France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

was ruled by

monarchs A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in ...

from the establishment of the

Kingdom of West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

in 843 until the end of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

usually regards

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

() as the first king of France, however historians today consider that such a kingdom did not begin until the establishment of West Francia.

Titles

The kings used the title "King of the Franks" ( la, Rex Francorum) until the late twelfth century; the first to adopt the title of "King of France" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Rex Franciae'';

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''roi de France'') was

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

in 1190 (r. 1180–1223), after which the title "King of the Franks" gradually lost ground. However, ''Francorum Rex'' continued to be sometimes used, for example by

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

in 1499, by

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

in 1515, and by Henry II in about 1550; it was also used on coins up to the eighteenth century. During the brief period when the

French Constitution of 1791 The French Constitution of 1791 (french: Constitution française du 3 septembre 1791) was the first written constitution in France, created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the . One of the basic precepts of the French Revolution ...

was in effect (1791–1792) and after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

in 1830, the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

King of the French The precise style of French sovereigns varied over the years. Currently, there is no French sovereign; three distinct traditions (the Legitimist, the Orleanist, and the Bonapartist) exist, each claiming different forms of title. The three styles ...

" (''roi des Français'') was used instead of "

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

(and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

)". It was a constitutional innovation known as

popular monarchy Popular monarchy is a term used by Kingsley Martin (1936) for monarchical titles referring to a people rather than a territory. This was the norm in classical antiquity and throughout much of the Middle Ages, and such titles were retained in some ...

which linked the monarch's title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. With the

House of Bonaparte Italian and Corsican: ''Casa di Buonaparte'', native_name_lang=French, coat of arms=Arms of the French Empire3.svg, caption=Coat of arms assumed by Emperor Napoleon I, image_size=150px, alt=Coat of Arms of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, typ ...

, the title "

Emperor of the French Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires. Details A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procl ...

" (''Empereur des Français'') was used in 19th-century France (during the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

French Empires) between 1804 and 1814, again in 1815, and between 1852 and 1870. From the 14th century down to 1801, the English (and later British) monarch claimed the throne of France, though such claim was purely nominal excepting a short period during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

when

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...

had control over most of Northern France, including Paris. By 1453, the English had been mostly expelled from France and Henry's claim has since been considered illegitimate; French historiography commonly does not recognize Henry VI of England among the kings of France.

Frankish kings

In August 843 AD, the

Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...

divided

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

into three kingdoms, one of which (

Middle Francia Middle Francia ( la, Francia media) was a short-lived Frankish kingdom which was created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun after an intermittent civil war between the grandsons of Charlemagne resulted in division of the united empire. Middle Francia ...

) was short-lived; the other two evolved into France (

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

) and, eventually, Germany (

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

). By this time, the eastern and western parts of the land had already developed different languages and cultures.

Carolingian dynasty (843–887)

The Carolingians were a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The family consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and ''

dux et princeps Francorum The title Duke of the Franks ( la, dux Francorum) has been used for three different offices, always with "duke" implying military command and "prince" implying something approaching sovereign or regalian rights. The term "Franks" may refer to an ...

'' hereditary and becoming the real powers behind the

Merovingian kings The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

. The dynasty is named after one of these mayors of the palace,

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesma ...

, whose son

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

dethroned the Merovingians in 751 and, with the consent of the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the aristocracy, was crowned

King of the Franks The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...

. Under

Charles the Great Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

(r. 768–814), better known as "

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

", the Frankish kingdom expanded deep into

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

, conquering

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and most of modern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He was succeeded by his son

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

(r. 814–840), who eventually divided the kingdom between his sons. His death, however, was followed by a 3-year-long civil war that ended with the

. Modern France developed from

, while

became the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

and later

Robertian The Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries. The Capetians appear first ...
dynasty (888–898)

Carolingian dynasty (898–922)

Robertian The Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries. The Capetians appear first ...
dynasty (922–923)

Bosonid The Bosonids were a dynasty of Carolingian era dukes, counts, bishops and knights descended from Boso the Elder. Eventually they married into the Carolingian dynasty and produced kings and an emperor of the Frankish Empire. The first great scion o ...
dynasty (923–936)

Carolingian dynasty (936–987)

Capetian dynasty (987–1792)

The Capetian dynasty is named for Hugh Capet, a

Robertian The Robertians (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship) are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries. The Capetians appear first ...

who served as Duke of France and was elected King in 987. Except for the Bonaparte-led Empires, every monarch of France was a male-line descendant of Hugh Capet. The kingship passed through patrilineally from father to son until the 14th century, a period known as

Direct Capetian The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most s ...

rule. Afterwards, it passed to the

House of Valois The Capetian house of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589 ...

