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List of French monarchs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also: List of Queens and Empresses of France
The monarchs of France ruled, first as kings and later as emperors (Bonapartes only), from the Middle Ages to 1870. There is some disagreement as to when France came into existence. The earliest date would be the establishment of the Merovingian Frankish kingdom by Clovis I in 486 with the defeat of Syagrius, the last Roman official in Gaul. That kingdom's rulers were deposed in the 8th century. The Treaty of Verdun established the Kingdom of Western Francia in 843.
However, the relevance of such traditional outlooks on the origins of modern nations is historically dubious (see below for recent studies). In light of these recent trends, this list begins with Charles the Bald and the Kingdom of Western Francia, originating in 843, the state which would directly evolve into modern France. For earlier Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish Kings.
In addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340-1360 and 1369-1801 also claimed the title of King of France. For a short time, this had some basis in fact - under the terms of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, Charles VI had recognized his son-in-law Henry V of England as regent and heir. Henry V predeceased Charles VI and so his son, Henry VI, succeeded his grandfather as King of France. Most of Northern France was under English control until 1435, but by 1453, the English had been expelled from all of France save Calais (and the Channel Islands), and Calais itself fell in 1558. Nevertheless, English monarchs continued to claim the title until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. Various English kings between 1337 and 1422 had also claimed the title of King of France, but only intermittently.
The title "King of the Franks" (Latin: Rex Francorum) remained in use until the reign of Philip IV. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect (1791-1792) and after the July Revolution in 1830, the style "King of the French" was used instead of "King of France (and Navarre)". It was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarch's title to the people, not to the territory of France.
- See also List of Frankish Kings
The name of France comes from the Germanic tribe known as the Franks. The Merovingian kings began as mere chieftains, the oldest known being Pharamond. Clovis I was the first of these to rise to true kingship. After his death, his kingdom was split between his sons into Soissons (Neustria), Paris, Orleans (Burgundy), and Metz (Austrasia). Various other kingdoms would continue to break apart and be formed as the various Merovingian kings warred with each other.
The Carolingians overpowered the Merovingian kings. First they became their majordomos (mayor of the palace) in Austrasia. Eventually, they united the entire Frankish kingdom for the first time since Clovis. With Mayor Pippin the Younger, the Merovingians were completely phased out. The Carolingian Dynasty would be the first true French monarchy. The great and extended kingdom of Pippin's son, the legendary Charlemagne (Charles I), was split by Louis I (Louis the Pious). In 843, while Louis's son Lothair was in power, the great Frankish kingdom was split. The Eastern Kingdom became Germany, the Middle Kingdom became Lotharingia and later part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Western Kingdom became France. Charles the Bald was the first ruler of the independent West Franks (France).
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Charles II the Bald (Charles II le Chauve) |
843 | October 6, 877 |
 |
Louis II the Stammerer (Louis II le Bègue) |
October 6, 877 | April 10, 879 |
 |
Louis III | April 10, 879 | August 5, 882 |
 |
Carloman II | April 10, 879 | December 6, 884 |
 |
Charles the Fat (Charles le Gros) |
885 | January 13, 888 |
 |
Odo (Eudes de Paris) |
February 29, 888 | January 1, 898 |
 |
Charles III the Simple (Charles III le Simple) |
January 1, 898 | June 30, 922 |
 |
Robert I | June 30, 922 | June 15, 923 |
 |
Rudolph (Raoul de France) |
July 13, 923 | January 14, 936 |
 |
Louis IV from Overseas (Louis IV d'Outremer) |
June 19, 936 | September 10, 954 |
 |
Lothair (Lothaire de France) |
November 12, 954 | March 2, 986 |
 |
Louis V the Lazy (Louis V le Fainéant) |
June 8, 986 | May 22, 987 |
The Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. The branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon.
