Her Majesty Queen Sofía of Spain celebrates her 80th birthday on Nov. 2, and had her husband, Juan Carlos I, not abdicated the throne in June of 2014, she would also be celebrating nearly 43 years as the (very chic [1]) Queen of Spain. King Juan Carlos I ascended to the throne in November of 1975, and he and Sofía reigned for nearly 39 years [2] before passing the throne along to their son, Felipe VI [3], marking the sixth longest reign in Spanish history.
Believe it or not, 38 years is not the longest time a current monarch has held the throne (and several current monarchs have surpassed the age of 80). Though we're all familiar with the epic reign of Queen Elizabeth II [4], check out the gallery to see the current monarchs who have reigned for over a quarter of a century.
Queen Elizabeth II, 66 Years
Elizabeth II is the current longest-reigning monarch, having been queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand for nearly 67 years. She is also the monarch of 12 other Commonwealth realms that have become independent states since she took the throne in February of 1952. The queen is currently 92 years old, and her oldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales, is next in the line of succession for the throne.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 51 Years
Hassanal Bolkiah is the 29th and current sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei. The sultan is also the first and incumbent prime minister of Brunei, and he has been ranked among the wealthiest individuals in the world. Bolkiah is currently 72 years old, and his oldest son, Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, is next in the line of succession to become sultan.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, 48 Years
Qaboos bin Said al Said became the sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur, in a palace coup in July of 1970. In his first year in power in Oman, Qaboos abolished slavery and established an absolute monarchy, and at 77 years old, Qaboos is the longest-serving Arab leader. He has not publicly named an heir, and he has no children, though the public believes the top contenders to succeed him are his late uncle's three sons.
Queen Margrethe II, 46 Years
Margrethe II is the queen of Denmark, as well as the supreme authority of the Church of Denmark and Commander-in-Chief of the Danish Defence. On her accession in January of 1972, Margrethe became the first female monarch of Denmark since her namesake, Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms from 1375 to 1412. She is also the second-longest-reigning Danish monarch after her ancestor, Christian IV. Margrethe is currently 78 years old, and her heir apparent is her oldest son, Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark.
King Carl XVI Gustaf, 45 Years
Carl XVI Gustaf became the king of Sweden after the death of his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, in September of 1973, as Carl's father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, died in an aeroplane crash in Denmark when Carl was only 9 months old. At 72 years old, Carl is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history, having surpassed King Magnus IV's reign of 44 years in April. Though his son, Prince Carl Philip, was briefly the heir apparent, a new law establishing absolute primogeniture passed less than a year after Philip's birth, making his oldest sister, Crown Princess Victoria, next in the line of succession.
Sultan Ahmad Shah, 44 Years
Ahmad Shah is the fifth modern Sultan of Pahang, which is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia, as well as the Head of the Islam in the state. Ahmad also served as the seventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from 1979 to 1984, a position that made him one of the few elected monarchs in the world. Ahmad is currently 88 years old, and his oldest son, Tengku Abdullah, is the Crown Prince and Regent of Pahang.
Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, 44 Years
Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi is the current ruler of the Emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Since ascending to the throne in 1975, Hamad has handled the administration of his principality single-handedly and also taken on the responsibility of representing the UAE at international and diplomatic engagements, as he is fluent in both English and Arabic. Hamad is currently 70 years old, and his oldest son, Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi is the Crown Prince of Fujairah.
King Mswati III, 32 Years
Mswati III is the King of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) and head of the Swazi Royal Family. Mswati was only 18 years old when he was crowned Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, becoming the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time. Together with his mother, Ntombi Tfwala, he rules the country as Africa's last absolute monarch. The now-50-year-old king reportedly has over 30 children with 14 concurrent wives (though his father had more than 125 wives during his 82-year reign), making the already complex rules of Swazi succession even more confusing.
Emperor Akihito, 29 Years
Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan and the 125th member of the world's oldest reigning dynasty. Akihito succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne after his father, Emperor Shōwa, died in January of 1989. It was announced at the end of 2017 that the now-84-year-old emperor will abdicate his throne in April of 2019 (though he will be the first Japanese Emperor to do so in over two centuries) and his oldest son, Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, will take his place.
Prince Hans-Adam II, 28 Years
Hans-Adam II is the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, as well as the owner of LGT banking group, making him the richest monarch in Europe. As well as Prince, Hans-Adam bears three other titles, making his official monarch title Prince of Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, Count of Rietberg, Sovereign of the House of Liechtenstein. The 73-year-old prince has reigned since his father's passing in November of 1989, and his oldest son, Alois, is his heir apparent.
King Harald V, 27 Years
Harald V is the King of Norway, having ascending to the throne after his father's death in January of 1991. As a result of the German occupation during World War II, Harald spent his childhood with the rest of his family in exile, living in both Sweden and the U.S. The now-81-year-old caused controversy when he married Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner, in 1968, but the two are still married with two children. The younger of the two, Haakon, is the sole male heir and the Crown Prince.
King Letsie III, 26 Years
Letsie III is the King of Lesotho, succeeding his father, Moshoeshoe II, after he was forced into exile in 1990. His reign was briefly interrupted when his father was restored in 1995, but Moshoeshoe died soon after in a car crash, and Letsie became king again. As a constitutional monarch, Letsie's duties are largely ceremonial, though he has become known for his outspoken fight against HIV/AIDS. The youngest of the 55-year-old's three children and his sole male heir, Prince Lerotholi Seeiso, is the current heir apparent.