Monarchs who reigned for their entire lifespans?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The only ways for this to happen (at least, the only ways that I can think of) are for an heir to be conceived prior to the death of a king/emperor/whatever but born after that death, or for a queen/empress/whatever regnant to die in childbirth. I know of two cases of the former, Jean I of France and Alfonso XIII of Spain, both of whom were indeed king from birth; however, Jean I died less than a week after he was born, and Alfonso XIII was overthrown late in his life and therefore was born King of Spain but did not die King of Spain. Nevertheless, Jean I was King of France from his birth until his death, even though that span of time turned out to be very short.

Any other examples?

[Epaminondas]

Louis XIV became king at 5 years old, and died at 77.

He wouldn't have remembered a time he wasn't king.

[afleitch]

Mary Queen of Scots became Queen at 6 days old. While she formally abdicated before her death, it was evidently forced and for Jacobites, generally not recognised. Also I wouldn't be suprised if James V had actually died before she was born but there was some political delay in relaying the news.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Mary Queen of Scots became Queen at 6 days old. While she formally abdicated before her death, it was evidently forced and for Jacobites, generally not recognised. Also I wouldn't be suprised if James V had actually died before she was born but there was some political delay in relaying the news.

Good example; I hadn't been aware that it was possible that James V had died before her birth.

I guess you could also say of Alfonso XIII that his deposition wasn't universally accepted, but by the time he died most of his erstwhile supporters had entered Francoworld instead, whereas MQOS still had an organized political movement insisting that she had died the legitimate queen of both Scotland and England well into the eighteenth century.

[buritobr]

Pedro II became Emperor of Brazil in 1831, when he was 5. However, he started to rule only in 1840, when he was 14. He was ousted in 1889 and died in 1891. He lived 65 years, 58 as the emperor.

[Wikipedia delenda est]

Ladislaus the Posthumous was Duke of Austria for his whole life.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Last emperor of China took over as a kid, but abdicated; as a result of Communism, coming to China, monarchy was abolished and emperor was thrown in prison. The revolutionaries felt the Last Emperor of China would have been too powerful, governing from childhood

[Higgins]

King James VI and I was King from the day of birth until death.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Sobhuza II of Swaziland reigned for almost his entire lifespan, save for first four months. To make things even better, he reigned for 82 years and 254 days.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

King James VI and I was King from the day of birth until death.

No he wasn't. He was already a year old when his mother abdicated.

[Mr. Smith]

Mary Queen of Scots became Queen at 6 days old. While she formally abdicated before her death, it was evidently forced and for Jacobites, generally not recognised. Also I wouldn't be suprised if James V had actually died before she was born but there was some political delay in relaying the news.

I thought Queen of Scots abdicated at 30 and went into exile...which iirc, makes her son James VI a contender here.

[Orser67]

Shapur II of the Sasanian (Persian) Empire may have ruled from birth to death, or at least came close to it. He lived from 309 to 379.

[American2020]

Pharaoh Ramses II reigned 67 years during Ancient Egypt. He died at his 80's, which was rare in Ancient Egypt.

[Calthrina950]

Pharaoh Ramses II reigned 67 years during Ancient Egypt. He died at his 80's, which was rare in Ancient Egypt.

Pepi II fits the contours of this question more closely. He was only six years old when he became Pharaoh c. 2278 BC, and was alleged to have reigned for 94 years-which, if true, would have made him the longest reigning monarch in recorded history. However, most Egyptologists believe that his reign was much shorter than that-64 years at the maximum (which by itself is still a long reign). Pepi II's mother Ankhesenmeryre II ruled as regent during the early years of his reign. By contrast, Ramses the Great was already an adult (in his early to mid 20s) when he became Pharaoh in 1279 BC, and thus held direct power for the entirety of his reign.

[brucejoel99]

Count John Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken was born after the death of his father, Count John II, & reigned from birth in 1472 through his death in 1545.