Style of The French Sovereign - King of The French

King of The French

With the French Revolution came the writing of a Constitution for France. As part of the reforms, the monarch ceased to be an absolute ruler of hereditary lands deriving power from God; instead, he became a constitutional ruler ruling by the will of the French People and for the good of the French People. By a decree on 12 October 1789, the king's title was thus changed from 'By the Grace of God, King of France and Navarre' to 'By the Grace of God and by the constitutional law of the State, King of the French' (French: Par la grâce de Dieu et par la loi constitutionnelle de l'État, Roi des Français), becoming official with the institution of the new constitution on 1 October 1791. The monarchy was abolished a year later, and the Bourbon supporters supported Louis XVI, and then Louis XVII and Louis XVIII, as King of France and Navarre rather than King of the French, under which title the Bourbons were restored in 1815. However, the constitutional monarchy was revived in 1830, with the Bourbon deposition. Although the Orleanist constitutional monarchy, the so-called 'July Monarchy', was abolished in 1848, the heirs of Louis-Philippe continued to claim the title and legacy.