The Capetian dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of 'King of France' for the first time with Philip II (r. 1180–1223).
The Capetians ruled 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 (until 1589) and Bourbon (until 1848).
During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect (1791–92) and after the July Revolution in 1830, the style of "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 French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France.[3]
The title "King of the Franks" (Latin: Rex Francorum) gradually lost ground after 1190, during the reign of Philip II (but FRANCORUM REX continued to be used, for example by Louis XII in 1499, by Francis I in 1515, and by Henry II about 1550). It was used on coins up to the eighteenth century.[n 1] During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect (1791–92) 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 French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France.[5]
In addition to the Kingdom of France, there were also two French Empires, the first from 1804 to 1814 and again in 1815, founded and ruled by Napoleon I, and the second from 1852 to 1870, founded and ruled by his nephew Napoleon III (also known as Louis-Napoleon). They used the title "Emperor of the French".[6][7]
This article lists all rulers to have held the title "King of the Franks", "King of France", "King of the French" or "Emperor of the French". For other Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish kings.
In addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340–60, 1369-1420, and 1422–1801 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 Henry V's son, Henry VI, succeeded his grandfather Charles VI 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 and then British monarchs continued to claim the title for themselves until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801.
The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a region known as Francia in Latin, beginning in the middle of the 5th century. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior and the southern part of Germania. The Merovingian dynasty was supposedly founded by Merovech, son of Chlodio, leader of the Salian Franks. But it rose to historical prominence with the reign of his supposed son Childeric I (c. 458-481) and supposed grandson Clovis I (481–511), who united all of Gaul under Merovingian rule.[8]
After Clovis's death, his kingdom was divided among his four sons, who took up residences in different cities. The number and extent of the parts of the kingdom varied over time. Clothar I, the youngest son, eventually reunited the kingdom.
Theuderic, eldest son of Clovis, became king at Reims. His line ended in 555, after which its lands passed to his youngest brother Chlothar.
Chlodomer, Clovis' second son, became king at Orléans. His sons were murdered and he died shortly afterwards; his realm was divided between his two younger brothers, Childebert and Chlothar.
Chlothar, fourth and youngest son of Clovis, became king at Soissons. By 558 he had inherited the lands of his older brothers and thus reunited all of the Frankish territories that had been held by his father.
After Clothar's death, the kingdom was divided among his four sons. The parts of the kingdom varied over time and eventually developed into three distinct realms. Neustria, centred at Soisson and Paris, Austrasia, centered at Metz, and Burgundy, centered at Orléans. Clothar II, grandson of Clothar I, eventually reunited the kingdom.
Charibert, Chlothar's eldest surviving son, became king of the Franks at Paris. He died without issue in 567 and his realm was partitioned between his younger brothers.
Guntram, Chlothar's second surviving son, became king of Burgundy (king of the Franks at Orléans). At his death he was succeeded by his nephew Childebert II of the Franks, who was the son of Guntram's younger brother Sigebert.
Childebert II, Sigebert's son, inherited Austrasia from his father and Burgundy from his uncle. He was succeeded in Austrasia by his eldest son Theudebert II and in Burgundy by his younger son Theuderic II.
King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) King of Austrasia and (after 592) Burgundy
Theudebert II, Childebert II's eldest son, reigned as king in Austrasia but he and his son were murdered. His lands passed to his younger brother Theuderic II, who reunited the realms of Austrasia and Burgundy (which had been both held by their father Childebert II).
King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) King of Austrasia
Theuderic II, Childebert II's youngest son, inherited Burgundy from his father and later Austrasia from his older brother Theudebert II. He was succeeded by his son Sigebert II.
King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) King of Austrasia and Burgundy
Chilperic, youngest son of Chlothar I, reigned as king of Neustria (Soissons). The deaths of his older brothers and their descendants resulted in his son and successor Chlothar II once again reuniting the Frankish realms.
King of the Franks (Roi des Francs) at Soissons King of Neustria (595-639) King of Burgundy (613-629) King of Austrasia (613-623)
Following the reunification of the kingdom, Neustria and Burgundy remained under the direct rule of the King of the Franks, while Austrasia was soon put under the rule of a junior king. The following list restricts itself to the kings ruling in Neustria and Burgundy.
The last Merovingian kings, known as the lazy kings (rois fainéants), did not hold any real political power, while the Mayor of the Palace governed instead. When Theuderic IV died in 737, Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel left the throne vacant and continued to rule until his own death in 741. His sons Pepin and Carloman briefly restored the Merovingian dynasty by raising Childeric III to the throne in 743. In 751, Pepin deposed Childeric and became King in his place.
The Robertians were Frankish noblemen owing fealty to the Carolingians, and ancestors of the subsequent Capetian dynasty. Odo, Count of Paris, was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat. He was crowned at Compiègne in February 888 by Walter, Archbishop of Sens.[10]
Charles, the posthumous son of Louis II, was crowned by a faction opposed to the Robertian Odo at Reims Cathedral, though he only became the effectual monarch with the death of Odo in 898.[11]
After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I, Hugh Capet, was elected by the nobility as king of France. The Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. They were direct descendants of the Robertian kings. The cadet branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon.
