Top left: Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning female monarch, ruling as Queen of the United Kingdom for 70 years, from 1952 to 2022.
Top right: Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom for 63 years, from 1837 to 1901; the longest at the time.
Bottom left: Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands for 58 years from 1890 to 1948, is the longest-reigning female monarch outside the United Kingdom.
Bottom right: Margrethe II was Queen of Denmark for 52 years, from 1972 until her abdication in 2024; she is the most recent female monarch of a sovereign state.
The following is an incomplete list of women monarchs who are well known from popular writings, although many ancient and poorly documented ruling monarchs (such as those from Africa and Oceania) are omitted. Section 1 lists monarchs who ruled in their own right, such as queens regnant. Section 2 lists legendary monarchs. Section 3 lists monarchs who ruled in their own right, but had no official legal recognition while in power. Section 4 lists various female rulers who were referred to with the title "Chieftainess." Regents, such as queens regent, are not monarchs and are not included in this page. Pretenders to thrones are also not included in this page.
The first verified female monarch of Egypt is Sobekneferu of the Twelfth dynasty. However, queens from earlier periods such as Neithhotep, Merneith and Khentkaus I held powerful positions and may have ruled Egypt in their own right, but the archaeological evidence is ambiguous.[2]
The title "Kabara" was used by female monarchs who ruled over the Hausa people in the Middle Ages. A line of matriarchal monarchs is recorded in the Kano Chronicle that ends with the reign of Daurama in the 9th century.[34] These queens reigned from c. 700 to c. 1000.[35]
Amina – There is controversy among scholars as to the date of her reign, one school placing her in the mid-15th century, and a second placing her reign in the mid to late 16th century.
The Modjadji or Rain Queen is the hereditary queen of Lobedu, the people of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The succession to the position of Rain Queen is matrilineal, meaning that the Queen's eldest daughter is the heir, and that males are not entitled to inherit the throne at all. The Rain Queen is believed to have special powers, including the ability to control the clouds and rainfall.
Eastern Kingdom of Women [zh] In Tibet, there was Nüguo (Chinese: 女國, lit. "Kingdom of Women"), also known as Dong nüguo (Chinese: 東女國, lit. "Eastern Kingdom of Women"), related to the tribe Sumpa.[64] Several queens regnant of there were recorded in Chinese history books.
Queen of Maynila, name unknown (reigned c. 1521) – she succeeded her husband Salalila and was succeeded by her son Matanda; according to oral traditions, her name is "Ysmeria"
There were many chiefdoms on Timor, but according to the hierarchy among the Timorese domains, the ruler of Sonbai of West Timor, the ruler of Wehali of Central Timor, and the ruler of Likusaen (today: Liquiçá) of East Timor were three paramount rulers of Timor.[110]
Asma bint Shihab (reigned 1047–1087) – she was the co-ruler of Yemen in co-regency with her cousin and spouse, Ali al-Sulayhi, and later her son, Ahmad al-Mukkaram, and daughter-in-law, Arwa al-Sulayhi. Though there were many female monarchs in the Muslim world, Asma bint Shihab and Arwa al-Sulayhi were the only female monarchs in the Arab world to have had the khutba proclaimed in their name in the mosques as sovereigns.
Arwa al-Sulayhi (reigned 1067–1138) – she ruled Yemen firstly with her first two husbands and her mother-in-law and then as sole ruler. She was the greatest of the rulers of the Sulayhid Dynasty and was also the first woman to be accorded the prestigious title of hujja in Isma'ili branch of Shi'a Islam, signifying her as the closest living image of God's will in her lifetime.
