Prince Regent Dorgon in imperial regalia. He reigned as a quasi emperor from 1643 to his death in 1650, a period during which the Qing conquered almost all of China. Photo sourced from Wikimedia

10 Youngest Kings in History


 

Age is just a number, even when it comes to world leaders. Throughout history, there have been leaders, kings, queens and emperors as young as a day old.

They found themselves in powerful positions courtesy of their lineage. Others earned their place on the throne through military conquest.

While some took into the role immediately, while others got assistance from their regent kings and queens. As young as they were, the leaders faced the same challenges their predecessors did.

Several kings got crowned at birth and others as teenagers. Here are the youngest kings in history who climbed on the throne, but got mentored to get there.

1. King Henry VI of England- crowned at 8 months 26 days

Illuminated miniature of Henry VI of England. illuminated by the MASTER OF JOHN TALBOT – Wikimedia

King Henry VI ruled over England twice: from 1422 to 1461 and from 1470 to 1471. He was crowned king at the age of nine months after the death of his father.

When he turned 15, he was allowed to rule by himself. Growing up he was a naughty boy. But when he became older, King Henry VI became more concerned with religion. 

He was considered pious and studious but also a recluse. This attribute led to his negligence of government and was one of the causes of the Wars of the Roses.

The king was also interested in education. He went to Eton College in 1440–41, King’s College, Cambridge, in 1441. 

2. King Alfonso XIII of Spain – Crowned the day he was born

Alfonso XIII was born at the Royal Palace of Madrid in Madrid on 17 May 1886. His father was Alfonso XII of Spain, who died in November 1885.

Upon his birth, Alfonso became King of Spain. It is said that after he was born, he was carried naked to the Spanish prime minister Práxedes Mateo Sagasta on a silver tray.

Then five days later, Alfonso was carried in a solemn court procession with a Golden Fleece round his neck. He got baptised with water specially brought from the River Jordan in Palestine.

The French newspaper Le Figaro described the young king in 1889 as “the happiest and best-loved of all the rulers of the earth”.

He assumed full authority when he turned 16. Before that, his mother Maria Christina of Austria had the power as his regent.

A fun fact about King Alfonso XIII is he was also known as El Africano or the African. His leadership is said to have been problematic. He was described as being ignorant and caused his own country’s defeat by intervening in the 1921 Moroccan war.

Despite that, he remains to be the only monarch that had been nominated for a Nobel Prize in 1917. This was for his contribution to the European War Office during World War I.

3. Murad IV, Ottoman Empire – Crowned at 5 years old

Portrait of Murad IV at a young age. Photo by Islam ansiklopedisi – Wikimedia

Murad IV ruled the long-lived Ottoman Empire for 37 years. He was born in Constantinople on July 27, 1612. His birth name was Murad Oglu Ahmed I.

This Ottoman king reigned during the decline of the 630-year old Turkish kingdom. His father, Ahmed I, died in 1618 when Murad was only five years old. Since he was too young to lead, Mustafa I, his uncle, became king.

Murad took over when he turned 11 years old. He had a regent, Kösem Sultan, his mother, who ruled through him until 1632 when he took complete control of the empire.

In the years that he served as king, the empire declined. He ruled with an iron fist, banned tobacco and alcohol, closed coffee and wine shops, ordering the execution of anyone who violated the new laws.

About 60,000 soldiers and civilians were murdered under his orders. He died in 1940 due to liver cirrhosis.

4. King Tutankhamen of Egypt – Crowned at 9 years old

Tutankhamun’s golden mask. Photo by Roland Unger – Wikimedia

He was the 11th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Tuts, as he was known, took the throne at the age of nine and ruled the Middle Eastern kingdom for ten years.

His reign is said to have been short but one of the most successful ones. He overturned much of the damage done during his father’s rule.

During his first year, Tutankhamun restored the practice of worshipping multiple gods. Furthermore, he returned the dynasty’s capital, moved by his father, from Thebes to Amarna.

King Tutankhamen died aged 19 after going to battle. IT is not known if he was assassinated or if it was due to an injury suffered while in battle.