Not listed below are Hugh Magnus, eldest son of Robert II, and Philip of France, eldest son of Louis VI; both were co-kings with their fathers (in accordance with the early Capetian practice whereby kings would crown their heirs in their own lifetimes and share power with the co-king), but predeceased them. Because neither Hugh nor Philip were sole or senior king in their own lifetimes, they are not traditionally listed as Kings of France, and are not given ordinals.
Henry VI of England, son of Catherine of Valois, became titular King of France upon his grandfather Charles VI's death in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes of 1420; however this was disputed and he is not always regarded as a legitimate king of France. English claims to the French throne actually date from 1328, when Edward III claimed the throne after the death of Charles IV. Other than Henry VI, none had ever had their claim backed by treaty, and his title became contested after 1429, when Charles VII was crowned. Henry himself was crowned by a different faction in 1431, though at the age of 10, he had yet to come of age. The final phase of the Hundred Years War was fought between these competing factions, resulting in a Valois victory at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, putting an end to any meaningful claims of the English monarchs over the throne of France, though English (and later British) monarchs would continue to use the title "King of France" until 1801.
From 21 January 1793 to 8 June 1795, Louis XVI's son Louis-Charles was the titular King of France as Louis XVII; in reality, however, he was imprisoned in the Temple throughout this duration, and power was held by the leaders of the Republic. Upon Louis XVII's death, his uncle (Louis XVI's brother) Louis-Stanislas claimed the throne, as Louis XVIII, but only became de facto King of France in 1814.
The main line of descent from Hugh Capet is known as the House of Capet. That line became extinct in 1328, creating a succession crisis known as the Hundred Years War. While there were numerous claimants to succeed, the two best claimants were the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet and then later the House of Lancaster.
The death of Charles IV started the Hundred Years' War between the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet later the House of Lancaster over control of the French throne.[12] The Valois claimed the right to the succession by male-only primogeniture, having the closest all-male line of descent from a recent French king. They were descended from the third son of Philip III, Charles, Count of Valois. The Plantagenets based their claim on being closer to a more recent French King, Edward III of England being a grandson of Philip IV through his mother, Isabella. The two houses fought the Hundred Years War to enforce their claims; the Valois were ultimately successful, and French historiography counts their leaders as rightful kings. One Plantagenet, Henry VI of England, did enjoy de jure control of the French throne under the terms of the Treaty of Troyes, which formed the basis for continued English claims to the throne of France until the 19th century. The Valois line would rule France until the line became extinct in 1589, in the backdrop of the French Wars of Religion. As Navarre did not have a tradition of male-only primogeniture, the Navarrese monarchy became distinct from the French, with Joan II, a daughter of Louis X, inheriting there.
• Great-grandson of Charles V • Second cousin, and by first marriage son-in-law of Louis XI • By second marriage husband of Anne of Brittany, widow of Charles VIII
The Valois line looked strong on the death of Henry II, who left four male heirs. His first son, Francis II, died in his minority. His second son, Charles IX, had no legitimate sons to inherit. Following the premature death of his fourth son Hercule François, and the assassination of his third son, the childless Henry III, France was plunged into a succession crisis over which distant cousin of the king would inherit the throne. The best claimant, King Henry III of Navarre, was a Protestant, and thus unacceptable to much of the French nobility. Ultimately, after winning numerous battles in defence of his claim, Henry converted to Catholicism and was crowned king, founding the House of Bourbon. This marked the second time the thrones of Navarre and France were united under one monarch; as different inheritance laws had caused them to become separated during the events of the Hundred Years Wars. The House of Bourbon would be overthrown during the French Revolution, replaced by a short-lived republic.
• Tenth generation descendant of Louis IX in the male line • By first marriage son in law of Henry II, Brother in law of Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III
King of France and of Navarre (Roi de France et de Navarre)
Following the first defeat of Napoleon and his exile to Elba, the Bourbon monarchy was restored, with Louis XVI's younger brother Louis Stanislas being crowned as Louis XVIII. Louis XVI's son had been considered by monarchists as Louis XVII but he was never crowned and never ruled in his own right before his own death; he is not usually counted among French monarchs, creating a gap in numbering on most traditional lists of French kings. Napoleon would briefly regain control of the country during his Hundred Days rule in 1815. After his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon attempted to abdicate in favour of his son, but the Bourbon Monarchy was re-established yet again, and would continue to rule France until the July Revolution of 1830 replaced it with a cadet branch, the House of Orleans.
House of Bourbon, Bourbon Restoration (1814–1815)[edit]
(Disputed) King of France and of Navarre (Roi de France et de Navarre)
The Bourbon Restoration came to an end with the July Revolution of 1830, which deposed Charles X and replaced him with Louis-Philippe I, a distant cousin with more liberal politics. Charles X's son Louis signed a document renouncing his own right to the throne only after a 20-minute argument with his father; because he was never crowned he is disputed as a genuine king of France.[13] Louis's nephew Henry was likewise considered by some to be Henry V, but the new regime did not recognise his claim and he never ruled.
