The Most Powerful Kings And Queens In History

Many early rulers were so iconic that their names and works passed into legend and influenced others for centuries. However, it’s not just the Kings that have become iconic; Queens have also made their impact.
Woman have proven their wit and worth in several ways, such as reigning over their people and showing their capability to be leaders in the same ways as men. Since the dawn of time, Kings and Queens have changed the world, some for the better and some for the worse.
King William The Conqueror
William the Conqueror was King of England from 1066 until 1087. He was illiterate but undeniably clever. During the Battle of Hastings, he fought valiantly with five thousand troops to conquer a nation of one and a half million.

In addition, he wiped out the ruling classes, claimed all the land, and replaced English with French as the language of government.
King Henry V
King Henry V reigned from 1413 until 1422 and is known for reuniting the English in 1415 by defeating the French at the infamous Battle of Agincourt. He was often called the last great warrior-king, and many of his followers believed that he was immortal after a series of victories.

One of his greatest achievements is that he combined the French and English crowns in 1420. However, his reign and life didn’t last much longer after his accomplishment, as he died in 1422 from dysentery.
King Henry VIII
King Henry VIII reigned from 1509 until 1547 and was one of the most infamous kings in English history. He is most known for his ruthless ways and six wives, two of which were beheaded. Henry split from the Roman Catholic Church after the Pope in Rome refused to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

He established his own church called the Church of England. He had a habit of beheading people, warmongering, and pillaging his own country.
King James VI
King James VI reigned from 1567 until 1603 as the King of Scotland. In addition, he was King of England and Ireland until 1625. He was the first king of the union and was known for laying the foundations for what the UK would become and remain for centuries.

He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and had largely retained the affection of his people. Earl of Kellie said, “As he lived in peace, so did he die in peace.” He died in 1625 from a violent attack of dysentery.
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 until 1901 and was the longest-reigning monarch in British history until Queen Elizabeth II took over the title. She came to power during the height of the British Empire, and some people argue that she saved the monarchy from the contempt the poor and powerful were starting to feel towards it before her reign. She was known for being very conservative.

ListVerse wrote, “She contributed to massive political and social reforms in the United Kingdom and the British Empire by abolishing slavery throughout her empire, supporting the Factory Act, which reduced the working day in textile mills to ten hours. As well as helping with the Third Reform Act of 1884, which granted the right to vote to all male householders and effectively extended the vote to most British men.”
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II reigned from 1952 until 2022, making her the world's longest-reigning living monarch and the fourth-longest in history. She was a sovereign of thirty-two independent countries during her lifetime.

She saw a lot during her reign, including the decolonization of Africa, devolution in the UK, and the ultimate demise of the empire. She became queen at the age of twenty-five and had a deep sense of religious and civic duty.
King Charles III
King Charles III became King of the United Kingdom and fourteen other Commonwealth realms on September 8, 2022.

He was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history and is the oldest person to assume the throne at the age of seventy-three. He was married to Princess Diana, 'The People's Princess,' and is the father of the popular Prince Harry and Prince William.
Queen Catherine The Great
Catherine the Great ruled Russia from 1762 until 1796, making her the country's longest-ruling woman leader. She was a formerly penniless Prussian princess who used her wits and cunning to take the thrown from her husband, Tsar Peter.

She expanded Russia's borders, spearheaded judicial and administrative reforms, curated a cast art collection that formed the foundation of one of the world's greatest museums, dabbled in vaccination, penned operas and children's fairy tales, drafted her own legal code, and founded the country's first state-funded school for women during her reign.
King George VI
George VI was King of the United Kingdom from 1936 until 1952 and was an important symbolic leader for the British people during World War II. He made one of the most important speeches of his life, in which he announced to the citizens of Britain that the country was at war.

His speech was depicted in the 2010 film The King's Speech. King George V said of his son, "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne."
King Alfred
King Alfred was King of Wessex from 849 until 899, and during his reign, he united different areas of England and moved the country towards greater unity. He was a formidable warrior by defeating the Vikings and also a scholarly and educated man.

His reputation was that of a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature, who proposed that primary education be conducted in English. He also improved the legal system and military structure.
Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I ruled over England from 1558 until 1603 and was the last monarch of the House of Tudor. She has been referred to as the "Virgin Queen."

One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the supreme governor. Some depict Elizabeth as a sometimes indecisive ruler with a short temper and someone who enjoyed more than her fair share of luck.
King Frederick II
Frederick II was King of Prussia from 1740 until 1786 and greatly enlarged Prussia's territories and made Prussia the foremost military power in Europe. He favored the French language and emerged quickly as a leading exponent of the ideas of an enlightened government.

