Is HM Elizabeth II the most influential monarch to ever reign?

[megalomaniac]

Not really. Don't get me wrong, she's a good monarch and she has served for a very long time and has done some very good things. Rarely makes a mistake. However, her influence isn't nearly as much as more 'absolute' monarchs. So, in terms of quality, she is way up there, but in terms of influence, not as much.

In British History I would say that Victoria, or even Elizabeth 1st were more influential, along with many other monarchs. In British History I would pick Alfred as the most influential. He's not called Alfred the Great (the ONLY British monarch to have that title) for nothing.

However, other countries have had even more influential monarchs owing to the fact that Britain was an early pioneer of constitutional monarchy (i.e. lessening the power of the monarchy to allow a certain amount of democracy). This was a good thing, but it meant that British monarchs didn't wield as much power as other more absolute monarchs (like Tsars in Russia for example).

Just because she is well travelled and has an internet presence doesn't mean that she is hugely influential. She has "soft power" and does indeed have some influence but not that much "real power" in the relative sense of things.