Hello everyone and nice to see you back. Kings, queens and emperors come and go, but who was
the shortest reigning monarch in history? Let's check it out!
While Queen Elizabeth II is officially the world's longest reigning monarch with her
69 years old tenure, other monarchs from history were not so lucky.
Luis Filipe, the Prince Royal of Portugal was the eldest son and heir of the King of
Portugal, Carlos I. On the 1st February 1908, when he was just 20, he and his family were
returning to Lisbon, when they were attacked by revolutionaries. Carlos I died immediately,
while Luis Filipe himself was fatally wounded, still alive for an excruciating twenty minutes.
As he was next in line for the monarch, he subsequently became King of Portugal for the
same brief period following the assassination of his father. His younger brother Manuel
survived the attack, having only been shot in the arm, while the queen was unharmed.
Manuel succeeded to the throne as Manuel II but two years later was overthrown in a military
coup when the Portuguese First Republic was established and monarchy abolished.
If you found this interesting, please stay with us as we move on with some more interesting
cases where reigns were shortened by everything, from assassination and intrigue, to democratic
movements that sought complete abolishment.