louise Hippolyte, Sovereign Princess of Monaco	Principality of Monaco	Grimaldi	20 February 1731	29 December 1731	10 months, 9 days	Died of smallpox.

Emperor Agustín I	Mexican Empire	Iturbide	19 May 1822	19 March 1823	10 months	Agustín I was proclaimed emperor by the Parliament of the newly independent Mexican Empire, but later deposed by Republican forces, leading to the foundation of the First Mexican Republic.

King Injong	Joseon (Korea)	Yi	November 1544	July 1545	≈9 months	Some historians believe that Injong was poisoned by the Smaller Yun faction, led by Yun Won-Hyung, to enable Injong's half-brother to ascend the throne.

King Lokissara	Polonnaruwa	1211	1211	≈9 months	Leader of a Tamil army and usurper of the Sinhala throne.

Emperor Leo II	Byzantine Empire	Leonid Dynasty	18 January 474	17 November 474	9 months, 30 days	Appointed co-emperor by his grandfather Leo I on 18 November 473, before ascending the throne upon Leo I's death. As he was still a child, his father Zeno was made co-emperor on 9 February 474.

Tsar Dmitriy I	Russia	Rurik (impostor)	21 July 1605	17 May 1606	9 months, 27 days	An impostor, Dmitriy took the throne of Russia upon the death of Boris Godunov. He was killed during an assault on the Kremlin.

King Christian II	Sweden	Oldenburg	1 November 1520	23 August 1521	9 months, 22 days	After conquering Sweden in the spring and summer of 1520, King Christian II of Denmark and Norway entered the defeated Swedish capital of Stockholm on 7 September 1520.

King Harold II	Kingdom of England	Wessex	5 January 1066	14 October 1066	9 months, 9 days	Killed at the Battle of Hastings by Norman forces.

Maharajah Manava	Gauda, Bengal	Shashanka	625	626	≈8 months	After the death of Shashanka and his brief reign, Gauda was conquered by an alliance of Harshavardhana and Bhaskaravarman.

Emir Habibullah Ghazi	Afghanistan	17 January 1929	13 October 1929	8 months, 26 days	Habibullah Ghazi succeeded Inayatullah Khan Seraj, who had abdicated in his favour after just three days. Habibullah Ghazi's reign soon ended when he was deposed and executed by Mohammed Nadir Shah.

Emperor Le Nghi Dan	Vietnam	Lê	28 October 1459	24 June 1460	8 months, 25 days	Succeeded to the throne by leading a revolt against and killing his younger brother Lê Nhân Tông. Nghi Dan's reign ended in another revolution in which he was killed and replaced by his younger brother Lê Thánh Tông.

Emperor Vitellius	Roman Empire	Year of the Four Emperors	16 April 69	22 December 69	8 months, 6 days	Attempted to abdicate in favour of Vespasian, but was prevented from doing so by his own troops. When Vespasian reached the capital, his troops killed Vitellius on the Gemonian stairs and cast his corpse into the Tiber

King Phelles	Tyre	Dynasty of four brothers	879 BC	879 BC	8 months	Legendary king of Tyre, known only through Josephes and, by proxy[clarification needed], through Menander of Ephesus.

Claudine, Lady of Monaco	Monaco	Grimaldi	July 1457	16 March 1458	8 months	Abdicated in favour of her cousin, Lamberto, whom she married in 1465.

Emperor Kiến Phúc	Vietnam	Nguyễn	2 December 1883	31 July 1884	7 months, 29 days	Succeeded the throne after the murder of emperor Hiệp Hoà. Kiến Phúc was also murdered and succeeded by Hàm Nghi (who also reigned less than a year).

King Louis I	Spain	Bourbon	14 January 1724	31 August 1724	7 months, 17 days	Succeeded with the abdication of his father, Philip V. Philip regained the throne following Louis' death from smallpox.

Matilda, Lady of the English	England	Plantagenet / Salian / Normandy	Spring 1141	Autumn 1141	c. 5–9 months	Forces loyal to Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, captured King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln on 2 February 1141.

Emperor Galba	Roman Empire	Year of the Four Emperors	8 June 68	15 January 69	7 months, 7 days	Assassinated after adopting Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus as his heir instead of Otho, who succeeded him. His head and trunk were buried by the Via Aurelia.

