List of shortest-reigning monarchs

A monarch is the leader of a monarchy, a position usually intended to last for life or until abdication or deposition. The reign of some monarchs has been notably short. Many of these monarchs acceded to the throne as a result of being first in an order of succession, while other monarchs claimed the throne as a result of conflict.The authenticity of some monarchs has been disputed, especially those who reigned during conflict. One factor in such debates is whether the monarch held the throne in a symbolic or nominal capacity.

Louis XIX, allegedly King of France for twenty minutes in 1830 and the shortest reigning-monarch in history.

Monarchs who reigned for less than a week

Monarch	Title	Dynasty	Reign began	Reign ended	Reign length	Reason for accession	Reason for reign's end
Louis XIX	King of France	Bourbon	2 August 1830		15–20 minutes (disputed)	Abdication of his father, Charles X, after the July Revolution.	His own abdication under pressure from his father, who planned to retain control of the throne through the next in line, 9-year-old Henry V. Though said to have technically reigned for some minutes and identified as the shortest reigning monarch in history by the Guinness Book of Records, "Louis XIX" was never proclaimed, the abdications were announced through the same document (which refers to Louis as dauphin only), and it is not known who signed first.[1] Charles X also continued to lead the House of Bourbon in exile until his death in 1836.
Daughter of Emperor Xiaoming	Emperor of Wei	Northern Wei	1 April 528		<5 hours	Proclaimed Emperor as an infant by her grandmother, Empress Dowager Hu, who passed her off as male.	Hu admitted she was actually female and proclaimed Yuan Zhao as emperor. Official historical records never listed her as a legitimate sovereign.
Antipope Philip	Pope		31 July 768		8–10 hours (disputed)	Elected after the death of Pope Paul I	Philip's election was declared invalid, and was himself declared guilty of simony; having been stripped of the pontifical garments, he was then forced to return to his monastery.
Wanyan Chenglin	Emperor of Great Jin	Jin	9 February 1234		12 hours	The Emperor Aizong abdicated in favor of his general Wanyan Chenglin while they were besieged by the Mongols at Caizhou, then committed suicide by hanging.	Killed while leading a charge in the streets of Caizhou.
Anti Pope Teobaldo Boccapecci	Pope		13 December 1124		14 hours (Dispute)	Elected After the Death of Pope Callixtus II . took the name of Celestine II.	Abdicated due to factional violence breaking out during the investment ceremony.Never counted as a Pope.
Michael II	Emperor of All Russia	Romanov	15 March 1917		16 hours (disputed)	Abdication of his brother, Nicholas II.	Conditioned his accession on the decision of the Russian Provisional Government, contrary to the wishes of Nicholas II who abdicated without informing either. Numerous questions surround the existence of any "reign", starting with the legality, or lack thereof, of Nicholas II's abdication on his brother while bypassing his son, Tsarevich Alexei.
Min Shin Saw	King of Burma	Pagan	1167		<18 hours	Death of his father Sithu I, who was smothered by his younger son and Min Shin Saw's brother, Narathu.	Assassinated in the night on Narathu's order.
Antipope Victor IV	Pope		24 March 1138	25 March 1138	1 day–2 months[lower-alpha 1]	Proclaimed after the death of antipope Anacletus II	Through the influence of Bernard of Clairvaux, he was induced less than a day afterwards to make his submission to Pope Innocent II. Innocent II initially restored him as cardinal of SS. Apostoli, but in the Second Lateran Council of April 1139, all former adherents of Anacletus II were condemned and deposed. He then retired to the priorate of S. Eusebio in Fontanella. The date of his death is not recorded; his successor in the title of SS. Apostoli appears for the first time on 4 January 1157.
Vira Bahu I	King of Polonnaruwa	Kalinga	1196		<1 day	Death of his father, Nissanka Malla.	Assassinated by the commander-in-chief Tavuru Senevirat.
Constantine XI Laskaris	Eastern Roman Emperor	Laskaris	12 April 1204	13 April 1204	1 day (disputed)	Elected by the Byzantine Army at the Hagia Sophia, following the Latin breach of the Walls of Constantinople and Alexios V's flight.	Fled Constantinople and put himself at the service of his brother, Theodore I in Nicaea. His reign is disputed because he reportedly rejected the election, but he also commanded the armies and Varangian Guards in battle before he fled. Thus the name Constantine XI may be reserved for the last emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, who is known as Constantine XII when Laskaris is included.
Michael I (first reign)	Emperor of Trebizond	Komnenos	30 July 1341	30 or 31 July 1341	Around 1 day	Crowned after arriving with the intention to marry Irene Palaiologina of Trebizond, who had been overthrown by Anna of Trebizond while the voyage was underway.	Deposed and imprisoned. He recovered the throne in 1344 and reigned for five years.
Napoleon II (first reign)	Emperor of the French	Bonaparte	4 April 1814	6 April 1814	2 days	Abdication of his father, Napoleon I.	Napoleon I reversed his abdication, replacing it with another by which he renounced all personal rights to the throne and also those of his descendants. The French Empire was subsequently abolished and replaced by the Kingdom of France.
Philippe VII	King of the French	Orleans	24 February 1848	26 February 1848	2 days (disputed)	Abdication of his grandfather, Louis Philippe I.	French Second Republic declared.
Khalid bin Barghash	Sultan of Zanzibar	Al Said	25 August 1896	27 August 1896	2 days	Death of his cousin, Hamad bin Thuwaini of Zanzibar, likely poisoned by Khalid.	Fled during the Anglo-Zanzibar War.
John I	Prince of Moldavia		4-12 September 1552		2-3 days	Assassination of Stephen VI by his boyars after a failed invasion of Transylvania.	Unknown, succeeded by Alexander IV.
Xiaowen	King of Qin	Qin	251 BC		3 days	Death of his father, King Zhaoxiang of Qin.	Died, likely of age-related causes.
Dục Đức	Emperor of Đại Nam	Nguyễn	20 July 1883	23 July 1883	3 days	Death of his adoptive father, Tự Đức.	Deposed and imprisoned, possibly executed.
Inayatullah Khan	King of Afghanistan	Barakzai	14 January 1929	17 January 1929	3 days	Abdication and flight of his brother, Amanullah Khan, during Habibullah Kalakani's uprising.	Abdicated in favour of Kalakani after he captured Kabul.
Dipendra	King of Nepal	Shah	1 June 2001	4 June 2001	<56 hours (3 days)	Proclaimed king after assassinating his father Birendra, and most of his family in the Nepalese royal massacre, where he also shot himself and was left in a coma.	Died of his injuries without regaining consciousness.
Stephen II	Pope		23 March 752	26 March 752	3 days	Elected after the death of Pope Zachary.	Died of a stroke. His pontificate is ambiguous because he died before his episcopal consecration, which was traditionally considered the start of the reign; because of this he was removed from the official list of Popes in 1961, and Pope Stephen III was redesignated as Pope Stephen II. In 1975 the Holy See ruled that the pontificate begins with the Pope's acceptance prior to the consecration; but it did not restore Stephen to the list, and considers him only Pope-elect.
Lê Trung Tông	Emperor of Đại Cồ Việt	Early Lê	October 1005		3 days	Death of his father, Lê Đại Hành.	Assassinated on orders of Lê Long Đĩnh, who succeeded him.
Lê Quang Trị	Emperor of Đại Việt	Later Lê	May 1516		3 days	Assassination of Lê Tương Dực.	Assassinated.
Crateuas	King of Macedon	Argead	399 BC		4 days (disputed)	Assassination of Archelaus I of Macedon under the guise of a hunting accident.	Unknown. Some historians believe that Crateuas was just one of several conspirators in Archelaus' death and that the claim that Crateuas held the throne after him is an embellishment.[2]
Conrad I	King of Jerusalem	Aleramici	24 April 1192	28 April 1192	4 days	Elected after the death of his sister-in-law, Sibylla I.	Assassinated.
Mahinda VI	King of Polonnaruwa	Vijayabahu	1187		5 days	Assassinated Vijayabahu II.	Assassinated by Vijayabahu II's sub-king, Nissanka Malla.
John I	King of France and Navarre	Capet	15 November 1316	20 November 1316	5 days	His birth; he was the posthumous child of Louis X of France.	Died aged 5 days.
Phaungkaza Maung Maung	King of Burma	Konbaung	5 February 1782	11 February 1782	6 days	Deposed his cousin Singu Min.	Deposed and executed by his uncle Bodawpaya, who also murdered Singu Min to become king.