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Hugh Capet (Hugues Capet) |
July 3, 987 | October 24, 996 |
 |
Robert II the Pious (Robert II le Pieux) |
October 24, 996 | July 20, 1031 |
 |
Henry I (Henri Ier) |
July 20, 1031 | August 4, 1060 |
 |
Philip I (Philippe Ier) |
August 4, 1060 | July 29, 1108 |
 |
Louis VI the Fat (Louis VI le Gros) |
July 29, 1108 | August 1, 1137 |
 |
Louis VII the Young (Louis VII le Jeune) |
August 1, 1137 | September 18, 1180 |
 |
Philip II Augustus (Philippe II Auguste) |
September 18, 1180 | July 14, 1223 |
 |
Louis VIII the Lion (Louis VIII le Lion) |
July 14, 1223 | November 8, 1226 |
 |
Louis IX the Saint (Saint Louis) |
November 8, 1226 | August 25, 1270 |
 |
Philip III the Bold (Philippe III le Hardi) |
August 25, 1270 | October 5, 1285 |
 |
Philip IV the Fair (Philippe IV le Bel) |
October 5, 1285 | November 29, 1314 |
 |
Louis X the Quarreller (Louis X le Hutin) |
November 29, 1314 | June 5, 1316 |
 |
John I the Posthumous (Jean Ier le Posthume) |
November 15, 1316 | November 20, 1316 |
 |
Philip V the Tall (Philippe V le Long) |
November 20, 1316 | January 3, 1322 |
 |
Charles IV the Fair (Charles IV le Bel) |
January 3, 1322 | February 1, 1328 |
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Philip VI of Valois, the Fortunate (Philippe VI de Valois, 'le Fortuné) |
February 1, 1328 | August 22, 1350 |
 |
John II the Good (Jean II le Bon) |
August 22, 1350 | April 8, 1364 |
 |
Charles V the Wise (Charles V le Sage) |
April 8, 1364 | September 16, 1380 |
 |
Charles VI the Beloved, the Mad (Charles VI le Bienaimé, le Fol) |
September 16, 1380 | October 21, 1422 |
 |
Charles VII the Victorious, the Well-Served (Charles VII le Victorieux, le Bien-Servi) |
October 21, 1422 | July 22, 1461 |
 |
Louis XI the Prudent, the Spider (Louis XI le Prudent, l'Araignée) |
July 22, 1461 | August 30, 1483 |
 |
Charles VIII the Affable (Charles VIII l'Affable) |
August 30, 1483 | April 7, 1498 |
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Louis XII Father of the People (Louis XII le Père du Peuple) |
April 7, 1498 | January 1, 1515 |
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Francis I the Father and Restorer of Letters (François Ier le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres) |
January 1, 1515 | March 31, 1547 |
 |
Henry II (Henri II) |
March 31, 1547 | July 10, 1559 |
 |
Francis II (François II) |
July 10, 1559 | December 5, 1560 |
 |
Charles IX | December 5, 1560 | May 30, 1574 |
 |
Henry III (Henri III) |
May 30, 1574 | August 2, 1589 |
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Henry IV, Good King Henry (Henri IV, le Bon Roi Henri) |
August 2, 1589 | May 14, 1610 |
 |
Louis XIII the Just (Louis XIII le Juste) |
May 14, 1610 | May 14, 1643 |
 |
Louis XIV, the Sun King (Louis XIV, le Roi Soleil) |
May 14, 1643 | September 1, 1715 |
 |
Louis XV the Beloved (Louis XV, le Bien-Aimé) |
September 1, 1715 | May 10, 1774 |
 |
Louis XVI | May 10, 1774 | August 10, 1792 |
 |
Louis XVII (not officially reigning) | January 21, 1793 | June 8, 1795 |
Many people were monarchists at the time and consequently refused to recognise the overthrow of the monarchy, and considered Louis XVI's reign to have continued until his death in 1793, then his son Louis XVII to have reigned until his death in 1795, with Louis XVIII's reign then commencing, hence the numbering.
