Two Kings?

Actually it was quite common in some societies for a king to have his son selected as his successor and crowned during his lifetime. And sometimes that son got to share in the royal duties and powers during his father's lifetime, and sometimes not.

For example, around 997 to 1180 about six French princes were elected and crowned co kings during their fathers' reigns.

This happened once in English history when King Henry II had his oldest son Henry crowned as Henry the Young King - but Henry the Young King died before his father.

Charlemagne (died 814) crowned his son Louis I co emperor in 813 during his lifetime, Louise I (died 840) crowned his son Lothair I co-emperor in 817, and Lothaire I (died 855) crowned his son Louis II co emperor in 844.

About 18 men and boys were elected and crowned King of the Romans and future emperor during their fathers' lifetimes, and one during his brother's lifetime.

And sometimes a younger king would start doing most of the ruling if his father was too old or senile.

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Yeah, that coronation at 16 bit did seem a bit Disney to me.

In kingdoms with coronation or other accession ceremonies it is usual to have them relatively soon after a monarch succeeds to the throne.

Thus the minimum age for coronation should be only slightly higher than the minimum age a heir to the throne can be when the previous monarch dies, abdicates, or is deposed, etc.

And of course an heir to the throne can be any age.

There was once a teenage mother who lived until her daughter was one hundred years old. Thus it is theoretically possible for someone a hundred years old to inherit the throne from a parent! And there are cases when younger or older cousins inherit the crown from cousins, uncles inherit the throne from nephews, grand uncles from grandnephews, and even a few cases of fathers inheriting from their sons. So theoretically a monarch could be 120 when inheriting the throne from a younger relative.

Tezozomoc (1320-1426) Chief of the Tepanecs and King of Azcapotzalco conquered Texcoco in 1419, thus gaining another throne and title - Chichimeca Teuctli [over] Lord of [all] the Chichimecs - at the age of 98.

Albert II, elected King of the Romans, King of Hungary, etc. and Bohemia by right of his wife, and hereditary Duke of Austria, died 27 October 1427. His son Ladislaus Posthumous was born 22 February 1440 and was Duke of Austria 1440-1457, King of Bohemia 1453-1457, and King of Hungary, etc. 1440 and 1444-1457. Ladislaus was crowned King of Bohemia 28 October 1453 age 13 and King of Hungary, etc. 15 May 1440 aged 2 months and 23 days.

Shapur II, King of Kings of Iran and of Non Iran, Child of the Sun and Moon and Cousin of the Stars, (309-379) was born in 309 AD. That year his father King of Kings Hormizid II died and Shapur's older half brother Adur Narseh reigned for a few months before being killed by the nobles, who blinded another brother and imprisoned another brother Hormizid (who later escaped to the Roman Empire), and made Shapur King of Kings, allegedly before he was born.

The legend says that Shapur was crowned in utero, the crown being placed on his mother's womb, though some historians dispute it. The nobles ruled in his name until Shapur reached his age of majority at 16 and lead an expedition to Arabia to defeat Arab raiders.

Today the kingdoms and fiefdoms of India have been abolished as political institutions by the Republic of India. However, people still inherit the titles and they are named by those titles in lawsuits involving them, thus indicating the Indian courts recognize their status. Thus in 2011 13 year old Padmanabh Singh became the Maharaja or Great King of Jaipur and the youngest monarch in the world for a few years.

As for the minimum age for a king to rule, that depends. In most countries today, the age of majority is 18, but it ranges from 15 to 21. The age of candidacy, the minimum age to run for or hold political offices, is often higher than the age of majority. The minimum age for a monarch to rule has varied a lot.

King Francis II (1544-1560) of France reached his majority at 14 before becoming king at 15, but he let his mother and the Guises make most of the decisions. King Edward VI of England (1537-1553) died a few months before his age of majority at 16, but often influenced government policy.

The age of majority for Holy Roman Emperors was 18; Joseph I (1678-1711) was elected and crowned King of the Romans and swore his oath of office age 11 but had to swear his oath of office again when he turned 18.

And the personality of a young king has often determined whether they let their ministers rule for them after their majority, or had a strong influence on decisions before their majority. So some sixteen year old and younger monarchs have ruled as well as reigned.

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