Other monarchs who reigned for less than a month

Monarch	Title	Dynasty	Reign began	Reign ended	Reign length	Reason for accession	Reason for reign's end
Zimri	King of Israel	Zimri	885 BC or 876 BC		7 days	Assassinated King Elah.	Committed suicide while under siege by Omri, who disputed the crown. His name became a byword for traitor.
Sigeric	King of the Visigoths	Amali	16 August 415	22 August 415	7 days	Assassination of Ataulf by a former retainer of Sigeric's slain brother, Sarus.	Assassinated and replaced by Ataulf's relative Wallia. Some lists of kings exclude him for considering him a usurper.
Zein Pun	King of Martaban		April–May 1330		7 days	Assassinated King Saw Zein.	Assassinated by Sanda Min Hla, widow of Saw Zein.
Thong Lan	King of Ayutthaya	Suphannaphum	1388-1389		7 days	Death of his father, Borommarachathirat I.	Deposed and executed by Ramesuan.
Henry V	King of France	Bourbon	2 August 1830	9 August 1830	7 days (disputed)	Abdications of Charles X and Louis XIX, his grandfather and uncle, during the July Revolution.	Proclamation hijacked by regent Louis Philippe of Orleans who chose not to announce it as expected. The National Assembly then proclaimed Louis Philippe the King of the French, and Henry marched into exile.
Muhammad al-Badr	King of Yemen	Qasimid	19 September 1962	26 September 1962	8 days	Death of his father, Ahmad bin Yahya.	Monarchy abolished, although he would lead the pro-monarchist forces during the North Yemen Civil War, until 1970.
Saad I	Emir of Kuwait	Al-Sabah	15 January 2006	24 January 2006	9 days	Death of Jaber III.	Deposed by the National Assembly on the grounds of poor health.
Jane	Queen of England and Ireland	Tudor	10 July 1553	19 July 1553	9 days (disputed)	Proclaimed at the Tower of London, per the will of her cousin Edward VI.	Deposed and executed by Edward's sister, Mary I.
Xuantong (second reign)	Emperor of Great Qing	Qing	1 July 1917	12 July 1917	12 days	Restored by monarchist general Zhang Xun; he had last been emperor in 1912.	Restoration failed due to lack of support. Later became Emperor of Manchukuo.
Louis II	King of Holland	Bonaparte	1 July 1810	13 July 1810	13 days	Abdication and flight of Louis I after being pressured by Napoleon.	Kingdom annexed by Napoleon.
Urban VII	Pope	Castagna	15 September 1590	27 September 1590	13 days	Elected after the death of Sixtus V.	Died of malaria. Shortest-reigning Pope recognized by the Holy See.
Eleanor I	Queen of Navarre	Trastamara	28 January 1479	12 February 1479	14 days	Proclaimed following the death of her father, John II.	Died.
Boniface VI	Pope		April 896		15 days	Elected after the death of Formosus.	Unclear; he died of gout or was deposed according to different sources. His election was declared null and void in 898.
Ali Ahmad Khan	Emir of Afghanistan	Barakzai	17 January 1929	1 February 1929	15 days	Proclaimed Emir in Jalalabad in protest for Inayatullah Khan's abdication on Habibullah Kalakani.	Captured and ransomed to Kalakani, who had him executed.
Ælfweard	King of Wessex	Wessex	17 July 924	2 August 924	16 days (disputed)	Death of his father, Edward the Elder.	Died. May have reigned in dispute with his elder brother Æthelstan, who succeeded him.
Celestine IV	Pope	Castiglione	25 October 1241	10 November 1241	16 days	Elected after the death of Gregory IX.	Died of natural causes.
Napoleon II (second reign)	Emperor of the French	Bonaparte	22 June 1815	7 July 1815	16 days	Abdication of his father, Napoleon I.	Empire abolished, replaced by the Kingdom of France.
Shang	Emperor of Tang	Tang	8 July 710	25 July 710	17 days	Assassination of his father, Emperor Zhongzhong, by Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er who wanted to use the infant Shang as their puppet.	Deposed; Wei and Li Guo'er were murdered. Most traditional historians did not consider him legitimate and do not include him in the list of emperors of the Tang dynasty, but modern historians usually do.
Anikanga	King of Polonnaruwa		1209		17 days	Assassinated his son, King Dharmasoka, who was an infant.	Assassinated by General Vikkantacamunakka, who then surrendered control to former queen consort Lilavati.
Quintillus	Roman Emperor		270		17-177 days	Death of his brother, Claudius Gothicus.	Assassinated or committed suicide.
Sisinnius	Pope		15 January 708	4 February 708	20 days	Elected after the death of John VII.	Died, possibly of gout.
Theodore II	Pope		December 897		20 days	Elected after the deposition of Romanus.	Died.
Muawiya II	Caliph of Islam	Umayyad	683	684	20 days to 4 months	Death of his father, Yazid I.	Died of disease.
Gordian II	Roman Emperor	Gordian	22 March 238	12 April 238	21 days	Father and son co-emperors proclaimed in rebellion against Maximinus Thrax, who had himself assassinated his predecessor Alexander Severus, in the so-called Year of the Six Emperors.	Killed at the Battle of Carthage.
Gordian I							Committed suicide upon learning of his son's death.
Marcellus II	Pope	Cervini	9 April 1555	1 May 1555	22 days	Elected afer the death of Julius III.	Died of a stroke.
Cem Sultan	Sultan of the Ottoman Empire	Ottoman	28 May 1481	20 June 1481	23 days (disputed)	Proclaimed himself Sultan in Anatolia after the death of his father, Mehmed II.	Fled to Mamluk Egypt after being defeated by his brother, Bayezid II.
Damasus II	Pope	Curagnoni	17 July 1048	9 August 1048	24 days	Installed by Henry III of Germany after deposing Benedict IX.	Died of malaria or poison.
Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson	King of Mann and the Isles	Crovan	6 May 1249	30 May 1249	24 days	Death of his brother Haraldr Óláfsson in a shipwreck.	Assassinated by his cousin and successor, Haraldr Guðrøðarson.
Constantine I	Emperor of All Russia	Romanov	1 December 1825	25 December 1825	24 days	Proclaimed after the death of his brother, Alexander I.	Refused to assume the throne because he had secretly renounced all rights in 1823 in order to marry Joanna Grudzińska. His younger brother became Nicholas I.
Milan Obrenović II	Prince of Serbia	Obrenović	25 June 1839	8 July 1839	26 days	Abdication of his father, Miloš Obrenović I.	Died of tuberculosis.
Pius III	Pope	Piccolomini	22 September 1503	18 October 1503	27 days	Elected after the death of Alexander VI.	Died of sepsis in a leg wound.
Leo XI	Pope	Medici	1 April 1605	27 April 1605	27 days	Elected after the death of Clement VIII.	Died.
Liu He	Emperor of Han	Western Han	74 BC		27 days	Installed by Regent Huo Guang.	Deposed by Huo Guang.
Taichang	Emperor of Great Ming	Ming	28 August 1620	26 September 1620	29 days	Death of his father, the Wanli Emperor.	Died of disease.
Martinus	Eastern Roman Emperor	Heraclian	September-October 641		<1 month	Made co-emperors of their brother Heraclius II by their mother, empress Martina.	Deposed by Constans II.
Tiberius			September-October 641