He ranks among the two or three dominant figures in the history of modern Germany, as Prussia became one of the great states of Europe under his leadership.
King Alexander The Great
Alexander the Great was the son of the king of Macedonia, and he took control of his father's kingdom and leadership of the Greek world after his father was assassinated. He became king and set out to conquer Persia.

He never lost a battle in his ten years of campaigning, in which he conquered Persia, attempted to invade India, and laid out plans for a cosmopolitan empire blending eastern and western cultures together. King Alexander died at the age of thirty-three of a mysterious disease.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra ruled Egypt from 51 B.C. to 30 B.C. and was a formidable ruler. She was most known for her love life, which included Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

She raised many armies to defeat her brother and other people trying to take her power. In addition, she was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, and she sought to defend Egypt from the expanding Roman Empire.
King Louis XIV
King Louis XIV of France reigned for seventy-two years and one hundred and ten days. He was known as the "Sun King" and took his duties as a king very seriously.

He fathered many illegitimate children, and the darker side of his reign was the state's persecution of the Huguenots. His reign was marked by a series of grueling wars, and on his deathbed, he stated that he had "loved war too much."
Peter The Great
Peter the Great ruled the Tsardom of Russia from 1682 until 1721 and the Russian Empire until 1725. During his reign, he expanded the Russian empire and shaped modern Russia.

He also founded many Russian government institutions. He founded and developed the city of Saint Petersburg and the first Russian university called Saint Petersburg State University. Peter died in 1725.
King Alexander II
Alexander II was the Emperor of Russia from 1855 until 1881 and is credited with helping reform Russian society. His most significant reform as emperor was the emancipation of Russia's serfs in 1861.

He was also responsible for reorganizing the judicial system, setting up elected local judges, promoting self-government through the zemstvo system, abolishing corporal punishment, ending some privileges of the nobility, imposing universal military service, and promoting university education. After an assassination attempt, he changed gears and sold Alaska to the United States in 1867. Sadly, in 1881, he was assassinated.
King Henry VI
Henry VI was King of England and France before he was one year old. He was crowned King of England in 1429 and of France in 1431 and was the only English monarch to have been crowned King of France. His ineffective reign led to the gradual loss of English lands in France.

Many described him as shy, timid, passive, well-intentioned, and adverse to warfare and violence. After losing his mind, two kingdoms, and his only son, he died on May 21, 1471. Some say he was killed on the orders of King Edward IV.
Queen Anne
Anne Boleyn was Queen Elizabeth's mother and the second wife of King Henry VIII. Queen Anne was very controversial in her time and was imprisoned in the Tower of London after being accused of infidelity. She denied the accusations but was later beheaded in 1536.

She was a key figure in the political and religious upheaval which started the English Reformation. She has been mentioned or inspired in several artistic and cultural works. She has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had."
Queen Mary Stuart
Mary Stuart, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots, took the throne at just six days old. She eventually grew into her power quite well and ended up donning two crowns, reigning over France as well. She was probably most known for clashing with Elizabeth I.

Some vilified her, and others defended and eulogized her. She was eventually beheaded for being complicit in a plot to murder Elizabeth. Her courage on that day helped establish her popular image as the heroic victim in a dramatic tragedy.
King George III
King George III reigned as King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 until 1820. His reign and life were marked by several military conflicts involving his kingdoms.

Under his reign, the British Agricultural Revolution reached its peak, and many scientific and industrial advances were made. Later in life, George suffered from mental illness and died in 1820, with his son George IV taking the throne.
King Charles II
King Charles II reigned as King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660 until 1685. He is considered one of the most popular English kings and is known as the Merry Monarch. Professor Ronald Hutton wrote, "For the past hundred years, books on Charles II have been sharply divided into two categories."

"Academic historians have concentrated mainly on his activities as a statesman and emphasized his duplicity, self-indulgence, poor judgment, and lack of an aptitude for business or stable and trustworthy government. Non-academic authors have concentrated mainly on his social and cultural world, emphasizing his charm, friendliness, worldliness, and tolerance, turning him into one of the most popular of all English monarchs in novels, plays, and films." Charles died in February 1685 from a sudden apoplectic fit.
Hammurabi
Hammurabi was the King of Babylon from 1792 until 1750. He was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, and he conquered Elam and the city-states of Eshnunna, Mari, and Larsa during his reign.

He is most known for his code of laws, which were famously preserved on a monolith shaped like an index finger. Even after he died in 1750 B.C., his laws remained enforced at the local level and went on to influence the Romans.
King Alfred The Great
Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex from 871 until 899 and was the first to adopt the title of King of the Anglo-Saxons. He led the Anglo-Saxon resistance against the Viking invasion. He significantly improved the country's legal system and military structure, and his heirs would also go on to be the Kings of England.

