World's oldest monarchy revealed - and it's not the British Royal family

Whenever we hear the words 'royal family', many seem to instantly conjure up images of King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton and all the rest posing together from Buckingham Palace.

But, of course, the United Kingdom isn't the only nation which still has a monarchy. In fact, 43 sovereign nations in the world have a monarch, including fifteen Commonwealth realms that share King Charles III as their head of state.

One of those 40-something nations is none other than Japan, whose royal family history dates back yonks before Britain's!

OK, a bit of history.

The world's oldest monarch is not the British royal family (Chris Jackson / Staff / Getty Images)

The British royal family's origins trace way, way back to Anglo-Saxon rulers like Alfred the Great (who reigned between 871-899) who unified England, but the modern lineage is often seen starting with William the Conqueror (who reigned between 1066-1087) after the Norman Conquest, uniting England and laying foundations for the UK monarchy. The crowns of England and Scotland joined under James I in 1603, leading to the united Great Britain in 1707.

But that's nothing compared to the imperial house of Japan, which has the oldest continuous monarchy in the world, tracing its history back to around 600 BC.

The current Emperor of Japan is Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the throne on May 1, 2019, after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicated, starting the Reiwa era.

Emperor Naruhito is the 126th Emperor, a symbolic head of state, and his official residence is the Tokyo Imperial Palace, with his heir being his brother, Crown Prince Fumihito.

The imperial house of Japan can trace its history back to around 600 BC (Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Speaking of notable royal families across the globe, the world's richest royal family’s net worth is two times Elon Musk's and Bill Gates' combined.

Yep, the House of Saud, the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia, boasts a net worth of around $1.4 trillion, per The Economic Times.

Mind you, the British royal family's net worth is estimated to be around $28 billion, based on figures from Investopedia.

The House of Saud has been ruling Saudi Arabia since 1932, with its fortune primarily stemming from the kingdom’s vast oil reserves, controlled through Saudi Aramco, one of the most valuable companies in the world today.

The head of the House of Saud is currently King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. His son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), reportedly functions as the de facto ruler, holding significant power as prime minister and leading major national initiatives like Vision 2030.