| Portrait | Name | Emperor From | Emperor Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Napoleon I (Napoléon Ier) |
May 18, 1804 | April 11, 1814 |
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Louis XVIII | May 2, 1814 | March 13, 1815 |
| Portrait | Name | Emperor From | Emperor Until |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Napoleon I (Napoléon Ier) |
March 20, 1815 | June 22, 1815 |
 |
Napoleon II the Eaglet (Napoléon II, l'Aiglon) |
June 22, 1815 | July 7, 1815 |
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Louis XVIII | July 7, 1815 | September 16, 1824 |
 |
Charles X | September 16, 1824 | August 2, 1830 |
 |
Louis XIX | August 2, 1830 | |
 |
Henry V (Henri V) |
2 August 1830 | 9 August 1830 |
Note: Louis XIX is considered by some to have ruled in the c.20 minutes between Charles X signing his decree of abdication and Louis XIX himself abdicating in favour of his nephew, Henry V. He is generally not listed as a legitimate French monarch.
| Portrait | Name | King From | King Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Louis-Philippe the Citizen King (Louis Philippe, le Roi Citoyen) |
August 9, 1830 | February 24, 1848 |
The Second French Republic lasted from 1848 to 1852, when its president, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, was declared Emperor of the French.
| Portrait | Name | Emperor From | Emperor Until |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Napoleon III (Napoléon III) |
December 2, 1852 | September 4, 1870 |
The transition period between the fall of the Second Empire after the capture of Napoleon III by the Prussian, and the Third Republic was assumed by General Louis Jules Trochu.
The chronology of Head of State of France continues with the Presidents of the French Republic and short term interim periods by the Chief of State of the French State (1940-1944), the Chairman of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944-1946) and the president of the French Senate (1969 and 1974) during the Fifth Republic. Various pretenders descended from the preceding monarchs have claimed to be the legitimate monarch of France, rejecting the claims of the President of France, and of each other. These groups are:
- Legitimist claimants to the throne of France — descendants of the Bourbons, rejecting all heads of state since 1830. Some "fusionists" recognised the Orléanist claimant after 1883.
- Orléanist claimants to the throne of France — descendants of Louis-Phillippe, rejecting all heads of state since 1848.
- Bonapartist claimants to the throne of France — descendants of Napoleon I and his brothers, rejecting all heads of state 1815-52, and since 1870.
- Jacobite claimants to the throne of France — descendants of King Edward III of England, also claiming England, Scotland, and Ireland.
- Edward James, The Origins of France: Clovis to the Capetians 500-1000. ISBN 0-333-27052-5
- Edward James, The Franks. Blackwell: 1991. ISBN 0-631-17936-4
- The history of France as recounted in the Grandes Chroniques de France, and particularly in the personal copy produced for King Charles V between 1370 and 1380 that is the saga of the three great dynasties, the Merovingians, Carolingians, and the Capetian Rulers of France, that shaped the institutions and the frontiers of the realm. It should be noted that this work was commissioned at a time that France was embroiled in the Hundred Years' War with England, a war fought over hereditary claims to the throne of France. It must therefore be read with a careful eye toward biases meant to justify the Capetian claims of continuity and inheritance.
- The Cambridge Illustrated History of France - Cambridge University Press
- Paul Fouracre and Richard A. Gerberding, Late Merovingian France: History and Hagiography, 640-720. Manchester University Press - ISBN 0-7190-4791-9
- Patrick Geary, Before France and Germany: The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World. Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 1988. ISBN 0-19-504458-4
- Patrick Geary, The Myth of Nations: The Medieval Origins of Europe. Princeton U. Press, 2001. ISBN 0-691-11481-1
- Franks (main history of Frankish kingdoms)
- List of Frankish Kings
- Members of the French Royal Families
- Kings of France family tree
- English Kings of France
- Family tree Bourbon family tree