Other monarchs who reigned for less than three months

Monarch	Title	Dynasty	Reign began	Reign ended	Reign length	Reason for accession	Reason for reign's end
Shallum	King of Israel		752-745 BC		1 month	Assassinated Zechariah of Israel.	Assassinated and replaced by Menahem.
Napoleon I	King of Spain	Bonaparte	6 May 1808	6 June 1808	31 days (1 month)	Forced abdications of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII in Bayonne, and their subsequent imprisonment in France.	Designated his brother, Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Usually not counted as a King of Spain unlike his brother.
Reccared II	King of the Visigoths		February 612	March 612	≈1 month	Death of his father, Sisebut.	Died.
Charles II (second reign)	Duke of Parma	Bourbon-Parma	April 1849	17 May 1849	≈1 month	Restored by Austrian troops after fleeing during the Revolutions of 1848.	Abdicated in favour of his son, Charles III.
Benedict V	Pope		22 May 964	23 June 964	1 month, 1 day	Elected after the death of John XII.	Deposed by Emperor Otto I.
John Paul I	Pope	Luciani	26 August 1978	28 September 1978	1 month, 2 days	Elected after the death of Paul VI.	Died of a heart attack.
Umberto II	King of Italy	Savoy	9 May 1946	12 June 1946	1 month, 3 days	Abdication of his father, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.	Monarchy abolished after republican victory in the 1946 Italian institutional referendum.
Li Zicheng	Emperor of Great Shun	Shun	25 April 1644	4 June 1644	42 days (1 month, 8 days)	Proclaimed himself Emperor after his capture of Beijing and the suicide of the Chongzhen Emperor.	Abandoned Beijing after his defeat by the Manchus at the Battle of Shanhai Pass. He was killed under unclear circumstances around 1645, likely in battle.
Sweyn I	King of the English	Denmark	25 December 1013	3 February 1014	1 month, 9 days	Declared king after conquering London.	Died.
Tirigan	King of Sumer	Gutian	c. 2050 BC		40 days	Succeeded Si'um.	Sumer annexed by Utu-hengal of Uruk.
Umor	Khan of Bulgaria	Vokil	766		40 days	Likely elected after the deposition and flight of Sabin.	Unknown. Could have died or been deposed by Toktu.
Xerxes II	Shah of Persia and Pharaoh of Egypt	Achaemenid	424 BC		45 days (1 month, 15 days)	Death of his father, Artaxerxes I.	Assassinated by Sogdianus, his illegitimate half-brother and successor.
Ying Ziying	King of Qin	Qin	October 207 BC	December 207 BC	46 days	Enthroned by Zhao Gao after the assassination of Qin Er Shi.	Assassinated by Xiang Yu.
Abd al-Rahman V	Caliph of Cordoba	Umayyad	2 December 1023	17 January 1024	46 days (1 month, 15 days)	Overthrew Al-Qasim al-Ma'mun.	Assassinated by Muhammad III of Cordoba.
Ferdinand VII (first reign)	King of Spain	Bourbon	19 March 1808	6 May 1808	48 days (1 month, 14 days)	Abdication of his father, Charles IV, as a result of the Mutiny of Aranjuez.	Forced to abdicate on his father by Napoleon I, who unbeknownst to Ferdinand, had been forced to abdicate his rights on Napoleon himself on the same day. The abdications were declared null by the Council of Castile on 11 August, recognizing Ferdinand VII as King despite being imprisoned by the French at Château de Valençay. Napoleon recognized Ferdinand VII on 11 December 1813, by the Treaty of Valençay, and he remained on the throne until his death in 1833.
Sylvester III	Pope	Crescentii	20 January 1045	10 March 1045	49 days (1 month, 19 days)	Elected after a revolt expelled Benedict IX from Rome.	Deposed by Benedict IX.
Saw E	King of Martaban	Hanthawaddy	April 1330	June 1330	49 days	Assassination of Zein Pun by former queen consort Sanda Min Hla.	Assassinated by Sanda Min Hla.
Benedict IX (second reign)	Pope	Theophylacti	10 March 1045	1 May 1045	52 days (1 month, 17 days)	Recaptured Rome and expelled Sylvester III.	Abdicated on his godfather, Gregory VI, in order to marry his cousin.
Ningzong	Khagan and Emperor of Great Yuan	Yuan	23 October 1332	14 December 1332	52 days (1 month, 19 days)	Elected after the death of his uncle Emperor Wenzong.	Died.
Peter IV	King of Portugal	Braganza	10 March 1826	2 May 1826	53 days (1 month, 18 days)	Death of his father, John VI.	Abdicated in favour of his daughter, Mary II, and returned to Brazil where he reigned as Peter I until 1831.
Charles II	King of Hungary and Croatia	Capetian Anjou	31 December 1385	24 February 1386	55 days (1 month, 24 days)	Deposed Mary of Hungary.	Assassinated by Mary's mother, Elizabeth of Bosnia.
Feodor II	Tsar of Russia	Godunov	23 April 1605	20 June 1605	58 days (1 month, 26 days)	Death of his father, Boris I.	Assassinated by boyars supporting False Dmitry I.
Al-Mansur Abu Bakr	Sultan of Egypt and Syria	Qalawun	7 June 1341	5 August 1341	59 days (1 month, 27 days)	Death of his father, An-Nasir Muhammad.	Deposed and executed.
Joachim Ernest	Duke of Anhalt	Ascania	13 September 1918	12 November 1918	60 days (1 month, 28 days)	Death of his father, Edward.	Monarchy abolished.
Diadumenian	Roman Emperor		May 218	June 218	1-2 months	Made co-emperor by his father, Macrinus.	Assassinated after the deposition of Macrinus; he was also declared Enemy of Rome and subjected to Damnatio Memoriae.
Herennius Etruscus	Roman Emperor		May 251	June 251	1-2 months	Made co-emperor by his father, Decius.	Killed at the Battle of Abritus.
Edgar II	King of the English	Wessex	After 14 October 1066	Early December 1066	1-2 months	Elected by the Witenagemot after Harold II's death.	Submitted to William the Conqueror.
Yuan Zhao	Emperor of Wei	Northern Wei	2 April 528	May 528	<2 months	Proclaimed by Empress Dowager Hu.	Deposed and executed along with Hu. Traditional historians treat him ambiguously, and subsequent Northern Wei emperors never explicitly declared whether he was an emperor or not. He was not given an imperial posthumous name or temple name, but neither was his imperial status declared null.
Leo V	Pope		Late July 903	Mid-September 903	<2 months	Elected after the death of Benedict IV.	Deposed and imprisoned by Christopher, dying in February 904 under unclear circumstances. The Catholic Church considers Christopher an antipope and stretches Leo V's pontificate to the accession of Sergius III in January 904.
John IV	Prince of Moldavia		November 1577	December 1577	<2 months	Deposed Peter IV.	Deposed and executed after an Ottoman-Polish-Wallachian invasion restored Peter IV.
