thumb|[[Hugh Capet, the first monarch of France of the
House of Capet]]
The
monarchs of France ruled, first as
kings and later as
emperors (the Bonapartes only), from the
Middle Ages to 1870. There is some disagreement as to when
France came into existence. The earliest possible 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.
In light of these 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 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. 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" () 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.
Early Frankish rulers
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,
Charlemagne (Charles I), was split by his son
Louis I (Louis the Pious). In 843, while Louis I'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).
Three of the twelve kings during the 147 year Carolingian Dynasty,
Odo, his brother
Robert I and Robert's son in law
Raoul/Rudolph, were not from the Carolingian Dynasty but from the rival
Robertian Dynasty, named for
Robert the Strong (father of Odo and Robert I). The Robertian Dynasty became the
Capetian Dynasty with the ascent to the throne of
Hugh Capet (son of
Hugh the Great, son of Robert I) in 987. The rise and fall of Carolingian
Charles III played out during the ascent of these Robertian kings.
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Robert I(Robert Ier)||align="center"|June 30, 922||align="center"|June 15, 923||Son of Robert the Strong
Younger brother of Odo
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||align="center"|Rudolph(Raoul de France)||align="center"|July 13, 923||align="center"|January 14, 936||Son-in-law of Robert I
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||align="center"|Louis IV d'Outremer(Louis IV d'Outremer)||align="center"|June 19, 936||align="center"|September 10, 954||Son of Charles III
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||align="center"|Lothair(Lothaire de France)||align="center"|November 12, 954||align="center"|March 2, 986||Son of Louis IV
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||align="center"|Louis V the Lazy(Louis V le Fainéant) ||align="center"|June 8, 986||align="center"|May 22, 987||Son of Lothair
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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.
Not listed above 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.Valois (1328-1498)
From 1422 Henry VI of England controlled much of northern France in accordance with the Plantagenet claim to the French crown, although Charles VII held sway over large areas south of the Loire River. Charles was crowned at Reims in 1429 and increasingly extended this dominion. By 1453, Henry had lost all French possessions except Calais, effectively putting an end to the Hundred Years' War. (See also main article:The Dual-Monarchy of England and France)
From January 21, 1793 to June 8, 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 First French Republic lasted from 1792 to 1804, when its First Consul, Napoléon Bonaparte, declared himself Emperor of the French.
From June 22 to July 7, 1815, Bonapartists considered Napoleon I's son Napoleon II as the legitimate heir to the throne, his father having abdicated in his favor. However, the young child's reign was entirely fictional, as he was residing in Austria with his mother. Louis XVIII was reinstalled as king on July 7.
The elder son and heir of Charles X, the Dauphin Louis-Antoine, is occasionally considered to have legally been the King of France as Louis XIX in the 20 minutes that passed between Charles X's formal signature of abdication and the Dauphin's own signature.
Henri d'Artois, Charles X's grandson, was considered by monarchists to be the titular King of France, as Henry V from August 2, 1830 to August 9, 1830, but his reign remained largely fictional, as he acceeded in a revolutionary context and hence was never recognized by the French State. He is generally not accounted for in lists of official French monarchs.
The Second French Republic lasted from 1848 to 1852, when its president, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, was declared Emperor of the French.
The transition period between the fall of the Second Empire after the capture of Napoleon III by the Prussians and the assumption of the Third Republic by General Louis Jules Trochu.''Heads of State following 1871
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.Later pretenders
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:
See also