Queen of Greater Yuezhi, name unknown (reigned in the 2nd century BC) – after the king of the Greater Yuezhi was killed by the Xiongnu, his wife became the new monarch of Greater Yuezhi[115][116]
Dynamis (reigned in 47 BC, 44–17 BC, and 16–14 BC) – she co-ruled with her first husband Asander in 47 BC and from 44 BC until 17 BC; then she co-ruled with her second husband Polemon I from 16 BC until her death
Pictish Queen, name unknown (reigned c. 617) – in 617, she summoned pirates to massacre Donnán and his companions on the island of Eigg; she is the only woman ruler mentioned in early Scottish history[122]
Irene of Athens (reigned 797–802) – she normally referred to herself as basilissa (empress), although there are three instances of the title basileus (emperor) being used by her. From 792 she was a co-ruler.
Theodora the Armenian (reigned 842–856, disputed) - after the death of her husband she became the co-ruler of her son but in fact she ruled the empire alone; some historians regard her as an empress regnant rather than just a regent
Zoë Porphyrogenita (reigned 1028–1041 and 1042–1050) – she ruled with her consorts Romanos III and Michael IV between 1028 and 1041; she ruled with her sister Theodora and her third husband Constantine IX from 1042 to 1050
Theodora Porphyrogenita (reigned 1042–1056) – she ruled from 1042 jointly with her sister Zoe and Zoe's third husband Constantine IX; she ruled from 1055 until her own death as sole monarch.
Eudokia Makrembolitissa (reigned 1067, disputed) - after the death of her husband she became a ruler; some historians regard her as an empress regnant rather than just a regent
Charoba – A queen mentioned in a history of Egypt written by 12th-century Arab writer Murtada ibn al-'Afif.[128]
Daluka of the Soleyman Dynasty – An Antediluvian monarch from medieval Coptic and Arabic texts who supposedly built a wall around Egypt to protect the country from invasion and also was said to have built a pyramid and a nilometer at Memphis. Sometimes claimed to be a cousin of Charoba and her immediate successor.[128]
Borsa of the Soleyman Dynasty – Mentioned in medieval Coptic and Arabic texts as a ruler of Egypt in the Antediluvian era.[129] Sometimes described as a "priestess".[128]
The following names all come from a regnal list written in 1922, which is partially based on native traditions and older regnal lists, but also contains additional names of Coptic and Nubian origin, the latter due to its association with the word "Aethiopia" in ancient and Biblical texts. Claimed dates follow the Ethiopian calendar.[130]
Borsa (reigned 4321–4254 BC) – Originated from Coptic tradition.[129]
Eylouka (reigned 3776–3731 BC) – Originated from Coptic tradition.[129]
Mumazes reigned (1675–1671 BC) – Daughter of king Bonu I.[131]
Aruas (reigned 1671 BC) – Daughter of Mumazes.[130]
Helena (reigned 1358–1347 BC)
Makeda (reigned 1013–982 BC) – The Biblical queen of Sheba in Ethiopian tradition and mother of Menelik I. She succeeded to the throne after the death of her father king Kawnasya.[132]
Chen Shuozhen (reigned 653) – She led a peasant uprising in 653. During the rebellion, she declared herself huangdi. Jian Bozan recognized her as a female huangdi.[143]
Caroline, reigning queen of Easter Island (reigned 1877)[145] – after the death of Dutrou-Bornier, his widow Koreto briefly installed their daughter Caroline as Queen
^See Tara Sewell-Lasater, Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest and the Path to the Female Rule, University of Houston, 2020, pp. 125-19.
^Bennett, Chris. "Arsinoe II". Egyptian Royal Genealogy.
^Berenice did have titles of "female Horus" and "female Pharaoh", but was not included in dating protocols as co-ruler to her husband. See, Tara Sewell-Lasater, Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest and the Path to the Female Rule, University of Houston, 2020, p. 187-189. However she is considered Pharaoh by Sally Ann Ashton, see Sally Ann Ashton, TheLast Queens of Egypt: Cleopatra's Royal House, Routledge 2014, pp. 112-113.
^Arsinoe III did have title of "ruler", but was not included in dating protocols as co-ruler to her husband, making her status ambiguous. Tara Sewell-Lasater classifies her as queen-consort, see Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest and the Path to the Female Rule, University of Houston, 2020, p. 16. However Arsinoe is considered Pharaoh by Sally Ann Ashton, see Sally Ann Ashton, TheLast Queens of Egypt: Cleopatra's Royal House, Routledge 2014, pp. 112-113.