Peter VII	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	August 1592	September-October 1592	<2-3 months	Deposed Alexander V.	Deposed and mutilated by Aaron I, who then handed him to the Ottomans to be executed.
Ibrahim ibn al-Walid	Caliph of Islam	Umayyad	4 October 744	4 December 744	61 days (2 months)	Death of his brother, Yazid III.	Abdicated in favour of Marwan II, who murdered him in 750.
Ciubăr Vodă	Prince of Moldavia	Monoszló	c. December 1448 - January 1449		2 months (disputed)	A Croatian-Hungarian aristocrat sent by John Hunyadi to depose Roman II in favor of Peter III, but said to have reigned himself as Prince after Peter III fled.	Unknown. Alexander II became Prince in February 1449. Some historians believe he merely occupied the country on Hunyadi's behalf and did not actually claim the throne.
Mamia I (third reign)	King of Imereti	Gurieli	November 1713	5 January 1714	2 months	Recovered the throne after defeating George VII at the Battle of Kutaisi.	Died.
Trịnh Cán	Lord of Tonkin	Trịnh	September 1782	October 1782	≈2 months	Death of his father, Trịnh Sâm.	Forced to abdicate on Trịnh Khải.
Gyanendra (first reign)	King of Nepal	Shah	7 November 1950	7 January 1951	61 days (2 months)	Proclaimed when he was 4 years old by Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, in defiance of Gyanendra's grandfather Tribhuvan, who wanted to end the Rana family's hereditary occupation of the government. Afterward, Tribhuvan and most Nepalese royals, including Gyanendra, departed for India.	Tribhuvan returned and resumed rule after the Ranas agreed to his terms. Gyanendra would become the last king of Nepal five decades later, after the Nepalese royal massacre.
Didius Julianus	Roman Emperor	Didian	28 March 193	1 June 193	66 days (2 months, 5 days)	Bought the throne in auction after the assassination of Pertinax.	Deposed and executed. Also subjected to Damnatio Memoriae.
Frederick Charles	King of Finland and Karelia	Hesse-Kassel	9 October 1918	14 December 1918	66 days (2 months, 5 days)	Elected by the Parliament of Finland.	Renounced the throne without entering the country, which later became a republic.
Alexios V	Eastern Roman Emperor	Doukas	5 February 1204	12 April 1204	67 days (2 months, 7 days)	Deposed co-emperors Isaac II and Alexios IV.	Fled Constantinople during the Latin Sack of 1204. Later captured by Crusaders and executed.
Muhammad II (second reign)	Caliph of Cordoba	Umayyad	10 May 1010	23 July 1010	74 days (2 months, 13 days)	Deposed Sulayman ibn al-Hakam.	Assassinated and replaced by Hisham II.
Petronius Maximus	Western Roman Emperor	Anician	17 March 455	31 May 455	75 days (2 months, 14 days)	Elected by the Roman Senate after assassinating Valentinian III.	Murdered by a mob while trying to flee Rome from the impending Vandal attack.
Chūkyō	Emperor of Japan	Yamato	13 May 1221	29 July 1221	77 days (2 months, 16 days)	Death of his father, Emperor Juntoku.	Deposed and replaced by Go-Horiwa. Not officially recognized as Emperor until 1870 because of doubts raised by his short reign.
Edward V	King of England	York	9 April 1483	25 June 1483	77 days (2 months, 16 days)	Death of his father, Edward IV.	Deposed and imprisoned by Richard III, who claimed he was illegitimate. He is presumed murdered in captivity.
Tupac Huallpa	Sapa Inca	Hanan	c. 26 July 1533	12–27 October 1533	c. 78-93 days	Installed as puppet Inca by the Spanish after the assassination of Atahualpa.	Died of disease or poison.[3]
Stephen II	Despot of Serbia	Kotromanić	1 April 1459	20 June 1459	80 days (2 months, 19 days)	Married a daughter of the late Despot Lazar Branković.	Serbia annexed by the Ottoman Empire. Later became King of Bosnia for two years.
Cuitláhuac	Great Speaker of the Triple Alliance	Acamapichtli	c. 29 June 1520	September 1520	80 days (2 months, 19 days)	Elected soon before or after leading a revolt against the Spanish who were holding his brother Moctezuma II hostage in Tenochtitlan.	Died of smallpox.
Hongxian	Emperor of China	Empire of China	1 January 1916	22 March 1916	81 days (2 months, 21 days)	Offered the Crown after unanimous vote by the Representative Assembly.	Empire abolished after the monarchical restoration proved unexpectedly unpopular. Continued as President of the Republic of China until his death on 6 June.
Amanullah Khan (second reign)	King of Afghanistan	Barakzai	March 1929	23 May 1929	83 days	Returned to contest the throne during the Afghan Civil War (1928–1929), in opposition to Habibullah Kalakani.	Fled to British India.
Pertinax	Roman Emperor		1 January 193	28 March 193	86 days (2 months, 27 days)	Proclaimed after the assassination of Commodus.	Assassinated by his Praetorian Guards, who then auctioned off the throne to the highest bidder.
Berengaria	Queen of Castile	Burgundy	6 June 1217	31 August 1217	86 days (2 months, 25 days)	Death of her brother, Henry I.	Abdicated in favour of her son, Ferdinand III.
Christian Frederick	King of Norway	Oldenburg	17 May 1814	14 August 1814	89 days (2 months, 28 days)	Elected by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.	Abdicated by the Convention of Moss and returned to Denmark, where he became king (as Christian VIII) in 1839. The Crown of Norway was assumed by his rival, Charles XIII of Sweden.
Philip I	King of Castile	Habsburg	27 June 1506	25 September 1506	90 days (2 months, 29 days)	Recognized as regnant King with equal authority to his wife, Joanna I, by the Treaty of Villafáfila.	Died of typhoid or poison.
Florianus	Roman Emperor		July 276	September 276	<3 months	Proclaimed after the death of his half-brother, Marcus Claudius Tacitus.	Assassinated by his own troops while campaigning against the rebel Probus.
Sinmu	King of Silla	Kim	839		<3 months[4]	Assassinated Minae of Silla.	Died from disease.
Alexander III	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	December 1540	February 1541	<3 months	Assassination of Stephen V.	Deposed and later assassinated by Peter IV.
Alexander V	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	June 1592	August 1592	<3 months	Aaron I deposed by the Ottoman Empire.	Deposed by Peter VII. In November he became the equally brief Prince of Wallachia, as Alexander III.
Alexander II (third reign)	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	February 1455	March or May 1455	2-4 months	Deposed Peter Aaron.	Deposed by Peter Aaron and forced into exile, where he died on 25 May 1455.