, a cadet branch that claimed descent from Phillip III. The Valois claim was disputed by the

House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in b ...

, founded by

Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (french: link=no, le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Count of Tours, Touraine and Count of Maine, Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Nor ...

, which had also recently come into possession of the

throne of England The Throne of England is the throne of the Monarch of England. "Throne of England" also refers metonymically to the office of monarch, and monarchy itself.Gordon, Delahay. (1760) ''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All the ...

; the two houses fought the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

over the issue, and with

being for a time partially recognized as King of France. The Valois line died out in the late 16th century, during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

, to be replaced by the distantly related

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

, which claimed descent through the Direct Capetian

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

. The Bourbons would rule France until deposed in the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, though they would be restored to the throne after the fall of Napoleon's empire. The last Capetian to rule would be

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

, king of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

, a member of the cadet

House of Bourbon-Orléans A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

House of Capet (987–1328)

The House of Capet are also commonly known as the "Direct Capetians".

House of Valois (1328–1589)

The death of Charles IV started the

between the

and the

(whose claim was taken up by the cadet branch known as the

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 126 ...

) over control of the French throne. The Valois claimed the right to the succession by male-only

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

through the ancient

Salic Law The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...

, 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 Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

being a grandson of

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

through his mother,

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

. The two houses fought the

to enforce their claims; the Valois were ultimately successful, and French historiography counts their leaders as rightful kings. One Plantagenet,

, did enjoy ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' control of the French throne following the

Treaty of Troyes The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was formally signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of ...

, which formed the basis for continued English claims to the throne of France until 1801. The Valois line would rule France until the line became extinct in 1589, in the backdrop of the

. 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.

House of Valois-Orléans (1498–1515)

House of Valois-Angoulême (1515–1589)

House of Bourbon (1589–1792)

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 Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

, 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 as King Henry IV, 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

and replaced by a short-lived

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

Long 19th-century (1792–1870)

The period known as the "long nineteenth century" was a tumultuous time in French politics, the period is generally considered to have begun with the

, which deposed and then executed

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. Royalists continued to recognize his son, the putative king

Louis XVII Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a m ...

as ruler of France, however Louis was under arrest by the government of the Revolution, and died in captivity having never ruled. The republican government itself went through several changes in form and constitution until France was declared an empire following the ascension of the

First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

as Emperor Napoleon I. Napoleon himself would be overthrown twice following military defeats during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. After the Napoleonic period followed two different royal governments, the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

, which was ruled successively by two younger brothers of Louis XVI, and the

, ruled by

, a distant cousin who claimed descent from

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

. The

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

brought an end to the monarchy again, instituting a brief Second Republic that lasted only four years before its President declared himself Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, who would himself be deposed and replaced by the Third Republic, and ending monarchic rule in France for good.

House of Bourbon, claimant (1792–1804)

House of Bonaparte, First French Empire (1804–1814)

House of Bourbon (1814–1815)

House of Bonaparte, Hundred Days (1815)

Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830)

House of Bourbon-Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848)

The Bourbon Restoration came to an end with the

of 1830 which deposed

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

and replaced him with

, 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. 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.

House of Bonaparte, Second French Empire (1852–1870)

The

French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Revo ...

lasted from 1848 to 1852, when its president, Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, was declared

under the regnal name of

. He would later be overthrown during the events of the Franco-Prussian War, becoming the last monarch to rule France.

Later pretenders

Various

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

s descended from the preceding monarchs have claimed to be the legitimate monarch of France, rejecting the claims of the president of France and of one another. These groups are: * Legitimist claimants to the throne of France: descendants of the Bourbons. Unionists recognized the Orléanist claimant after 1883. * Blancs d'Espagne: descendants of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, claiming precedence over the House of Bourbon-Orléans by virtue of primogeniture. * 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. * Bonapartist claimants to the throne of France: descendants of Napoleon I and his brothers, rejecting all heads of state 1815–48 and since 1870. * English claimants to the throne of France: kings of England and later of Great Britain (renounced by Hanoverian King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