He had a reputation as a merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature. He proposed that primary education be conducted in English and encouraged education.
King Edward I
Edward I was King of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine from 1272 until 1307 and was known as 'Edward Longshanks' because of his unusual height. He was also called the 'Hammer of the Scots' because of the brutality of his campaigns through Scotland.

He is credited with solidifying the authority of Parliament and reforming the royal administration and common law. Edward was an intimidating figure and was known for instilling fear.
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was an Egyptian queen and the Great Royal Wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. She was well known for many things during her reign but is most well-known for starting a religious revolution switching to worshiping only one god; the sun disc Aten.

Nefertiti ruled during the eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt and was also known for being one of Ancient Egypt's most powerful and mysterious women. Some believe she may have continued to rule even after her husband's death.
King Gustav III
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until 1792 and was once acclaimed as an 'enchanter on the throne.' He was both loved and hated and is one of the least-studied rulers.

Gustav introduced several enlightened reforms, including abolishing torture as an instrument of legal investigation, abolishing the poor law, granting freedom of the press, granting religious toleration, promoting free trade, and strengthening the Navy. He was determined to make Sweden great again but was assassinated in March 1792.
Queen Margrethe II
Margrethe II is Queen of Denmark, and on top of her leadership abilities, she speaks five languages. One of her most impressive skills is her art, and in the early 1970s, she sent her interpretations of Lord of the Rings to Tolkien.

Her art became part of a 1977 Danish edition of The Lord of the Rings. She has ruled for more than fifty years and is Europe's longest-serving current head of state.
Queen Rania
Rania Al Abdullah is the Queen of Jordan and has become known for her advocacy work related to education, community empowerment, health, cross-cultural dialogue, youth, and micro-finance.

She has been ranked as one of the world's 100 most powerful women by Forbes magazine. The queen has launched and championed many initiatives in education and learning, and her first venture was the establishment of the Jordan River Foundation in 1995.
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut was the Queen of Ancient Egypt and the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty. She was the second female pharaoh after her husband died in 1479 B.C.

"She extended Egyptian trade and oversaw ambitious building projects, most notably the Temple of Deir el-Bahri, located in western Thebes, where she would be buried." ----- History.com. Her stepson tried to erase all memory of her after she died, which included tearing down monuments and defacing statues.
Queen Tomyris
Tomyris became Queen of the Massagetae, who were located east of the Caspian Sea in Central Asia. Cyrus of Persia wanted to marry Tomyris so that he could have her kingdom but she refused and accused him of trickery.

They actually fought each other instead, but Cyrus tricked her army, led by her son, who was taken prisoner and committed suicide. Her army defeated the Persians and killed King Cyrus.
King Alfonso VIII
Alfonso VIII was King of Castile from 1158 until 1214 and was called the Noble or the one of Las Navas. During his reign, Castile dominated Leon, and by his alliance with Aragon, he drew those two spheres of Christian Iberia into close connection.

He was the founder of the first Spanish university, and his court also served as an important instrument for Spanish cultural achievement.
King Richard The Lionheart
Richard the Lionheart was a crusading King who gained fame for his chivalry and courage. He is known for his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. He was an important Christian commander during the Third Crusade and achieved many victories. In addition, he is credited with having originated the English crest of a lion statant, which continues to represent England on several coins of the pound sterling.

In 1199, Richard was hit with a crossbow bolt in the shoulder, and the wound became gangrenous. The person that hurt him was a boy, and before he died, he met with the boy. He forgave him, saying, "Live on, and by my bounty, behold the light of day." He ordered the boy to be freed and given one hundred shillings.
Queen Arsinoe II
Arsinoe II was the Queen of Ancient Thrace and Egypt and was the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Her husbands included Lysimachus, the King of Thrace, and her brother, King Ptolemy II Philadelphus.

As queen, she conspired to make her son heir, which led to war and the death of her husband. She was known for being powerful and probably worshiped, and she died in July 270 B.C.
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette was the wife of King Louis XVI and the Queen of France. She is often thought of as a symbol of Royal decadence and immorality, which actually sparked the French revolution.

She was made to change her name and appearance as queen in order to fit into the French standard of beauty. She was labeled as a corrupt and immoral woman and was executed in 1793 for treason and for holding principles in opposition to the French revolution.
King Canute
King Canute was King of England and Denmark and was regarded as a wise ruler who succeeded in ending Viking invasions and brought a degree of peace and stability to England.