Other monarchs who reigned for less than six months

     Currently reigning

Monarch	Title	Dynasty	Reign began	Reign ended	Reign length	Reason for accession	Reason for reign's end
Jehoahaz	King of Judah	Davidic	609 BC		3 months	Josiah killed at the Battle of Megiddo.	Deposed and imprisoned by Necho II.
Vikramabahu II	King of Polonnaruwa	Kalinga	1196		3 months	Assassination of his nephew Vira Bahu I.	Assassinated by his nephew Chodaganga I.
George VIII	King of Imereti	Gurieli	1716		3 months	Deposed George VII with Ottoman support.	Fled back to Guria.
Otho	Roman Emperor	Salvian	15 January 69	16 April 69	91 days (3 months, 1 day)	Proclaimed after the assassination of Galba.	Committed suicide after the Battle of Bedriacum.
Murad V	Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam	Ottoman	30 May 1876	31 August 1876	93 days (3 months, 1 day)	Deposition of his uncle, Abdulaziz.	Deposed during the Great Eastern Crisis.
Napoleon I (second reign)	Emperor of the French	Bonaparte	20 March 1815	22 June 1815	94 days (3 months, 2 days)	Returned to Paris.	Abdicated in favour of Napoleon II.
Mustafa I (first reign)	Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam	Ottoman	22 November 1617	26 February 1618	96 days (3 months, 4 days)	Death of his brother, Ahmed I.	Deposed in favor of his nephew, Osman II. He reigned again for fifteen months after the assassination of Osman II in 1622, before he was deposed again.
Louis VII	Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt	Hesse-Darmstadt	25 April 1678	31 August 1678	96 days (3 months, 6 days)	Death of his father, Louis IV.	Died of an infection.
Jeconiah	King of Judah	Davidic	9 December 598 BC	15–16 March 597 BC	97 days (3 months, 7 days)	Death of his father Jehoiakim at the Siege of Jerusalem.	Deposed and exiled to Babylon.
Pupienus	Roman Emperor	Pupienan	22 April 238	29 July 238	98 days (3 months, 7 days)	Co-emperors proclaimed by the Roman Senate in rebellion against Maximinus Thrax after the deaths of Gordian I and Gordian II, in the Year of the Six Emperors.	Assassinated by the Praetorian Guard. They were succeeded by Gordian III, grandson of Gordian II.
Balbinus		Balbinan
Frederick III	German Emperor and King of Prussia	Hohenzollern	9 March 1888	15 June 1888	98 days (3 months, 6 days)	Death of his father, Wilhelm I.	Died of laryngeal cancer.
Charles II (first reign)	Duke of Parma	Bourbon-Parma	31 December 1847	19 April 1848	110 days (3 months, 19 days)	Proclaimed after the death of Marie Louise of Parma.	Fled the country and abdicated in favour of his son, Charles III.
Ibrahim Pasha	Wali of Egypt	Muhammad Ali	20 July 1848	10 November 1848	113 days (3 months, 21 days)	Succeeded his father Muhammad Ali after he was deemed incapable due to senility.	Died of exhaustion after travelling to Constantinople to be confirmed in office.
Mindaugas II	King of Lithuania	Württemberg	11 July 1918	2 November 1918	114 days (3 months, 22 days)	Accepted the throne after election by the Council of Lithuania.	Monarchy "suspended" by the council. Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic declared a month later.
Hiệp Hòa	Emperor of Đại Nam	Nguyễn	30 July 1883	29 November 1883	122 days (3 months, 30 days)	Deposition of his nephew, Dục Đức.	Deposed and forced to commit suicide.
Aemilianus	Roman Emperor		June 253	September 253	3-4 months	Proclaimed in rebellion against Trebonianus Gallus and Volusianus.	Assassinated by his own troops.
Ansprand	King of the Lombards		March 712	June 712	3–4 months	Deposed Aripert II.	Died.
Min Hla	King of Ava	Pinya	August 1425	November 1425	3 months	Assassination of his father, Thihathu of Ava.	Assassinated by his stepmother, Shin Bo-Me.
Renseneb	Pharaoh of Egypt	Thirteenth	1777 BC		4 months	Succeeded Khaankhre Sobekhotep.	Unknown. Could have been deposed by Hor.
Christopher	Pope		October 903	January 904	4 months (disputed)	Deposed and imprisoned Leo V.	Deposed by Sergius III. Though counted as legitimate for most of history, he was removed from the Annuario Pontificio in the mid-20th century and is considered an antipope by the modern Catholic Church.
Stephen VIII	Prince of Moldavia		24 April 1595	August 1595	4-5 months	Deposed Aaron I.	Deposed by Jeremy I, with Polish support. Stephen tried to recover the throne in December, but he was defeated at the Battle of Suceava, captured, and impaled.
Michael I	Prince of Moldavia	Drăculești	May 1600	September 1600	4-5 months	Invaded Moldavia and deposed Jeremy I, who fled to Poland.	Returned to Wallachia after defeat in the Battle of Mirăslău. Jeremy I was restored.
Faisal I	King of Syria	Hashemite	8 March 1920	14 July 1920	128 days (4 months, 6 days)	Crowned by the Syrian Congress.	Surrendered to a French ultimatum and was expelled to Mandatory Iraq, where he was made King in 1921 and reigned until his death in 1933. The Arab Kingdom of Syria was abolished on July 25, 1920 and replaced with the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon.
Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	Emir of Kuwait	Al Sabah	29 September 2020	Incumbent	4 months and 8 days	Death of his half-brother, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.	Currently reigning.
Michael V	Eastern Roman Emperor	Macedonian	10 December 1041	20 April 1042	131 days (4 months, 10 days)	Death of his adoptive father, Michael IV.	Deposed by Zoë and Theodora III.
Charles IV	King of Naples	Valois	22 February 1495	7 July 1495	135 days (4 months, 14 days)	Crowned after conquering the city of Naples.	Left Italy after defeat in the First Italian War.
Liu Bian	Emperor of Han	Eastern Han	15 May 189	28 September 189	136 days (4 months, 13 days)	Death of his father, Emperor Ling.	Deposed and replaced by his younger half-brother, Emperor Xian.
Alexander Hangerli	Prince of Moldavia	Phanariot	7 March 1807	24 July 1807	139 days (4 months, 17 days)	Appointed by Selim III.	Deposed and replaced by Scarlat Callimachi.
Hisamuddin of Selangor	Supreme King of Malaysia	Daeng Chelak	14 April 1960	1 September 1960	140 days (4 months, 16 days)	Elected after the death of Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan.	Died of illness.
Ntare V	King of Burundi	Ntwero	8 July 1966	28 November 1966	143 days (4 months, 20 days)	Deposed his father, Mwambutsa IV.	Deposed by his Prime Minister Michel Micombero, who became the dictatorial first President of the Republic of Burundi.
Edward	Duke of Anhalt	Ascania	21 April 1918	13 September 1918	145 days (4 months, 21 days)	Death of his brother, Frederick II.	Died.
John V	Eastern Roman Emperor (third reign)	Palaiologos	17 September 1390	16 February 1391	152 days (4 months, 28 days)	Recovered the throne from his grandson, John VII, who had deposed him months before.	Died.
Hostilian	Roman Emperor		July 251	November 251	<5 months	Made co-emperor by Trebonianus Gallus after the death of Hostilian's father and brother at the Battle of Abritus.	Died from plague or poison.
Peter Aaron (first reign)	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	October 1451	February 1452	<5 months	Assassinated Bogdan II.	Deposed by Alexander II.
Eraric	King of the Ostrogoths	Rugian	541		5 months	Elected after the murder of Ildibad.	Assassinated by Totila's followers.
Abd al-Rahman IV	Caliph of Cordoba	Umayyad	29 April 1018	September 1018	Around 5 months	Proclaimed Caliph after Ali ibn Hammud al-Nasir's assassination.	Assassinated. Title disputed with Al-Qasim al-Ma'mun.
John VII	Eastern Roman Emperor	Palaiologos	14 April 1390	17 September 1390	156 days (5 months, 3 days)	Deposed his grandfather, John V.	Restoration of John V.
Roman II	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	15 September 1447	23 February 1448	161 days (5 months, 8 days)	Assassinated his uncle, Stephen II, who had previously deposed and blinded Roman's father, Iliaş. He was co-prince with his other uncle Peter III.	Fled to Poland where he died in July 1448. Thereafter Peter III ruled in solitary.
Lê Túc Tông	Emperor of Đại Việt	Later Lê	17 July 1504	30 December 1504	166 days (5 months, 13 days)	Death of his father, Lê Hiến Tông.	Died of illness.
Al-Mustansir	Caliph of Islam	Abbasid	13 June 1261	28 November 1261	168 days (5 months, 15 days)	Proclaimed Caliph in Egypt after the Mongols sacked Baghdad and killed his nephew, Caliph Al-Musta'sim, in 1258.	Killed in an ambush near Hit while trying to reconquer Iraq.
Yazid III	Caliph of Islam	Umayyad	17 April 744	3-4 October 744	171-172 days (5 months, 17-18 days)	Likely assassinated his cousin, Al-Walid II.	Died of a brain tumor.
Charles I and VIII	King of Norway	Bonde	20 November 1449	13 May 1450	174 days (5 months, 22 days)	Elected in Trondheim by a portion of the Norwegian Council, in defiance of Christian I of Denmark who had been elected by the other part.	Renounced his claim to Norway and recognized Christian I. He continued ruling as King of Sweden until he was also replaced there in 1457 by Christian I, and took exile in Poland.
	King of Sweden (second reign)		9 August 1464	30 January 1465	174 days (5 months, 21 days)	Returned from exile during a rebellion against Christian I.	Exiled again after defeat by Christian I's regent in Sweden, Archbishop Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna. He recovered the throne for a third time in 1467 and reigned until his death in 1470.
Al-Muntasir	Caliph of Islam	Abbasid	11 December 861	7 June 862	178 days (5 months, 24 days)	Assassination of his father, Al-Mutawakkil.	Died of disease.
Isaac II (second reign)	Eastern Roman Emperor	Angelos	1 August 1203	27-28 January 1204	179 days (5 months, 26-27 days)	Restored to the throne after the flight of his brother Alexios III, who had imprisoned and blinded him in 1195.	Deposed by Alexios V. Isaac II died soon afterwards under unclear, but possibly natural circumstances. Alexios IV was strangled on February 8.
Alexios IV						Proclaimed co-emperor with his father because of his deteriorated mental and physical state; he ruled alone in practice.
Heraclius II	Eastern Roman Emperor	Heraclian	May 641	September-October 641	<6 months	Death of his father, Heraclius I.	Deposed, mutilated, and exiled to Rhodes by Constans II.

