Wartime Monarchs Have Two Survivors

Former Bulgarian tsar Simeon II and Tibetan spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama are the only living people (as of November 2026) who served as symbolic heads of state during World War II. Simeon inherited Bulgaria's throne at age 6 in 1943, while the Dalai Lama was enthroned in Tibet at age 4 in 1940. Because both were children, regency governments exercised political power on their behalf. Simeon later returned from exile and served as Bulgaria's prime minister from 2001 to 2005.

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