5. King Oyo of the Toro Kingdom, Uganda – Crowned at 3 years old

Another baby King is Oyo of the Toro Kingdom in Uganda. He is currently the only reigning monarch on the list.

Oyo was born on April 16, 1992, and ascended the throne in 1995 at the age of three. He went overseas to study bachelor’s degree in business management in 2013 and returned home.

At 22 years old, he oversaw tax money allocated from the Ugandan government for humanitarian projects that improve the health and education of his subjects.

The late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of Libya, was a patron of the Kingdom of Toro with close ties to the royal family.

6. Sobhuza II of Swaziland – Crowned at 4 months old

Sobhuza II – King of Swaziland. Photo by The National Archives UK – Wikimedia

Sobhuza II was King of Swaziland for more than 80 years. He is said to be the longest-reigning king in history.

The king was born in 1899 and became king at the age of 4 months. He succeeded his father, King Ngwane V. Since he was very young, his grandmother, Labotsibeni Mdluli, functioned as regent until 1921.

After the British made Eswatini their protectorate, he was made the Paramount Chief.

Sobhuza celebrated his Diamond Jubilee in 1981. By then, he had successfully restored and strengthened the monarch’s role as the chief arbiter of decision-making in his kingdom. He died in 1982 and was succeeded by Mswati III.  

7. King Puyi of China – Crowned at 2 years old

The last emperor of China before the Sun Yat-sen Revolution was Henry Pu Yi who got crowned at age two. This was after his uncle, Emperor Kuang-Hsu died in 1908.

However, he resigned on Feb 12, 1912, ending 267 years of control by the Manchu Dynasty and 2,000 years of imperial rule.

In 1924, Pu Yi fled his palace during internal unrest in China and settled in Japanese-controlled Tientsin.

Seeing their opportunity, the Japanese used him to gain control of Manchuria in 1931, propping him up as Pu Yi Emperor of Manchukuo. He held this position until 1945 when he was captured by the Russian Army.

As a prisoner, he spent five years tending to vegetable gardens until 1959. He was sent back to Communist China to face punishment. Henry Pu Yi died of Kidney cancer at the age of 61.  

8. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem – Crowned at 13 years old

Baldwin was crowned when he was 13. Although he suffered from leprosy since childhood, he is considered to be one of the most important rulers of Jerusalem.

King Baldwin IV saved Jerusalem from being annexed at the age of just 16 and ruled until his death. As king, he defended his Cristian kingdom against Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria.

He went to several battles against Saladin’s forces and often travelled in a litter when his leprosy made him too weak to ride a horse.

Baldwin IV’s condition worsened as years went by. He died in 1185 at the age of 23.

9. Emperor Elagabalus, Roman Empire – Crowned at 15 years old

Bust of Emperor Elagabalus. Photo by José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro – Wikimedia

The Roman emperor Elagabalus may have taken power at the tender age of 15, but his four-year reign was chaotic.

He was a native of Syria who seized control of Rome in 218 AD. This was after his mother and grandmother sparked a revolt by claiming he was the illegitimate son of the recently murdered emperor, Caracalla.

Being as dramatic as he was, the young ruler wasted little time in causing controversy. Further, he shocked his subjects with his sexual promiscuity, cross-dressed and had a romantic relationship with his chariot driver.

10. Fulin, the Shunzhi Emperor – Crowned at 5 years old

Prince Regent Dorgon in imperial regalia. He reigned as a quasi emperor from 1643 to his death in 1650, a period during which the Qing conquered almost all of China. Photo sourced from Wikimedia

The third emperor of China’s Qing Dynasty was 5-year-old Fulin who rose to power in 1643 following the death of his father. Because he was so young, His uncle Dorgon was his regent for China for the next several years.

After his uncle died in 1650, Fulin took over the empire aged 12.

Cautious of power grabs from his political enemies, Fulin fostered a risky alliance with influential court eunuchs. They made efforts to fight corruption and consolidate the empire under Qing rule.

The Shunzhi Emperor is today remembered as a remarkably open-minded leader. He devoted most of his time to the study of science and astronomy. Additionally, he was also tolerant of various religions.

Shunzhi died from smallpox in 1661 at the age of 22. His son, the Kangxi Emperor, reigned for over 60 years.

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