Other monarchs who reigned for a year or less

Monarch	Title	Dynasty	Reign began	Reign ended	Reign length	Reason for accession	Reason for reign's end
Zechariah	King of Israel	Jehoshaphat	753 or 746 BC	752 or 745 BC	6 months	Death of his father, Jeroboam II.	Assassinated by his captain Shallum, who succeeded him.
Stephen VII	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	8 August 1563	January 1564	6 months	Deposed and assassinated John II.	Fled to Poland after the Ottomans refused to recognize him and restored Alexander IV, the prince before John II.
Wu Sangui	Emperor of Great Zhou	Wu Zhou	March 1678	August 1678	6 months	Rebelled against the Qing dynasty and proclaimed himself Emperor in Hengyang.	Died.
Amha Selassie	Emperor of Ethiopia	Solomonic	12 September 1974	12 March 1975	181 days (6 months)	Proclaimed by the Derg while he was 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.	Monarchy abolished.
Hasan ibn Ali	Caliph of Islam	Ali	661		6-7 months	Elected after the death of his father, Ali.	Abdicated in favor of Muawiyah I.
Peter III	Emperor of All Russia	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov	5 January 1762	9 July 1762	185 days (6 months, 4 days)	Death of his aunt, Elizabeth I.	Deposed and possibly assassinated by his wife, Catherine II.
Kale Kye-Taung Nyo	King of Ava	Pinya	9 November 1425	16 May 1426	188 days (6 months, 7 days)	Deposed his nephew, Min Hla.	Deposed by Mohnyin Thado.
Henry VI (second reign)	King of England	Lancaster	3 October 1470	11 April 1471	191 days (6 months, 9 days)	Restored after Edward IV's flight during the 1470 Lincolnshire Rebellion.	Deposed by Edward IV after recapturing London and probably assassinated.
Dafydd ap Gruffudd	Prince of Gwynedd and Wales	Aberffraw	11 December 1282	22 June 1283	193 days (6 months, 11 days)	Death of his brother, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, at the Battle of Orewin Bridge.	Captured in battle by Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn, and quartered on 3 October.
William I	Prince of Albania	Wied-Neuwied	21 February 1914	3 September 1914	194 days (6 months, 11 days)	Formally offered the throne by Albanian notables after being chosen for the position by the European Great Powers.	Fled to Italy amidst unrest related to the outbreak of World War I.
Jamshid bin Abdullah	Sultan of Zanzibar	Al Said	1 July 1963	12 January 1964	195 days (6 months, 11 days)	Death of his father, Abdullah bin Khalifa.	Monarchy abolished.
Sogdianus	Shah of Persia and Pharaoh of Egypt	Achaemenid	424 BC	423 BC	6 months, 15 days	Proclaimed himself after the death of his father Artaxerxes I, in defiance of the legitimate heir, his half-brother Xerxes II whom he had later assassinated.	Assassinated by his other half-brother, Darius II.
Constantius III	Western Roman Emperor		8 February 421	2 September 421	206 days (6 months, 23 days)	Made co-emperor by Honorius.	Died.
Al-Qasim al-Ma'mun (second reign)	Caliph of Cordoba	Hammudid	12 February 1023	9 September 1023	209 days (6 months, 26 days)	Flight of Yahya al-Mu'tali from Cordoba.	Deposed and imprisoned.
Duncan II	King of Scots	Dunkeld	May? 1094	12 November 1094	<7 months	Crowned at Scone as a puppet of William the Conqueror, in rebellion against Donald III who retained control of the Scottish Highlands.	Killed in battle or assassinated after defeat.
Alexander II (first reign)	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	February 1449	12 October 1449	<7 months	Deposed Peter III.	Deposed by Bogdan II. Recovered the throne in 1452.
Peter Aaron (second reign)	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	August 1454	February 1455	<7 months	Deposed Alexander II.	Deposed by Alexander II.
Bardiya	Shah of Persia and Pharaoh of Egypt	Achaemenid	early 522 BC	September 522 BC	7 months	Rebelled in the Zagros Mountains against Cambyses II, then in Egypt, some time before Cambyses' death.	Assassinated by nobles led by Darius I, who claimed he was not the real Bardiya (brother of Cambyses) but a royal impostor.
Lilavati (third reign)	Queen of Polonnaruwa	Vijayabahu	1211	1212	7 months	Restored after deposition of Lokissara.	Deposed by Parakrama Pandyan II.
Tarabya	King of Ava	Pinya	April 1400	before 25 November 1400	7 months	Death of his father Swa Saw Ke.	Assassinated by his former tutor Thihapate of Tagaung after he became insane.
Nedjemibre	Pharaoh of Egypt	Thirteenth	c. 1780 BC or 1736 BC		>7 months	Succeeded Sewadjkare I.	Possibly deposed by Khaankhre Sobekhotep.
Lulach	King of Scots and Mormaer of Moray	Moray	15 August 1057	17 March 1058	214 days (7 months, 2 days)	Death of his stepfather Macbeth at the Battle of Lumphanan.	Assassinated by Malcolm III.
Galba	Roman Emperor	Sulpician	8 June 68	15 January 69	221 days (7 months, 7 days)	Proclaimed in rebellion against Nero, who committed suicide.	Assassinated by Otho in vengeance for adopting Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus as his heir instead of him.
Edmund II	King of the English	Wessex	23 April 1016	30 November 1016	221 days (7 months, 7 days)	Elected in London by part of the Witenagemot after the death of his father, Æthelred the Unready; another part elected king Cnut the Great of Denmark in Southampton.	Died, possibly assassinated, after agreeing to divide the kingdom with Cnut. Thereafter Cnut reigned over the whole of England.
Yahya al-Mu'tali (second reign)	Caliph of Cordoba	Hammudid	9 November 1025	19 June 1026	222 days (7 months, 10 days)	Reconquered Cordoba from Muhammad III.	Deposed in absentia by Hisham III. Became King of Malaga where he reigned until 1035.
Guttorm	King of Norway	Sverre	2 January 1204	11 August 1204	222 days (7 months, 9 days)	Death of his uncle, Haakon III.	Died of illness.
Kōbun	Emperor of Japan	Yamato	7 January 672	21 August 672	227 days (7 months, 14 days)	Death of his father, Emperor Tenji.	Committed suicide after being deposed by his uncle, Emperor Tenmu. Only counted officially and given a posthumous name after 1870.
Louis I	King of Spain	Bourbon	15 January 1724	31 August 1724	229 days (7 months, 16 days)	Abdication of his father, Philip V.	Died of smallpox. Philip V regained the throne and reigned until his own death in 1746.
Jovian	Roman Emperor		27 June 363	17 February 364	235 days (7 months, 19 days)	Elected after the death of Julian in the Battle of Samarra.	Died in his sleep, possibly suffocated by a defective brazier.
Sulayman ibn al-Hakam (first reign)	Caliph of Cordoba	Umayyad	8 November 1009	2 June 1009	237 days (7 months, 22 days)	Declared Caliph after taking Cordoba from Muhammad II and freeing, but declining to reinstall former Caliph Hisham II.	Deposed by Muhammad II. Recovered the throne in 1013 and reigned for three years.
Stephen IX	Pope	Ardenne-Verdun	3 August 1057	29 March 1058	238 days (7 months, 26 days)	Elected after the death of Victor II.	Died.
Kiến Phúc	Emperor of Đại Nam	Nguyễn	1 December 1883	31 July 1884	243 days (7 months, 30 days)	Deposition of his adoptive great uncle, Hiệp Hòa.	Died of illness or poison.
Theodore I	King of Corsica	Neuhoff	12 March 1736	11 November 1736	244 days (7 months, 26 days)	Elected king by Corsican rebels against the Republic of Genoa.	Left Corsica in a failed bid to get foreign support.
Alfonso III	Duke of Modena and Reggio	Este	11 December 1628	July 1629	<8 months	Death of his father, Cesare.	Abdicated in favor of his son to become a monk.
Phelles	King of Tyre	Four Brothers	879 BC		8 months	Assassinated his brother Astarymus.	Assassinated by Ithobaal I.
Ulpia Severina	Roman Empress	Ulpian	270		8 months	Assassination of her husband, Aurelian. Only woman to have ruled the Roman Empire in her own right.	Election of Marcus Claudius Tacitus.
Manava	King of Gauda		625	626	8 months	Death of his father, Shashanka.	Kingdom conquered and divided between Harsha and Bhaskaravarman.
Abd al-Wahid I	Caliph of the Almohad Empire	Almohad	February 1224	September 1224	8 months	Elected after the death of his grand-nephew, Yusuf II.	Assassinated.
George I	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	November 1399	June 1400	8 months	Succeeded his brother, Stephen I, while he was ill but still alive.	Deposed and imprisoned after invasion by Mircea I of Wallachia, who installed George's exiled stepbrother, Alexander I.
Ferdinand IV	Grand Duke of Tuscany	Habsburg-Lorraine	21 July 1859	22 March 1860	245 days (8 months, 1 day)	Abdication of his father, Leopold II, after their flight in the Second Italian War of Independence.	Tuscany annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.
Lê Nghi Dân	Emperor of Đại Việt	Later Lê	3 October 1459	6 June 1460	247 days (8 months, 3 days)	Assassinated his half-brother, Lê Nhân Tông.	Deposed in favor of his other half-brother Lê Thánh Tông. He was exiled to Lạng Sơn and died shortly after.
Vitellius	Roman emperor		16 April 69	22 December 69	250 days (8 months, 6 days)	Proclaimed in rebellion against Galba.	Assassinated.
Injong	King of Joseon	Yi	29 November 1544	8 August 1545	252 days (8 months, 8 days)	Death of his father, Jungjong.	Possibly poisoned by his step-mother Queen Munjeong so his half-brother Myeongjong would become king.
Muhammad II (first reign)	Caliph of Cordoba	Umayyad	15 February 1009	1 November 1009	259 days (8 months, 15 days)	Overthrew Hisham II and his prime minister Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, who tried to make Hisham name him his heir.	Deposed by Sulayman ibn al-Hakam.
Sancho II	King of Leon	Jimenez	12 January 1072	6 October 1072	268 days (8 months, 23 days)	Deposed and imprisoned his brother, Alfonso VI.	Killed at the Siege of Zamora.