He was known for being generous to the Christian church and for sponsoring religious projects. Cnut was King for almost two decades, and the protection he gave against Viking raiders restored prosperity that had been increasingly impaired.
King Richard III
Richard III was King of England from 1483 until 1485 and was the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty. His loss and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is credited with having greatly improved conditions in northern England.

His biggest achievement was bringing regional governance directly under the control of the central government. In addition, he founded the College of Arms, ordered the translation of written Laws and Statutes from traditional French into English, and banned restrictions on the printing and sale of books.
King Edward VII
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom of Ireland and Great Britain from 1901 until 1910. He is known for using his charm and personality to win over European allies and reinstall vigor and pomp, and ceremony to the monarchy after the long retreat of Queen Victoria.

He abdicated the throne so that he could marry divorcee Wallis Simpson and instead became known as the Duke of Windsor. He died in May 1910 at the age of sixty-eight.
Queen Eleanor
Eleanor of Aquitaine was the first Queen of France, and her sons, Richard and John, both went on to become Kings of England as well. Eleanor was beautiful, educated, and highly articulate.

She influenced the politics of western Europe and was possibly the most powerful woman in twelfth-century Europe. In addition, she was very active in politics as the wife and mother of various kings and was also involved in a plot against her husband, King Henry II.
Queen Isabella I
Queen Isabella was Queen of Castile, along with her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon. She effectively united the Spanish provinces and allowed and financed the journey of Christopher Columbus.

She also set up the Spanish Inquisition and infamously expelled Jews and Muslims. She withdrew from governmental affairs in 1504 and died later that year.
Francis Joseph I
Francis Joseph was King of Hungary from 1848 until 1916, making him the longest-serving King of Europe. He was loyal to preserving the traditions of the monarchy and the Catholic Church.

He signed Austria-Hungary's declaration of war, which was the start of World War I. He reigned in a Dual Monarchy in which Austria and Hungary coexisted as equal partners, and he formed an alliance with Prussian-led Germany.
King Henry II
Henry II was King of France from 1154 until 1189 and was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was known as an energetic king who tried to reclaim lost territory from France. He tried to reform the Church, issued the Constitutions of Clarendon, and reasserted the centralized power of his grandfather, Henry I.

He was a fine king, but his family turned against him because of his temper, odd ways, and distance. In 1559, he was hurt in a jousting tournament and died ten days later.
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi ruled China from 1861 until 1908. She stopped several rebellions during her reign and orchestrated a coup grabbing power from a council of elders.

"Schools were created for the study of foreign languages, a modern customs service was instituted, Western-style arsenals were constructed, and the first Chinese foreign service office was installed. Internally, an effort was made to end governmental corruption and to recruit men of talent." ----- Britannica.com.
Empress Theodora
Empress Theodora ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 527 until 548, but she started her life as an actress and prostitute. She then co-reigned with Emperor Justinian.

"Theodora worked for women's marriage and dowry rights, anti-rape legislation, and was supportive of the many young girls who were sold into sexual slavery for the price of a pair of sandals. Her laws banished brothel-keepers from Constantinople and all the major cities of the Empire." ----- The Guardian.
Empress Suiko
Empress Suiko ruled Japan from 592 until 628 and was the first Empress of Japan. Suiko introduced the Chinese calendar and established Buddhism as the country's official religion.

In addition, she adopted the Chinese bureaucratic system and installed the twelve grades of cap ranks. She also introduced Japan's first constitution. There were seven female sovereigns that followed her reign.
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI was King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and he attempted to reform French society in order to make the rich people pay high taxes. However, he was vetoed and couldn't end the division in society.

He convened the Estates-General to try and solve his budget crisis but instead sparked the French Revolution. He was the last King of France before the monarchy fell in 1789 and he was convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death.
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland from 1587 until 1632 and was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. He imposed Roman Catholicism and attempted to hold absolute power in all his dominions.

He often undermined parliament by suppressing internal opposition, strengthening Catholic influence, and granting privileges to the Jesuits. He remains a controversial figure in Poland and is one of the country's most recognizable monarchs.
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II was King of Prussia from 1888 until 1918 and was one of the most recognizable public figures of World War I. His reputation came from swaggering militarists through his speeches and ill-advised newspaper interviews.

He was forced to abdicate when the German war effort collapsed after several defeats, which marked the end of the German Empire. It also marked the end of the House of Hohenzollern's three-hundred-year reign in Prussia and five-hundred-year reign in Brandenburg.
King Edgar
Edgar was King of England from 959 until 975. Unfortunately, only a few events were recorded by chroniclers, and many were more interested in recording the activities of the leaders of the Church.

He ruled peacefully, becoming known as King Edgar the Peaceful until he died in 975. From the beginning, Edgar was determined to reverse his brother's divisive policies and repair relationships with the Church.