Under Louis-Philippe, the popular monarchy of France changed the styles and forms of the ancien régime, replacing them with more populist forms like replacing "King of France" with "King of the French").
Napoleon III would later be overthrown during the events of the Franco-Prussian War. He was the last monarch to rule France; thereafter, the country was ruled by a succession of republican governments (see French Third 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 1792–1814, 1815, and since 1830. Unionists recognized the Orléanist claimant after 1883.
Orléanist claimants to the throne of France: descendants of Louis-Phillippe, himself descended from a junior line of the Bourbon dynasty, rejecting all heads of state since 1848.
^ 'Louis XII, 1499 [...] LVDOVIVS XII FRANCORUM REX MEDILANI DUX [...] Francis I, 1515 [...] FRANCISCUS REX FRANCORUM PRIMUS DOMINATOR ELVETIORUM [...] Henri II, 1550? [...] HENRICVS II FRANCORVM REX' [4]
^From 22 June to 7 July 1815, Bonapartists considered Napoleon II as the legitimate heir to the throne, his father having abdicated in his favor. However, throughout this period he resided in Austria, with his mother. Louis XVIII was reinstalled as king on 7 July.
^Sullivan, William. Historical causes and effects, from the fall of the Roman empire, 476, to the reformation, 1517. p. 213.
Grimshaw, William. The history of France from the foundation of the monarchy to the death of Louis XVI. p. 11
^Claudio Rendina & Paul McCusker, The Popes: Histories and Secrets, (New York : 2002), p. 145.
^Deploige, Jeroen; Deneckere, Gita, eds. (2006). Mystifying the Monarch: Studies on Discourse, Power, and History. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press. p. 182. ISBN9789053567678.
^Deploige, Jeroen; Deneckere, Gita, eds. (2006). Mystifying the Monarch: Studies on Discourse, Power, and History. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press. p. 182. ISBN9789053567678.
^Le Couronnement de Napoléon Premier, Empereur des Français. Paris, France: Guerin. 1806. p. 1.
^Pascal, Adrien (1853). Histoire de Napoléon III, Empereur des Français. Paris, France: Barbier. p. 359.
^Brown, Peter (2003). The Rise of Western Christendom. Malden, MA, USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 137.
^Babcock, Philip (1993). Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. MA, USA: Merriam-Webster. p. 341.
^Gwatking, H. M.; Whitney, J. P.; et al. (1930). Cambridge Medieval History: Germany and the Western Empire. Volume III. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Parisse, Michael (2005). "Lotharingia". In Reuter, T. (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900–c. 1024. III. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 313–315.
^Knecht, Robert (2004). The Valois: Kings of France 1328–1422. NY, USA: Hambledon Continuum. pp. ix–xii. ISBN1852854200.
Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics. Acting heads of state are denoted by an asterisk. Millerand held the presidency in an acting capacity before being fully elected.
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have monarchs of the House of Bourbon.
List of Spanish monarchs
This is a list of Spanish monarchs, that is, rulers of the country of Spain in the modern sense of the word. The forerunners of the monarchs of the Spanish throne were the following:
Kings of the Visigoths
Kings of Asturias
Kings of Navarre
Kings of León
Kings of Galicia
Kings of Aragon
Kings of Castile
House of Valois
The House of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, and Alençon.
List of Navarrese monarchs
This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the late tenth century, and the name Pamplona was retained well into the twelfth century.
Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. He was elected as the successor of the last Carolingian king, Louis V. Hugh was a descendant in illegitimate descent of Charlemagne through his mother and paternal grandmother.
Charles, Count of Valois
Charles of Valois, the third son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon, was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, whose rule over France would start in 1328.
English claims to the French throne
From the 1340s to the 19th century, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the sororal nephew of the last direct Capetian, Charles IV. Edward and his heirs fought the Hundred Years' War to enforce this claim, and were briefly successful in the 1420s under Henry V and Henry VI, but the House of Valois, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, was ultimately victorious and retained control of France. Despite this, English and British monarchs continued to prominently call themselves kings of France, and the French fleur-de-lis was included in the royal arms. This continued until 1801, by which time France no longer had any monarch, having become a republic. The Jacobite claimants, however, did not explicitly relinquish the claim.
House of Capet
The House of Capet or the Direct Capetians and, also called the House of France, or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. Historians in the 19th century came to apply the name "Capetian" to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. Contemporaries did not use the name "Capetian". The Capets were sometimes called "the third race of kings". The name "Capet" derives from the nickname given to Hugh, the first Capetian King, who became known as Hugh Capet.
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and the Hundred Years' War. It was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world.
House of France
The term House of France refers to the branch of the Capetian dynasty which provided the Kings of France following the election of Hugh Capet. The House of France consists of a number of branches and their sub-branches. Some of its branches have acceded to the Crown, while others remained cadets.
List of heirs to the French throne
The following is a list of the heirs to the throne of the Kingdom of France, that is, those who were legally next in line to assume the throne upon the death of the King.
List of heads of state of France
Below is a list of all French heads of state. It includes the monarchs of the Kingdom of France, emperors of the First and Second Empire and leaders of the five Republics.
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