Monarchy of France | |
---|---|
Details | |
Style | See article |
First monarch |
Clovis I (as King) |
Last monarch |
Napoleon III (as Emperor) |
Formation | 486 |
Abolition | 4 September 1870 |
Residence |
Palais de la Cité Louvre Palace Palace of Versailles Tuileries Palace |
Appointer | Hereditary |
Pretender(s) |
Disputed: Louis Alphonse (House of Bourbon) Henri d'Orléans (House of Orléans) Jean-Christophe (House of Bonaparte) |
The monarchs of the Kingdom of France and its predecessors ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 till the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870.
Sometimes included as "kings of France" are the kings of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled from 486 until 751, and of the Carolingians, who ruled until 987 (with some interruptions).
The Capetian dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of king of France for the first time with Philip II (r. 1180–1223). The Capetians ruled 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 (until 1589) and Bourbon (until 1848).
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.
With the House of Bonaparte "Emperors of the French" ruled in 19th century France, between 1804 and 1814, again in 1815 and between 1852 and 1871.