List of French Monarchs

List Of French Monarchs

The Monarchs of France ruled from the establishment of the Frankish Kingdom in 486 to 1870. During most of its history, France was ruled by kings. However, four Carolingian monarchs were also Roman Emperors and the Bonapartes were Emperors of the French.

This article lists all rulers to have held the title "King of 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 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.

The title "King of the Franks" (Latin: Rex Francorum) remained in use until 1190, during the reign of Philip II. 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.

In addition to the Kingdom of France, there were also two French Empires, the first from 1804–15, founded and ruled by Napoleon I, and the second from 1852–70, founded and ruled by his nephew Napoleon III.