This is a list of Kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.

Kings of Jerusalem (1099–1291)

The Kingdom of Jerusalem had its origins in the First Crusade, when Godfrey of Bouillon took the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (Protector of the Holy Sepulcher) in 1099 and was crowned as ruler of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The following year, his brother Baldwin I was the first to use the title king and the first to be crowned king in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem itself.

The actual title of the early kings of Jerusalem was Rex Latinitas Ierosolimitanus, or other variations meaning king of the Latins of Jerusalem. They did not pretend to rule over the native Christian, Muslim, or Jewish populations.

The kingship of Jerusalem was partially elected and partially hereditary. During the height of the kingdom in the mid-12th century there was a royal family and a relatively clear line of succession. Nevertheless the king was elected, or at least recognized, by the Haute Cour. Here the king was considered a primus inter pares (first among equals), and in his absence his duties were performed by his seneschal.

The royal palace was located in the Citadel of the Tower of David. The Kingdom of Jerusalem introduced French feudal structures to the Levant. The king personally held several fiefs incorporated into the royal domain, that varied from king to king. He was also responsible for leading the kingdom into battle, although this duty could be passed to a constable.

While several contemporary European states were moving towards centralized monarchies, the king of Jerusalem was continually losing power to the strongest of his barons. This was partially due to the young age of many of the kings, and the frequency of regents from the ranks of the nobles.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the capital of the kingdom was moved to Acre, where it remained until 1291, although coronations took place in Tyre.

In this period the kingship was often simply a nominal position, held by a European ruler who never actually lived in Acre. When young Conrad III was king and living in Southern Germany, his father's second cousin, Hugh of Brienne, claimed the regency of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and, indirectly his place in the succession. The claim was made in 1264 as senior descendant and rightful heir of Alice of Champagne, second daughter of Queen Isabella I, Hugh being the son of their eldest daughter. But was passed over by the Haute Cour in favor of his cousin, Hugh of Antioch, the future Hugh III of Cyprus and Hugh I of Jerusalem.

After Conrad III's execution by Charles I of Sicily in 1268, the kingship was held by the Lusignan family, who were simultaneously kings of Cyprus. However, Charles I of Sicily purchased the rights of one of the heirs of the kingdom in 1277.

In that year, he sent Roger of Sanseverino to the East as his bailiff. Roger captured Acre and obtained a forced homage from the barons. Roger was recalled in 1282 due to the Sicilian Vespers and left Odo Poilechien in his place to rule. His resources and authority was minimal, and he was ejected by Henry II of Cyprus when he arrived from Cyprus for his coronation as King of Jerusalem.

Acre was captured by the Mamluks in 1291, eliminating the crusader presence in the east.

Regents

The frequent absence or minority of monarchs required regents to be appointed many times throughout the Kingdom's existence.

Claimant Kings of Jerusalem (1291 until today)

Origins of the claims

Over the years, many European rulers claimed to be the rightful heirs to one of these claims. None of these claimants, however, has actually ruled over any part of the Kingdom:

• Count Hugh of Brienne claimed the regency of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and indirectly, his place in the succession in 1264 as senior heir of Alice of Jerusalem, second daughter of Queen Isabella I, and Hugh I of Cyprus. Hugh, being the son of their eldest daughter, was passed over by the Haute Cour in favor of his cousin Hugh of Antioch, the future Hugh III of Cyprus and Hugh I of Jerusalem. The Brienne claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem continued, but the family had afterwards next to no part in affairs in Outremer.

• After the end of the kingdom, Henry II of Cyprus continued to use the title of king of Jerusalem. After his death the title was claimed by his direct heirs, the kings of Cyprus.

• The title was also continuously used by the Angevin kings of Naples, whose founder, Charles of Anjou, had bought a claim to the throne from Mary of Antioch. Thereafter, this claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem was treated as a tributary of the crown of Naples, which often changed hands by testament or conquest rather than direct inheritance. As Naples was a papal fief, the Popes often endorsed the title of King of Jerusalem as well as of Naples, and the history of these claims is that of the Neapolitan Kingdom.

Lines of succession in several claims

Italics indicate individuals who did not themselves use the title of king of Jerusalem.