King Edmund II	England	Wessex	23 April 1016	30 November 1016	7 months, 7 days	Edmund's kingdom was ceded to Canute I after his death, the cause of which is uncertain.

King Lulach	King of Scots	Moray	15 August 1057	17 March 1058	7 months, 2 days	Succeeded his stepfather, Macbeth, who was killed in battle against Malcolm Canmore. Lulach was himself killed by Malcolm, who succeeded him.

Emperor Heraklonas	Byzantine Empire	Heraclian	11 February 641	September 641	≈7 months	Heraklonas became joint co-emperor with his brother Constantine III at the time of his father's death and then sole emperor on the death of his brother Constantine III in May 641.

Bardiya	Persian Empire	Achaemenid	early 522 BCE	September 522 BCE	≈7 months	Bardiya was either a son of Cyrus the Great or an impostor, he seized power from Cambyses II and was assassinated by Darius the Great.

King Hildeprand	King of the Lombards	January 744	<7 months	Deposed and dead by August 744.

Pharaoh Nedjemibre	Pharaoh of Egypt	Thirteenth Dynasty	c. 1780 BC	c. 1780 BC	7 months	One of many contemporary pharaohs of the Second Intermediate period

Shah Sogdianus	Shah of Persia	Achaemenid Empire	424 BC	424 BC	6 months, 15 days	Reigned briefly during a power struggle, was succeeded by Darius II

Emperor Amha Selassie	Ethiopia	Solomon	12 September 1974	12 March 1975	6 months	Proclaimed Emperor by the Derg while receiving medical treatment in Switzerland, following the deposition of his father, Haile Selassie. He did not accept this proclamation as legitimate, and did not return to Ethiopia.

Emperor Dương Nhật Lễ	Vietnam	Trần	1369	20 May 1370	>6 months	Dethroned and killed. Replaced by Trần Phủ.

Mbret William	Albania	Wied	7 March 1914	3 September 1914	6 months, 27 days	William accepted a request from Albania to be its sovereign and soon, due to the outbreak of the First World War and civil war within Albania, fled into exile.

King Charles I	King of Norway	Bonde	25 October 1449	13 May 1450	6 months, 18 days	Charles was elected king in Trondheim after the death of Christopher of Bavaria, but Christian I had more supporters in southern Norway and was able to force Charles' abdication.

King Christian Frederik	Norway	Oldenburg	16 February 1814	28 August 1814	6 months, 12 days	Christian Frederick was made King of Norway upon its independence from Denmark after defeat in the Napoleonic Wars and the Treaty of Kiel.

Prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd	Wales	Gwynedd	11 December 1282	22 June 1283	6 months, 11 days	Succeeded to the princeship of Wales on the death of his brother Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. For most of his reign his rule was confined solely to Gwynedd due to the invasion of Wales by Edward I of England.

Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah	Zanzibar	Al Sa'id	1 July 1963	12 January 1964	6 months, 11 days	Jamshid bin Abdullah's short reign was brought to an end by the Zanzibar revolution and the abolition of the sultanate.

Tsar Peter III of Russia	Russia	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov	5 January 1762	9 July 1762	6 months, 4 days	Wildly unpopular and barely able to even speak the Russian language, he was dethroned (and possibly killed) by his own consort, who became Catherine II.

Emperor Lê Túc Tông	Vietnam	Lê	6 June 1504	7 December 1504	6 months, 1 day	Lê Túc Tông was possibly murdered by his older brother and successor Lê Uy Mục.

King David V	Kingdom of Georgia	Bagrationi	c. 1154	c. 1155	≈6 months	David V was murdered by his nobles and succeeded by his alienated brother, George III.

King Donald III	King of Scots	Dunkeld	13 November 1093	May 1094	≈6 months	Succeeded his brother, Malcolm III, only to be overthrown by Malcolm's son Duncan II (below). Regained the throne upon Duncan's death and reigned until being overthrown again in 1097.

King Duncan II	King of Scots	Dunkeld	May 1094	12 November 1094	≈6 months	Seized the throne from his uncle, Donald III (above). Killed in battle against Donald, or possibly murdered.

King Zechariah of Israel	Israel	House of Omri	754 BC	753 BC	6 months	Biblical King of Israel from the Second Book of Kings

Emperor Alexios IV Angelos	Byzantine Empire	Angelos	1 August 1203	27 January 1204	5 months, 26 days	Co-emperor with his father, Isaac II Angelos, who regained the throne from his brother Alexios III Angelos when the Fourth Crusade arrived in Constantinople.