Matilda	Lady of the English	Normandy	2 February 1141	c. 1 November 1141	c. 272 days (8 months, 28 days) (disputed)	Captured her cousin, Stephen I, at the Battle of Lincoln.	Stephen exchanged (behind her back and against her will) for her half-brother Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, who was captured at the Rout of Winchester. She was called Lady of the English and not Queen because she was never crowned despite planning to this end.
William III	King of Sicily	Hauteville	February 1194	October 1194	<9 months	Death of his father, Tancred.	Deposed by his uncle, Henry I.
Claudine	Lady of Monaco	Grimaldi	July 1457	16 March 1458	<9 months	Death of her father, Catalan Grimaldi. As she was only six years old, her grandmother Pomellina Fregoso was named regent in her father's will.	Pomellina was deposed after trying to murder Lamberto Grimaldi, Claudine's cousin and bethrothed. Lamberto then assumed the position of Lord of Monaco in detriment of his future wife.
Mamia I (second reign)	King of Imereti	Gurieli	October 1711	June 1712	<9 months	Deposed George VII, who fled to Kartli.	Fled to Kartli himself after being defeated by George VII at the Battle of Chkhari.
Benedict IX (third reign)	Pope	Theophylacti	November 1047	July 1048	9 months	Returned to Rome after the death of Clement II.	Expelled by the troops of Henry III of Germany, who imposed Damasus II.
Chodaganga	King of Polonnaruwa	Kalinga	1196	1197	9 months	Assassinated Vikramabahu II.	Deposed and blinded by General Tavuru Senevirat who handed power to Queen Lilavati, widow of Parakramabahu I.
Lokissara	King of Polonnaruwa		1210	1211	9 months	Invaded Sri Lanka with a Tamil army from the continent, deposing Lilavati.	Deposed by General Parakrama, who restored Lilavati.
Az-Zahir	Caliph of Islam	Abbasid	5 October 1225	10 July 1226	278 days (9 months, 5 days)	Death of his father, An-Nasir.	Died of natural causes.
Harold II	King of the English	Godwin	5 January 1066	14 October 1066	282 days (9 months, 9 days)	Elected by the Witenagemot at the suggestion of the dying king Edward the Confessor.	Killed at the Battle of Hastings.
Clement II	Pope	Morsleben	25 December 1046	9 October 1047	288 days (9 months, 12 days)	Elected at the request of Henry III of Germany, following the depositions of competing popes Benedict IX, Sylvester III, and Gregory VI.	Poisoned with lead sugar, either accidentally or intentionally.
Leo II	Eastern Roman Emperor	Leonid	18 January 474	10 November 474	296 days (9 months, 21 days)	Made augustus (co-emperor) by his grandfather, Leo I.	Died.
Christian II	King of Sweden	Oldenburg	1 November 1520	23 August 1521	295 days (9 months, 22 days)	Conquered Sweden, which had been in rebellion against the Kalmar Union for seven years.	Deposed by the rebel "Protector of the Realm" Gustav Vasa, who was elected king Gustav I in 1523.
Vetranio	Roman Emperor		1 March 350	25 December 350	299 days (9 months, 24 days)	Made co-emperor of Constantius II after the assassination of Constans.	Deposed by Constantius II, who became single emperor.
Habibullah Kalakani	Emir of Afghanistan	Saqqawist	14 December 1928	13 October 1929	303 days (9 months, 27 days)	Abdication of Inayatullah Khan.	Deposed and executed by Mohammed Nadir Shah.
Aaron I (first reign)	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat (disputed)	September 1591	Before 20 June 1592	<10 months	Designated by the Ottomans after the abdication of Peter VI.	Deposed by the Ottomans and replaced with Alexander V.
Augustine I	Emperor of Mexico	Iturbide	19 May 1822	19 March 1823	304 days (10 months)	Elected by the Congress of Mexico after Ferdinand VII of Spain refused the position for himself and any of his relatives.	Abdicated. The monarchy was abolished shortly after.
Muhammad XII (first reign)	Emir of Granada	Nasrid	June 1482	20 April 1483	Around 10 months	Rebelled against his father, Muley Hacén, seizing Granada and Almería. His father successfully defended and retained Málaga.	Captured at the Battle of Lucena during an incursion in Castilian territory. Liberated by the Christians in order to fuel inter-Muslim conflict, he titled himself Emir again in 1487 and reigned until 1492.
Simon I (first reign)	Prince of Wallachia	Movilești	October 1600	3 July 1601	Around 10 months	Assassination of Michael II.	Deposed by Radu IX.
Ismail II	Emir of Granada	Nasrid	23 August 1359	24 June or 13 July 1360	306–325 days (10 months, 1–19 days)	Deposed and exiled his brother, Muhammad V, to North Africa.	Deposed and assassinated by his brother-in-law, Muhammad VI.
Romulus Augustus	Western Roman Emperor		31 October 475	4 September 476	309 days (10 months, 1 day)	Installed in Ravenna by his father, General Orestes, after rebelling against Julius Nepos. The latter fled to Dalmatia and continued ruling there as Western Roman emperor until 480.	Deposed by Odoacer, who sent the imperial insignia to Constantinople and titled himself King of Italy.
Louise Hippolyte	Princess of Monaco	Grimaldi	20 February 1731	29 December 1731	312 days (10 months, 9 days)	Death of her father, Anthony I.	Died of smallpox.
Narawara	King of Burma	Toungoo	14 April 1672	27 February 1673	319 days (10 months, 13 days)	Death of his father, Pye Min.	Died.
Edward VIII	King of the United Kingdom, the British Dominions, and Emperor of India	Windsor	20 January 1936	11 December 1936	326 days (10 months, 22 days)	Death of his father, George V.	Abdicated in favour of his brother George VI in order to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite.
Fuad II	King of Egypt and the Sudan	Muhammad Ali	26 July 1952	18 June 1953	327 days (10 months, 23 days)	Abdication of his father, Farouk I.	Monarchy abolished.
Jovan Nenad	Tsar of Bačka		29 August 1526	26 July 1527	331 days (10 months, 26 days)	Carved a Serbian kingdom in southern Hungary after the death of Louis II in the Battle of Mohacs, refusing to recognize John Zapolya as King of Hungary and collaborating with the Habsburgs.	Assassinated after failing to link with the Habsburgs.
Baldwin I	Latin Emperor of Constantinople	Flanders	16 May 1204	14 April 1205	333 days (10 months, 26 days)	Elected by the Crusaders after the Sack of Constantinople.	Captured by Kaloyan of Bulgaria at the Battle of Adrianople. Later died in prison.
Al-Muhtadi	Caliph of Islam	Abbasid	21-22 July 869	21 June 870	334-335 days (11 months)	Assassination of his cousin, Al-Mu'tazz.	Assassinated.
Marwan I	Caliph of Islam	Umayyad	June 684	April-May 685	11-12 months	Elected after the death of Muawiya II.	Died.
Alexander III	Prince of Wallachia	Bogdan-Mușat	August-November 1592	2-12 September 1593	11-14 months	Succeeded Stephen I.	Deposed by Michael II and exiled to Constantinople, where he was accused of conspiracy and executed in 1597.
Dmitry I	Tsar and Emperor of Russia	Pseudo-Rurik	10 June 1605	17 May 1606	341 days (11 months, 7 days)	Deposition of Feodor II.	Assassinated.
Napoleon I	Emperor of Elba	Bonaparte	11 April 1814	20 March 1815	343 days (11 months, 9 days)	Title created by the Treaty of Fontainebleau.	Fled to France.
Alfonso II	King of Naples	Trastamara	25 January 1494	23 January 1495	363 days (11 months, 29 days)	Death of his father, Ferdinand I.	Abdicated in favour of his son, Ferdinand II.
Marcus Claudius Tacitus	Roman Emperor		25 September 275	June 276	<12 months	Elected by the Roman Senate after the assassination of Aurelian.	Died of fever while returning from a military campaign in Gaul.
Charles III (first reign)	Duke of Parma	Bourbon-Parma	19 April 1848	April 1849	Around 12 months	Abdication of his father, Charles II, after both fled during the Revolutions of 1848.	Father restored by Austrian troops.
Simon I (second reign)	Prince of Wallachia	Movilești	August 1601	August 1602	Around 12 months	Deposed Radu IX.	Deposed by Radu X.
Michael VI	Eastern Roman Emperor	Bringas	31 August 1056	31 August 1057	365 days (12 months)	Succeeded Theodora III after being chosen by her as successor, shortly before her death.	Abdicated in favour of Isaac I and became a monk.
Elizabeth II	Queen of Tanganyika	House of Windsor	9 December 1961	9 December 1962	365 days (12 months)	Gained independence within the Commonwealth of Nations and shared a monarch with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and certain other sovereign states.	Republic proclaimed.
Elizabeth II	Queen of Uganda	House of Windsor	9 October 1962	9 October 1963	365 days (12 months)	Gained independence within the Commonwealth of Nations and shared a monarch with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and certain other sovereign states.	Republic proclaimed.
Elizabeth II	Queen of Kenya	House of Windsor	12 December 1963	12 December 1964	366 days (12 months)	Gained independence within the Commonwealth of Nations and shared a monarch with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and certain other sovereign states.	Republic proclaimed.
Frederick I	King of Bohemia	Wittelsbach	4 November 1619	8 November 1620	370 days (12 months, 4 days)	Crowned in Prague after being elected by the states of the Bohemian Confederacy, in rebellion against Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.	Fled the country after the Protestant defeat at the Battle of White Mountain.
Lý Chiêu Hoàng	Empress of Đại Việt	Lý	October 1224	October-November 1225	12-13 months	Abdication of her father, Lý Huệ Tông, who retired to become a Buddhist monk.	Forced to abdicate in favour of her husband, Trần Thái Tông. She was the only regnant empress in the History of Vietnam.

