Who was the shortest-reigning monarch in history? King Louis XIX of France is often cited as the shortest-reigning monarch in history, a title he earned for his brief 20-minute rule on August 2, 1830. This fleeting moment on the throne came about because of the abdication of his father, Charles X, during the tumultuous July Revolution.
Louis XIX also abdicated his right to the throne shortly after his father.
Born Louis-Antoine in 1775, he was the eldest son of the Comte d’Artois.
Louis-Antoine experienced the upheaval of the French Revolution firsthand, fleeing France following the revolution in 1789. During the rise and fall of Napoleon, Louis-Antoine remained in exile, awaiting the opportunity to return to his homeland.
After Napoleon’s removal from power, he served King Louis XVIII and then his father, Charles X, when he took the throne in 1824.
Charles X proved to be an unpopular ruler. His reign was marked by policies that favored the aristocracy and curtailed the rights of the common people. This discontent reached its boiling point in the July Revolution of 1830, a popular uprising that forced Charles X to abdicate after three days of intense fighting.
According to the established line of succession, Louis-Antoine was next in line to be king. However, Louis XIX was no fool. He recognized the depth of the opposition to the Bourbon monarchy and understood that his own reign would be similarly fraught with challenges.
Knowing that the French people did not want him as their ruler, Louis XIX abdicated about 20 minutes after his father.
Some historians say that Crown Prince Luís Filipe of Portugal shares this record. He became King of Portugal for about 20 minutes on February 1, 1908, after his father, King Carlos I, was assassinated. Luís Filipe was also fatally wounded in the attack and survived his father by only 20 minutes. Regardless, Louis XIX’s short rule left its mark in history.
By abdicating, Louis XIX passed the crown to his nephew, the Duke of Bordeaux, who later became King Louis-Philippe, ushering in a new era in French history.