Emperor Wu Sangui	China	Great Zhou	March 1678	August 1678	≈5 months	Wu Sangui proclaimed himself Emperor of a new Zhou Dynasty and was soon quashed by Kangxi. Wu Sangui had also been instrumental in the removal of Emperor Li Zicheng.

King George VII	King of Imereti	Bagrationi	June 1712	November 1713	≈5 months	Also reigned in other periods of time.

Emperor Isaac II Angelos	Byzantine Empire	Angelos	1 August 1203	c. January 1204	≈5 months	Reigned from 1185 until 1195 when he was deposed, blinded and imprisoned by his brother Alexios III Angelos. When the Fourth Crusade arrived in Constantinople, Alexios III fled and Isaac was restored to the throne, with his son Alexios IV Angelos as co-emperor.

King Charles VIII of Sweden	King of Sweden	Bonde	9 August 1464	30 January 1465	5 months, 21 days	Charles, who had been removed from office 7 years prior, was recalled during a rebellion, but soon found his luck changed and was forced out of office a second time.

Duke Eduard	Anhalt	Ascania	21 April 1918	13 September 1918	4 months, 23 days	Succeeded with the death of his brother, Friedrich II, only to himself die five months later. The throne then passed to his teenage son, Joachim Ernst (below).

King Ntare V	Burundi	Ntwero	8 July 1966	28 November 1966	4 months, 20 days	He deposed his father Mwambutsa IV, and four months later he himself was deposed in a military coup by Michel Micombero, who proclaimed the Republic.

Prince Alexander Hangerli	Moldavia	Phanariotes	7 March 1807	24 July 1807	4 months, 17 days	Sultan Selim III appointed him Prince of Moldavia in place of the deposed Alexander Mourousis, only to be replaced by Scarlat Callimachi less than half a year later.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Hisamuddin of Selangor	Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia	Selangor	14 April 1960	1 September 1960	4 months, 17 days	Hisamuddin was elected after the death of Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan and died himself within 5 months. That year Malaysia had three Yang di-Pertuan Agongs.

Duke Charles II	Parma	Bourbon-Parma	17 December 1847	19 April 1848	4 months, 2 days	Charles II abdicated in favour of his son Charles III after the revolution of 1848. Charles II had previously succeeded his father King Louis I of Etruria to become Louis I from 27 May 1803 to 1807 when it was annexed by France and succeeded his mother Maria Louisa to become Duke Charles I of Lucca from 13 March 1824 to 1847 when it was annexed by Tuscany.

Pharaoh Renseneb	Egypt	Thirteenth Dynasty	c. 1775 BC	c. 1775 BC	4 months	Pharaoh of the Second Intermediate period. Attested 4 months in the Turin Papyrus

Emperor Hiệp Hoà	Vietnam	Nguyễn	30 July 1883	29 November 1883	3 months, 29 days	Succeeded the throne after the death of emperor Dục Đức after a reign of 3 days. Hiệp Hoà was murdered and succeeded by Kiến Phúc (who also reigned less than a year).

King Mindaugas II	Lithuania	Württemberg	11 July 1918	2 November 1918	3 months, 21 days	Mindaugas II was elected King by the Council of Lithuania soon after independence from the Russian Empire and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

King Jehoiachin of Judah	Judah	House of David	9 December 599 BC	16 March 599 BC	3 months, 10 days	Biblical King from the Second Book of Kings.

Kaiser/King Frederick III	German Empire and Prussia	Hohenzollern	9 March 1888	15 June 1888	3 months, 6 days	Succeeded his father, Wilhelm I. At this point, he had terminal laryngeal cancer and was unable to speak during his brief reign.

Abdullah al-Haj	Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia	Pahang	31 January 2019	Incumbent	3 months and 1 day	Currently reigning. Abdullah is also the currently-reigning Sultan of Pahang, and has reigned for 106 days (15 January 2019).

Sultan Murad V	Ottoman Empire	Osman	30 May 1876	31 August 1876	3 months, 1 day	Succeeded with the deposition of his uncle, Abdülaziz, who died several days later. Murad was himself deposed in favour of his brother, Abdul Hamid II, on the grounds that he was mentally ill.

