There were several rulers whose reigns began as children. Louis XIV of France and Richard II and Henry VI of England ruled their countries at very young ages.
The kid who plays Harry Potter - can’t get much more famous than him this week. And yet I can’t remember his surname!! Daniel… something. It will come to me.
Do they have to be kids now, or can it be a kid from history?
The kids of US Presidents were often in the spotlight, especially the Roosevelt children, and more recently, the Kennedy children, Amy Carter, and Chelsea Clinton.
(er…do teenagers count as “kids”?)
Anna Paquin
Raven what’s-her-name that used to be on The Cosby Show
Jonothan Lipnicki
Billy Gilman
Jake Lloyd (snickers)
Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle Willis (or Moore?) (Do they have to be famous in their own right?)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
If they don’t have to be “current” kids, the following people all were famous as children:
Jodi Foster
Tatum O’Neal
Drew Barrymore
Jerry Mathers
Elizabeth Taylor
Historical:
Lady Jane Grey of England
Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia
Edwards III, V, and VI (all of England) were also crowned at a young age. Edward III reigned for a very long time – he ascended the throne after his mother, Isabella (the French princess from Braveheart), and her lover, Roger Mortimer, had his father killed in an exceedingly unpleasant fashion (involving a poker). Edward’s first official act as king was to execute Mortimer and exile Isabella. Edward V is best known for getting smothered in the Tower (either by Richard III or Henry VII), and Edward VI had poor health and only lived to be sixteen. (Also, he’s the “Prince” half of “The Prince and the Pauper.”)
Most monarchs who started early had a very bad time of it – those who survived the struggles for power that accompany the presence of a weak rule tended to grow up to have an incredibly inflated sense of their own power (Richard II) or be mentally unstable (Henry VI) or whatever…