Other monarchs that could have reigned for less than a year

The following monarchs may also have reigned for less than a year, but only an approximate length of reign is known.

Name	Title	Dynasty	Reign began	Reign ended	Reason for accession	Reason for reign's end
5-70 unnamed rulers	Pharaoh of Egypt	Seventh	c. 2181 BC (70–75 days total)		End of the Sixth Dynasty.	Beginning of the Eighth Dynasty. The existence of the VII Dynasty is questioned due to poor and imprecise records. Some believe it fictional, a metaphor for a chaotic interregnum between the VI And VIII Dynasties; others, that the VII really existed but its pharaohs were included in the VIII by mistake.
Neferkare Pepiseneb	Pharaoh of Egypt	Eighth	2181-2170 BC		Succeeded Neferkahor.	Succeeded by Neferkamin Anu after a reign of one year or more. Only attested in the Abydos King List and possibly the Turin King List (as Neferkare Khered Seneb).
Sewadjkare I	Pharaoh of Egypt	Thirteenth	c. 1781 BC or 1737 BC		Succeeded Sehetepibre.	Succeeded by Nedjemibre. Only known from the Turin King List, which originally included his reign duration but is illegible due to damage.
Cleopatra IV	Pharaoh of Egypt	Ptolemaic	28 June 116 BC	115 BC	Death of her father, Ptolemy VIII. Reigned alongside her brother and husband, Ptolemy IX.	Pushed out of joint rule by her mother, Cleopatra III.
Zhao Jiande	King of Nanyue	Nanyue	112 BC	111 BC	Assassination of Zhao Xing.	Assassinated, Nanyue annexed by the Han Dynasty.
Liu Yi	Emperor of Han	Eastern Han	125		Elected to succeed the late Emperor An.	Died of illness.
Adur Narseh	Shah of Persia	Sasanid	209		Death of his father, Hormizd II.	Assassinated and replaced with Shapur II. His reign is questioned by some historians because he is mentioned in Greek sources but not in Persian ones.
Carus	Roman Emperor	Numerian	282	283	Either assassinated Probus, or was proclaimed after such assassination.	Allegedly struck by lightning while campaigning against the Sassanids.
Ellac	King of the Huns		453	454	Death of his father, Attila.	Killed at the Battle of Nedao.
Olybrius	Western Roman Emperor	Anician	March-July 472	22 October or 2 November 472	Installed by Ricimer after the assassination of Anthemius.	Died of dropsy.
Ildibad	King of the Ostrogoths		540	541	Elected after Witiges was taken prisoner to Constantinople by the Byzantines.	Murdered by his bodyguard.[5]
John	King of the Moors and Romans		545	546	Elected after the death of Stotzas in the Battle of Thacia.	Arrested by the Byzantines and crucified in Constantinople.
Teia	King of the Ostrogoths		July 552	October 552 - early 553	Elected after the death of Totila in the Battle of Taginae.	Killed at the Battle of Mons Lactarius.
Seaxburh	Queen of Wessex	Gewisse	672	673	Unusually succeeded her husband, Cenwalh of Wessex, after his death. Only woman included in the list of kings of Wessex.	Died. The throne was inherited by either Cenfus or his son Æscwine, who were distant relatives of her husband.
Roderic	King of the Visigoths		710-711	711-712	Seized the throne by force, either assassinating Wittiza or in the aftermath of Wittiza's death by other causes.	Killed at the Battle of Guadalete.
Sigeberht	King of Wessex	Wessex	756	757	Succeeded Cuthred, a distant relative.	Deposed by Cynewulf and later assassinated.
Sabin	Khan of Bulgaria	Vokil	765	766	Assassination of Telets.	Deposed, fled to Constantinople.
Toktu	Khan of Bulgaria	Ugain	766	767	Succeeded Umor, possibly after deposing him.	Assassinated while trying to flee from a revolt.
Pagan	Khan of Bulgaria		767	768	Elected after the deposition or assassination of Toktu.	Deposed and assassinated.
Nepotian	King of Asturias	Astur-Leonese?	842		Succeeded his childless "kinsman", Alfonso II, whom he had served as count of the palace.	Deposed by Alfonso's second degree cousin, Ramiro I.
Fruela	King of Asturias	Astur-Leonese?	866		Seized the throne by force in the aftermath of Ordoño I's death.	Assassinated after some months and replaced with Ordoño's son, Alfonso III. Called "The Usurper" to distinguish from Fruela I and Fruela II.
Jeonggang	King of Silla	Kim	886	887	Death of his brother, Heongang.	Died.
Alfonso Fróilaz	King of Leon	Astur-Leonese	July 925	925	Death of his father, Fruela II.	Deposed by his cousins Sancho Ordóñez, Alfonso IV, and Ramiro II, who then fought among themselves. Fróilaz allied with Alfonso IV and may have been rewarded with a sub-kingdom in the northeast until both were removed by Ramiro II in 932.
Bezprym	Duke of Poland	Piast	1031	Spring? 1032	Flight of his brother Mieszko II to Bohemia during a period of German and Kievan invasions.	Assassinated. Duchy divided between his brothers Mieszko and Otto, and cousin Dytryk.
Eric and Eric	King of Sweden		1066	1067	Death of Stenkil. Each claimed the throne for himself and fought the other.	Killed in battle in quick succession. The throne went to Stenkil's son, Halsten.
Sunjong	King of Goryeo	Wang	1082-1083	5 December 1083	Death of his father, Munjong.	Died.
Ragnvald Knaphövde	King of Sweden		late 1120s		Elected in Östergötland after the death of Inge.	Assassinated by the Geats, who had elected Magnus I.
David V	King of Georgia	Bagrationi	c. 1154-1155		Deposed his father, Demetrius I.	Unclear, but likely assassinated. His reign is given different lengths in different chronicles: from one to six months, to even two years.
Magnus II	King of Sweden	Estridsen	1160	1161	Assassinated Eric IX.	Killed in battle with Eric IX's son, Charles VII.
Jaya Harivarman II	King of Champa	Vijaya	1166	1167	Succeeded Jaya Harivarman I.	Succeeded by Jaya Indravarman IV.
Vijayabahu II	King of Polonnaruwa	Vijayabahu	1186	1187	Death of his uncle, Parakramabahu I.	Assassinated by Mahinda VI.
Suryajayavarman	King of Champa	Vijaya	1190	1191	Installed by the Khmer after they invaded and deposed Jaya Indravarman IV.	Fled to Cambodia during the revolt of Vidyanandana, leaving the capital Vijaya to Jaya Indravarman V.
Jaya Indravarman V	King of Champa	Vijaya	1191	1192	Flight of Suryajayavarman.	Assassinated by Vidyanandana.
Dharmasoka	King of Polonnaruwa	Kalinga	1208	1209	Succeeded Kalyanavati.	Assassinated by Anikanga.
Lilavati (second reign)	Queen of Polonnaruwa	Vijayabahu	1209	1210	Assassination of Anikanga by General Vikkantacamunakka, who surrendered control to Lilavati.	Deposed by Lokissara.
Peter I	Latin Emperor of Constantinople	Courtenay	1216	1217	Elected after the death of his brother-in-law, Henry I.	Captured during a failed campaign against the Despotate of Epirus; he died in prison in 1219.
Haraldr Guðrøðarson	King of Mann and the Isles	Crovan	1249	1250	Assassinated his cousin Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson.	Deposed and exiled to Norway by Haakon IV, who probably also installed Rǫgnvaldr's brother Magnús Óláfsson as King.
Balc	Prince of Moldavia	Drăgoșești	1359 or 1364		Death of his father, Sas.	Deposed by Bogdan I.
Peter I	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	1367	July 1368	Death of his grandfather, Bogdan I.	Deposed by his uncle, Lațcu.
Dương Nhật Lễ	Emperor of Đại Việt	Trần (by adoption)	1369	1370	Death of his uncle, Trần Dụ Tông.	Deposed by his father-in-law, Trần Nghệ Tông.
Al-Musta'sim (first reign)	Caliph of Islam	Abbasid	1377		Deposition of Al-Mutawakkil I.	Deposed by Al-Mutawakkil I. He became Caliph a second time in 1386-1389.
Yusuf II	Emir of Granada	Nasrid	1391	1392	Death of his father, Muhammad V.	Possibly assassinated by his son, Muhammad VII.
Hồ Quý Ly	Emperor of Đại Ngu	Hồ	28 February 1400	1401	Deposed his grandson, Trần Thiếu Đế.	Abdicated in favour of his son, Hồ Hán Thương.
Muhammad IX (second reign)	Emir of Granada	Nasrid	1430	1431	Deposed and assassinated Muhammad VIII, who had deposed him earlier.	Deposed by Yusuf IV.
Yusuf IV	Emir of Granada	Nasrid	1 January 1432	1432	Deposed Muhammad IX.	Deposed by Muhammad IX.
Peter III (first reign)	Prince of Moldavia	Bogdan-Mușat	May 1444	1445	Made co-prince by his half-brother Stephen II after he deposed his other brother and previous co-prince, Iliaș, who had been imposed by the Poles.	Unknown. He became co-prince again in 1447, this time with his nephew Roman II, a son of Iliaș.
Yusuf V	Emir of Granada	Nasrid	1445	1446	Deposed his nephew Muhammad X.	Deposed by Muhammad X.
			1462		Deposed his brother Abu Nasr Sa'd.	Deposed by Abu Nasr Sa'd.
Muhammad XI	Emir of Granada	Nasrid	1453	1454	Death of Muhammad IX.	Deposed by Abu Nasr Sa'd and assassinated by Sa'd's son, Muley Hacén.
Al-Mustamsik (second reign)	Caliph of Islam	Abbasid	1516	1517	Deposed his son Al-Mutawakkil III, who had previously deposed him in 1508.	Abdicated in favor of Al-Mutawakkil III.
Al-Mutawakkil III (second reign)	Caliph of Islam	Abbasid	1517		Abdication of his father.	Captured by Selim I and deported to Constantinople, where he surrendered the title to him (according to later tradition).
Mạc Toàn	Emperor of Đại Việt	Mạc	1592-1593		Capture and assassination of his father Mạc Mậu Hợp by the Lê.	Abdicated in favour of Mạc Kính Chỉ.
Mạc Kính Chỉ	Emperor of Đại Việt	Mạc	1592-1593		Abdication of Mạc Toàn.	Assassinated by the Trịnh lords.
Karposh	King of Kumanovo		October? 1689	November? 1689	Recognized as King by the Habsburgs while in rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.	Captured and executed by the Ottomans.
Mamia I (first reign)	King of Imereti	Gurieli	1701		Installed as puppet king by his father-in-law Giorgi Abashidze, following the assassination of Simon I.	Abdicated in favour of Abashidze, who became King George VI of Imereti, and returned to Guria where he continued ruling as Prince.
Abdullah I	King of Iraq	Hashemite	8 March 1920	1920	Proclaimed by the Congress of Iraq.	Refused the position. Became Emir of Transjordan in 1921, and the first King of Jordan in 1946-1951.

See also

• List of shortest-reigning popes
• Current reigning monarchs by length of reign
• List of longest-reigning monarchs
• List of the oldest living state leaders
• Saul Wahl

Notes

1. Though Victor IV was deposed after less than a day, he continued to consider himself pope until he was deposed a second time.

References

1. De Coustin, F. (2017) Louis XIX, duc d'Angoulême. Place des éditeurs, 443 pages.
2. Carney, E. (2015) King and Court in Ancient Macedonia: Rivalry, Treason and Conspiracy. ISD LLC, 400 pages.
3. Seaman, R.M. (2013) Conflict in the Early Americas: An Encyclopedia of the Spanish Empire's Aztec, Incan, and Mayan Conquests. ABC-CLIO, 485 pages.
4. Sinmu is recorded as having reigned for three lunar months, slightly shorter than solar ones.
5. Not assassinated, as the murder had no political aim.