Emperor Otho	Roman Empire	Year of the Four Emperors	15 January 69	16 April 69	3 months, 1 day	Committed suicide after his forces were defeated in the First Battle of Bedriacum by the forces of his successor, Vitellius.

King Ansprand	King of the Lombards	Mars 712	June 712	3 months

King Teia	King of the Ostrogoths	1 July 552	October 552	≈3 months	Probably killed at the Battle of Mons Lactarius.

King George VIII	King of Imereti	Gurieli	15 March 1720	June 1720	≈3 months	1726

Emperor Constantine III	Byzantine Empire	Heraclian	11 February 641	May 641	≈3 months	Constantine III was junior co-emperor with his father Heraclius from 22 January 613 until his death 11 February 641. Constantine III then became joint co-emperor with his brother Heraklonas who was sole emperor after Constantine III's death.

King Sinmu	Silla (Korea)	Kim	April 839	July 839	≈3 months	He killed King Minae and succeeded the throne, but died by furuncle on his back after three months.

King Sunjong	Goryeo (Korea)	Wang	July 1083	October 1083	≈3 months	King Sunjong is the shortest reigning monarch in Korean history.

King Jehoahaz of Judah	Judah	House of David	July 610 BC	October 610 BC	3 months	Biblical King from the Second Book of Kings.

Emperor Pertinax	Roman Empire	Year of the Five Emperors	1 January 193	28 March 193	2 months, 28 days	Assassinated by his Praetorian Guards, who then auctioned off the throne to the highest bidder.

Queen Berengaria	Castile (Spain)	Anscarids	6 June 1217	31 August 1217	2 months, 25 days	Abdicated her throne to her son, in order to unify Castile and León and avoid a civil war.

Emperor Yuan Shikai	China	Yuan	1 January 1916	22 March 1916	2 months, 22 days	President Yuan Shikai declared himself emperor of his newly created Chinese Empire on 1 January 1916. Due to the unpopularity of the new Empire he reverted to being the president of the Republic of China until his death on 5 June 1916.

Despot Stephen Tomašević	Serbia	1 April 1459	20 June 1459	2 months, 20 days	Became despot of Serbia to unite forces with Bosnia, but shortly after taking power, he agrees to leave Serbia to the Ottomans.

King Pedro IV	Portugal	Braganza	10 March 1826	28 May 1826	2 months, 18 days	Became the first Emperor of Brazil in 1822 after declaring that country's independence from Portugal. Succeeded the Portuguese throne with the death of his father, João VI, but abdicated in favour of his daughter, Maria II, in the awareness that a reunion of Brazil and Portugal would be unacceptable to the people of both nations.

King Edward V	England	York	9 April 1483	25 June 1483	2 months, 16 days	Succeeded with the death of his father, Edward IV. Deposed after he and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were declared illegitimate; their uncle then ascended the throne as Richard III.

Emperor Chūkyō	Japan	Yamato	13 May 1221	29 July 1221	2 months, 16 days	Enthroned at the age of two following the deposition of his father, Emperor Juntoku, in preparation for the Jōkyū Incident, an unsuccessful attempt by his grandfather, the Retired Emperor Go-Toba, to overthrow the Kamakura Bakufu.

King Philip I	Castile (Spain)	Habsburg	12 July 1506	25 September 1506	2 months, 13 days	Declared his wife, the sovereign Queen Joanna I, insane in order to rule in her place. He then died, apparently of typhoid fever, although rumors claimed he was poisoned by King Ferdinand of Aragon.

Seventh Dynasty of Egypt (usually considered spurious)	Ancient Egypt	Seventh Dynasty of Egypt	c. 2180 BC	c. 2180 BC	70 days	According to Africanus (c. AD 160-240), Manetho (3rd century BC) claims that 70 kings reigned for a total of 70 days.

Ibrahim ibn al-Walid	Umayyad Caliphate	Umayyad, Marwanid branch	744	744	70 days

Emperor Alexios V Doukas	Byzantine Empire	Doukas	5 February 1204	12 April 1204	2 months, 7 days	Seized the throne after overthrowing and imprisoning Alexios IV Angelos, whose father and co-emperor, Isaac II Angelos, died at around the same time.

Emperor Didius Julianus	Roman Empire	Year of the Five Emperors	28 March 193	1 June 193	2 months, 5 days	Purchased the throne after the Praetorian Guards auctioned it off. Faced revolt by General Septimius Severus who captured and executed him.