upon union with Ireland in 1800). * Jacobite claimants to the throne of France: senior heirs-general of Edward III of England and thus his claim to the French throne, also claiming England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1600 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:3 bottom:150 right:150 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:843 till:1871 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:900 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:25 start:850 Colors = id:canvas value:white id:carolingian value:rgb(1,0.8,0) id:robertian value:skyblue id:bosonid value:rgb(0.7,0.1,0.1) id:capet value:darkblue id:valois value:oceanblue id:lancaster value:red id:bourbon value:rgb(0,0.75,1) id:orleans value:green id:bonaparte value:purple id:republic value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:eon value:black Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = bar:CharlesIIandI bar:LouisII bar:LouisIII bar:CarlomanII bar:CharlesIIIandII bar:Odo bar:CharlesIII bar:RobertI bar:Rudolph bar:LouisIV bar:Lothair bar:LouisV bar:Hugh bar:RobertII bar:HenryI bar:PhilipI bar:LouisVI bar:LouisVII bar:PhilipII bar:LouisVIII bar:LouisIX bar:PhilipIII bar:PhilipIV bar:LouisX bar:JohnI bar:PhilipV bar:CharlesIV bar:PhilipVI bar:JohnII bar:CharlesV bar:CharlesVI bar:CharlesVII bar:HenryVILancaster bar:LouisXI bar:CharlesVIII bar:LouisXII bar:FrancisI bar:HenryII bar:FrancisII bar:CharlesIX bar:HenryIII bar:HenryIV bar:HenryD bar:LouisXIII bar:LouisXIV bar:LouisXV bar:LouisXVI bar:LouisXVII bar:NapoleonI bar:LouisXVIII bar:NapoleonII bar:CharlesX bar:LouisXIX bar:HenryV bar:LouisPhilipI bar:LouisPhilipII bar:NapoleonIII bar:Space bar:eon PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:CharlesIIandI from:843 till: 877 color:carolingian text:"

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

" bar:LouisII from:877 till: 879 color:carolingian text:"

Louis the Stammerer Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (french: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. Louis t ...

" bar:LouisIII from:879 till: 882 color:carolingian text:"

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis III ...

" bar:CarlomanII from:882 till: 884 color:carolingian text:"

Carloman_II Carloman II ( 866 – 6 December 884) was the King of West Francia from 879 until his death. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he and his elder brother, Louis III, divided the kingdom between themselves and ruled jointly until the latter's d ...

" bar:CharlesIIIandII from:882 till: 888 color:carolingian text:"

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

" bar:Odo from:888 till: 898 color:robertian text:" Odo of Paris" bar:CharlesIII from:898 till: 922 color:carolingian text:"

Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...

" bar:RobertI from:922 till: 923 color:robertian text:"

Robert I Robert I may refer to: *Robert I, Duke of Neustria (697–748) *Robert I of France (866–923), King of France, 922–923, rebelled against Charles the Simple *Rollo, Duke of Normandy (c. 846 – c. 930; reigned 911–927) * Robert I Archbishop of ...

" bar:Rudolph from:923 till: 936 color:bosonid text:" Rudolph" bar:LouisIV from:936 till:954 color:carolingian text:" Louis of Outremer" bar:Lothair from:954 till:986 color:carolingian text:" Lothair" bar:LouisV from:986 till:987 color:carolingian text:"

Louis V Louis V may refer to: * Louis V of France (967–987) * Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and V of Germany (1282–1347) * Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (1315–1361) * Louis V, Elector Palatine (ruled 1508–1544) * Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (ru ...

" bar:Hugh from:987 till:996 color:capet text:"

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

" bar:RobertII from:996 till:1031 color:capet text:" Robert II" bar:HenryI from:1031 till:1060 color:capet text:"

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

" bar:PhilipI from:1060 till:1108 color:capet text:"

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) (1 ...

" bar:LouisVI from:1108 till:1137 color:capet text:" Louis VI" bar:LouisVII from:1137 till:1180 color:capet text:"

Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

" bar:PhilipII from:1180 till:1223 color:capet text:"

Philip II Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

" bar:LouisVIII from:1223 till:1226 color:capet text:"

Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

" bar:LouisIX from:1226 till:1270 color:capet text:"

" bar:PhilipIII from:1270 till:1285 color:capet text:" Philip III" bar:PhilipIV from:1285 till:1314 color:capet text:"

" bar:LouisX from:1314 till:1316 color:capet text:"

Louis X Louis X may refer to: * Louis X of France, "the Quarreller" (1289–1316). * Louis X, Duke of Bavaria (1495–1545) * Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse (1753–1830). * Louis Farrakhan (formerly Louis X), head of the Nation of Islam {{hndis ...

" bar:JohnI from:1316 till:1316 color:capet text:"

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

" bar:PhilipV from:1316 till:1322 color:capet text:"

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

" bar:CharlesIV from:1322 till:1328 color:capet text:" Charles IV" bar:PhilipVI from:1328 till:1350 color:valois text:" Philip VI" bar:JohnII from:1350 till:1364 color:valois text:"

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

" bar:CharlesV from:1364 till:1380 color:valois text:"

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

" bar:CharlesVI from:1380 till:1422 color:valois text:" Charles VI" bar:CharlesVII from:1422 till:1461 color:valois text:" Charles VII" bar:HenryVILancaster from:1422 till:1453 color:lancaster text:" Henry (II) (Disputed)" bar:LouisXI from:1461 till:1483 color:valois text:"

