LONDON, Feb 2, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - At the grand old age of 95, Britain's Queen
Elizabeth II is the world's longest-reigning living monarch.

  She will celebrate 70 years on the throne on Sunday.

  Her reign has been surpassed by just two other major monarchs in recorded
history -- France's 17th-century "Sun King" Louis XIV and Thailand's King
Bhumibol.

  Here are the world's longest known reigns:

  - France's Louis XIV -

  The "Sun King" Louis XIV, who reigned for 72 years between 1643 and 1715,
is the longest-reigning monarch on record.

  Born in 1638, Louis ascended to the throne at the age of four. As well as
making France Europe's preeminent power after three major wars, he was a
gifted ballet dancer. He married twice and built the immense Palace of
Versailles near Paris.

  - Thailand's King Bhumibol -

  The modern record is held by Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, crowned
under the name of Rama IX in June 1946.

  The widely revered monarch died in October 2016 at the age of 88. His seven
turmoil-laden decades on the throne were marked by a communist insurgency,
coups and street protests, throughout which he was seen as a figure of
constancy.

  - Elizabeth II -

  Britain's Queen Elizabeth II inherited the throne on February 8, 1952 at
the age of 25 after the death of her father, George VI.

  She still reigns over another 14 nations in the Commonwealth as well as
heading the organisation, which takes in a third of humanity.

  Elizabeth II will overtake King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the longest-reigning
modern monarch if she is still on the throne on June 12, 2022.

  - Austria's Franz Josef I -

  Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph reigned for nearly 68 years between 1848 and
1916. The head of the powerful Habsburg dynasty ruled over a multi-ethnic
realm with more than 50 million people. Seen as both a custodian of imperial
glory and the tragic figure responsible for its decline, many also blame him
for World War I.

  - Britain's Queen Victoria -

  Queen Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, reigned for
almost 64 years from 1837 until 1901 when the British Empire was at its
height and gave her name to the Victorian age.

  - Japan's Emperor Hirohito -

  Japanese Emperor Hirohito died in January 1989 at the age of 87 after
reigning for 62 years.

  Initially seen as a demigod, questions remain over his role in Japanese
expansionism before and during World War II.

  After the war, he became a mere figurehead as his nation drew close to the
United States and for long became the world's second largest economy.