King Frederick Charles	Finland	Hesse-Kassel	9 October 1918	14 December 1918	2 months, 5 days	Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse was elected king by the newly independent Kingdom of Finland and due to German defeat in the First World War renounced his title without travelling to his own kingdom.

King Mamia III Gurieli	King of Imereti	Gurieli	November 1713	5 January 1714	≈2 months	reigned for around a year (1701–1702), eight months (October 1711 – June 1712), three months (November 1713-5 January 1714)

Chúa Trịnh Cán	Vietnam	Trịnh	1782	1782	≈2 months	Trịnh Cán succeeded his father Trịnh Sâm to the throne aged 6 years and his half brother Trịnh Khải soon killed him and usurped his throne.

Duke Joachim Ernst	Anhalt	Ascania	13 September 1918	12 November 1918	1 month, 30 days	Succeeded with the death of his father, Eduard (above). Abdicated during the German Revolution at the end of the First World War, with the Duchy then becoming the Free State of Anhalt.

King Bolesław I Chrobry	Poland	Piast	18 April 1025	17 June 1025	1 month, 30 days	Duke of Poland from 992; crowned himself King in 1025. Died not long after his coronation, most likely due to an illness.

King Edgar II	Kingdom of England	Wessex	15 October 1066	10 December 1066	1 month, 25 days	Grandson of Edmund II (above). Elected king by the Witenagemot following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings but never crowned; subsequently submitted to William the Conqueror.

King Charles II	Hungary	Capetian House of Anjou	31 December 1385	24 February 1386	1 month, 24 days	After the death of Louis I, he had claimed the Hungarian throne as the senior Angevin male, and ousted Louis' daughter Mary in December 1385.

Tsar Feodor II	All Russia	Godunov	23 April 1605	20 June 1605	1 month, 22 days	Tsar Feodor II succeeded to the throne after the death of his father Boris Godunov and was soon after killed during the Time of Troubles.

Emperor Ziying	China	mid-October 207 BC	December 207 BC	1 month, 16 days	Ziying was the last ruler of the Qin Dynasty of China

Sultan Al-Mansur Abu Bakr	Mamluk Egypt	17 June 1341	5 August 1341	49 days	He was deposed and arrested by his father's senior emir, Qawsun. After being sent to prison, he was executed on Qawsun's orders two months later.

Emperor Ningzong	China	c. 1332	c. 1332	1 month, 13 days	Ningzong was briefly installed as Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, a ruling dynasty of China.

Tirigan	Sumer	Dynasty of Guti	c. 2050 BC	c. 2050 BC	40 days	Last king of Guti, according to the Sumerian King List.

Khan Umor	First Bulgarian Empire	Dynasty of Uokil	766	766	40 days

King Sweyn I	England	25 December 1013	3 February 1014	1 month, 9 days	King of Denmark from c. 985; also ruled most of Norway.

Stephen Lekapenos	senior Byzantine emperor	Lekapenos	20.12.944	26.01.945	1 month and 6 days	Together with brother has deposed father Romanos I Lekapenos, only to be deposed by own sister Helena Lekapene and her husband Constantine VII in counter-coup.

King Umberto II	Italy	Savoy	9 May 1946	12 June 1946	1 month, 3 days	Ascended the throne when his father, Victor Emmanuel III, abdicated in an attempt to strengthen support for the monarchy against a referendum to abolish it.

Emperor Li Zicheng	China	Li	25 April 1644	27 May 1644	1 month, 2 days	Li Zicheng declared himself Emperor of China after Chongzhen committed suicide and was then forced from power after the Battle of Shanhai Pass.

Pope John Paul I	Holy See	26 August 1978	28 September 1978	1 month, 2 days

Pope Benedict V	Holy See	22 May 964	23 June 964	1 month, 1 day

King Reccared II	King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia	Visigoths	612	612	≈1 month

King Shallum of Israel	Israel	773 BC	c. 772 BC	1 month	Biblical King from the Second Book of Kings. Because he became King in the 38th year but died in the 39th year, then his reign probably spans the Jewish New year.

Sentence(s)

Louis I of Spainś reign is one of the shortest in history, lasting for over seven months.

final_sentence: Louis I of Spainś reign is one of the shortest in history, lasting for over seven months.