Cypriot claimants

House of Lusignan

• Henry II (1285) 1291–1324

• Hugh 1324–1359

• Peter I 1359–1369

• Peter II 1369–1382

• James I 1382–1398

• Janus 1398–1432

• John 1432–1458

• Charlotte I 1458–1485 (d. 1487) m. 1459 her cousin Louis of Savoy (d. 1482). In 1460, Charlotte was dispossessed of Cyprus by her illegitimate half-brother James. However, she maintained her claims until 1485, when she resigned them to the next legitimate heir, Charles I of Savoy.

House of Savoy

• Philip 1496–1497

• Philibert 1497–1504

• Charles III 1504–1553

• Emmanuel Philibert 1553–1580

• Charles Emmanuel I 1580–1630

• Victor Amadeus I 1630–1637 (assumed the title of "King of Cyprus" only in 1632)

• Charles Emmanuel II 1637–1675

• Victor Amadeus II of Savoy 1675–1730 (assumed the title 1713, in conjunction with his brief reign as King of Sicily)

• Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia 1730–1773

• Victor Amadeus III 1773–1796

• Charles Emmanuel IV 1796–1819

• Victor Emmanuel I 1819–1821

• Charles Felix 1821–1831

• Charles Albert 1831–1849

• Victor Emmanuel II 1849–1878

• Humbert I 1878–1900

• Victor Emmanuel III 1900–1946

• Humbert II 1946–1983

• Victor Emmanuel 1983–present (claim disputed in 2006)

• * Amedeo 2006–present (claim disputed)

Neapolitan claimants

Mary of Antioch claimed the throne of Jerusalem from 1269 to 1277. She was the daughter of Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch and his second wife Melisende of Cyprus. Melisende was the youngest daughter of Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem and her fourth husband, Amalric II of Jerusalem.

Since Mary was, at the time of the death of Conrad III, the only living grandchild of queen Isabella, she claimed the throne on basis of proximity in blood to the kings of Jerusalem. Denied by the Haute Cour, she went to Rome and sold her rights, with papal blessing and confirmation, to Charles of Anjou in 1277.

Thereafter, this claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem was treated also as tributary to the crown of Naples, which often changed hands by testament or conquest rather than direct inheritance.
House of Anjou-Sicily

• Charles I of Sicily 1277–1285; acquired title with approval of the Pope in 1277

• Charles II of Naples 1285–1309

• Robert of Naples 1309–1343, third but eldest surviving son, who succeeded in Naples superseding the rights of his eldest brother's heirs

• Joan I of Naples 1343–1382. Joan left her kingdom by testament to Louis I of Anjou, whom she had previously adopted as heir, but she was ousted and soon murdered by Charles of Durazzo, the heir male of her house.

House of Valois-Anjou

• René I 1434–1480. Rene I united the claims of junior and senior lines. However, in 1441, control of the Kingdom of Naples was lost to Alfonso V of Aragon, who also claimed the kingdom of Jerusalem thereby.

Brienne claims

• Hugh of Brienne and his heirs represent the senior heirs-general to the Kingdom, although they never pressed the claim after Hugh's rejection by the Haute Cour''. In 1672, the succesion of Brienne and of Cyprus to the crown of Jerusalem united.

Potential claimants today

There are several potential claimants today on the basis of (disputed) inheritance of the title. None of these has, or claims, any power in the area of the former Kingdom.

• Juan Carlos I, current king of Spain

• Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, claimant to the royal throne of Italy (House of Savoy)

• Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, claimant to the royal throne of Italy (House of Savoy-Aosta)

• Otto von Habsburg, claimant to the imperial throne of Austria and the royal thrones of Hungary and Bohemia (House of Habsburg-Lorraine)

• Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, claimant to the royal throne of Two Sicilies (House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Calabria line)

• Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, claimant to the royal throne of Two Sicilies (House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Castro line)

Other historic claims

• Frederick of Meissen, Landgrave of Thuringia, briefly used the title after the death of Conradin in 1268, as grandson of Frederick II, who had crowned himself King of Jerusalem in his own right. This claim was never recognized in Outremer or elsewhere.

• According to E.P. Karnovich (1886), there was a colonel named Prince de Lusignan in the Russian service, allowed to be called the titular King of Cyprus and Jerusalem by Tsar Nicholas I. He claimed to be descended from Christobul de Lusignan, who had served in the Greek army under the Byzantine empire and was allegedly descended from a member of the Cypriot House of Lusignan who'd moved to Egypt and on to St Petersburg in Russia. Tsar Nicholas I allowed Colonel Lusignan to be matriculated as a Russian noble, that is a person holding an office which ennobled him. The colonel was probably known as Louis Christian de Lusignan.