^While Cleopatra did have titles like "female Horus" and "female Pharaoh", she was not included in dating protocols as co-Pharaoh during her husband's reign, see Tara Sewell-Lasater, Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest and the Path to the Female Rule, University of Houston, 2020, pp. 245-246. However she is considered Pharaoh by Sally Ann Ashton, see Sally Ann Ashton, The Last Queens of Egypt: Cleopatra's Royal House, Routledge 2014, pp. 112-113. After Ptolemy V died, Cleopatra I was included in dating protocols, however her position is said to come from being guardian of her son and is ambiguously described as "regent and co-ruler"; see Tara Sewell-Lasater, Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest and the Path to the Female Rule, University of Houston, 2020, pp. 16-17 and 246.
^Chris Bennett. "Cleopatra I". Tyndale House. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
^Kuckertz, Josefine (2021). "Meroe and Egypt". UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology: 6.
^Adam Simmons, 'A Short Note on Queen Gaua: A New Last Known Ruler of Dotawo (r. around 1520-6)?', Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies (2023), doi:10.5070/D60060625.
^Duquette, Danielle Gallois (1983). Dynamique de l'art bidjogo (Guinée-Bissau): contribution à une anthropologie de l'art des sociétés africaines (in French). Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical. p. 71. Bernatzik, durant son voyage, entendait vanter le reine Idiana Ibop qui avait succédé à son mari, jusqu'à sa mort trois saisons des piuies auparavant, tellement elle s'était imposée à Canhabaque par son intelligence et sa bonté
^Association of the Buddha Jayanti (1959). Japan and Buddhism. Tokyo News Service. p. 23.
^Yoshie, Akiko; Tonomura, Hitomi; Takata, Azumi Ann «Gendered Interpretations of Female Rule: The Case of Himiko, Ruler of Yamatai». US-Japan Women's Journal, 44, 1, 2013, pàg. 13. DOI: 10.1353/jwj.2013.0009.
^Arihant Experts (4 June 2019). Know Your State Odisha. Arihant Publications India limited. p. 16. ISBN978-9313193272. Next female rulers were Tribhuvana Mahadevi II (890-896AD) and Tribhuvana Mahadevi III (896-905AD).
^Arihant Experts (4 June 2019). Know Your State Odisha. Arihant Publications India limited. p. 16. ISBN978-9313193272. Next female rulers were Tribhuvana Mahadevi II (890-896AD) and Tribhuvana Mahadevi III (896-905AD).
^James George Scott; John Percy Hardiman (1901). Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States, Part 2, Volume 2. p. 6. Hkun Hkawt, a brother of Hkun Lek, was appointed Sawbwa, but died in four years. In 1228 B.E. (1866), therefore, his youngest sister, one of the Queens, was appointed to the charge of Lai Hka with the title of Myoza. She appointed myooks and myo-teins to govern the State for her. This continued for two years and then the former Sawbwa, Hkun Mawng, now become a youth, was appointed to the State.
^Mair, Victor H., ed. (1998). The Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Peoples of Eastern Central Asia. Vol. 2. The Institute for the Study of Man in collaboration with The University of Pennsylvania Museum Publications. p. 777. ISBN978-0-941694-63-6. Among the Greater Yuezhi it appears that a lady was appointed to be the ruling queen on at least one occasion. "Zhang Qian zhuan" 張騫傳 (Biography of Zhang Qian) in the History of the Han records that after the king of the Greater Yuezhi was killed by the Xiongnu, his wife was appointed to be the queen.
^Witzel, Morgen (2019-12-06). A History of Leadership. Routledge. ISBN978-1-351-66649-7. Lady Xian, a hereditary chieftain of the Li people in southern China in the sixth century AD, was a powerful figure who suppressed banditry, abolished slavery and defeated an invasion, all in order to protect her people.
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