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

" bar:CharlesVIII from:1483 till:1498 color:valois text:" Charles VIII" bar:LouisXII from:1498 till:1515 color:valois text:"

" bar:FrancisI from:1515 till:1547 color:valois text:"

" bar:HenryII from:1547 till:1559 color:valois text:" Henry II" bar:FrancisII from:1559 till:1560 color:valois text:" Francis II" bar:CharlesIX from:1560 till:1574 color:valois text:" Charles IX" bar:HenryIII from:1574 till:1589 color:valois text:" Henry III" bar:HenryIV from:1589 till:1610 color:bourbon text:" Henry IV" bar:HenryD from:1589 till:1590 color:bourbon text:" Charles (X)" (Disputed) bar:LouisXIII from:1610 till:1643 color:bourbon text:"

" bar:LouisXIV from:1643 till:1715 color:bourbon text:"

" bar:LouisXV from:1715 till:1774 color:bourbon text:"

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

" bar:LouisXVI from:1774 till:1792 color:bourbon text:"

" bar:LouisXVII from:1792 till:1795 color:bourbon text:"

(Disputed)" bar:NapoleonI from:1804 till:1814 color:bonaparte from:1815 till:1815 color:bonaparte text:"

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

" bar:LouisXVIII from:1815 till:1815 color:bourbon from:1815 till:1824 color:bourbon text:"

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

" bar:NapoleonII from:1815 till:1815 color:bonaparte text:"

Napoleon II , house = Bonaparte , father = Napoleon I, Emperor of the French , mother = Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma , birth_date = , birth_place = Tuileries Palace, Paris, French Empire ...

(Disputed)" bar:CharlesX from:1824 till:1830 color:bourbon text:"

" bar:LouisXIX from:1830 till:1830 color:bourbon text:" Louis (XIX) (Disputed)" bar:HenryV from:1830 till:1830 color:bourbon text:" Henry (V) (Disputed)" bar:LouisPhilipI from:1830 till:1848 color:orleans text:"

" bar:LouisPhilipII from:1848 till:1848 color:orleans text:" Louis Philippe II (Disputed)" bar:NapoleonIII from:1852 till:1870 color:bonaparte text:"

" align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:6 shift:(-33,5) bar:eon color:eon from: 843 till: 888 color:carolingian text:

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

shift:(2,5) from: 888 till: 898 color:robertian text:

from: 898 till: 922 color:carolingian from: 922 till: 923 color:robertian shift:(-8,5) from: 923 till: 936 color:bosonid text:

Bosonid The Bosonids were a dynasty of Carolingian era dukes, counts, bishops and knights descended from Boso the Elder. Eventually they married into the Carolingian dynasty and produced kings and an emperor of the Frankish Empire. The first great scion o ...

from: 936 till: 987 color:carolingian shift:(-40,5) from: 987 till: 1328 color:capet text:

Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most s ...

from: 1328 till: 1589 color:valois text: Valois from: 1589 till: 1792 color:bourbon text:

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

from: 1792 till: 1804 color:republic shift:(-8,5) from: 1804 till: 1814 color:bonaparte text: Bonaparte from: 1814 till: 1815 color:bourbon from: 1815 till: 1815 color:bonaparte from: 1815 till: 1830 color:bourbon shift:(-10,5) from: 1830 till: 1848 color:orleans text:

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Family tree of French monarchs Below are the family trees of all French monarchs, from Childeric I to Louis Philippe I. For a more simplified view, see Family tree of French monarchs (simplified) Key Unlike in some other family trees, siblings here are not listed in birth order ...

Family tree of French monarchs (simplified) This is a simplified family tree of all Frankish and French monarchs, from Childeric I to Napoleon III. Merovingian Dynasty Carolingian Dynasty Capetian dynasty ...

Style of the French sovereign The precise style of French sovereigns varied over the years. Currently, there is no French sovereign; three distinct traditions (the Legitimist, the Orleanist, and the Bonapartist) exist, each claiming different forms of title. The three styles ...

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 and Ireland (and, later, of Great Britain) also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who cla ...

List of French royal consorts This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...

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. From 987 to 1792, all heirs to the French throne were male-line descen ...

List of presidents of France The president of France is the head of state of France. The first officeholder is considered to be Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who was elected in 1848 and provoked the 1851 self-coup to later proclaim himself emperor as Napoleon III. His coup, ...

Notes

Coronations

References

Citations

Main bibliography

* * * * Jacquin, Emmanuel (2000), ''Les Tuileries, Du Louvre à la Concorde'', Editions du Patrimoine, Centres des Monuments Nationaux, Paris. () * * * * *

Secondary bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *