Maison militaire du roi de France

The maison militaire du roi de France, in English the military household of the king of France, was the military part of the French royal household or Maison du Roi under the Ancien Régime. The term only appeared in 1671, though such a gathering of units pre-dates this. Like the rest of the royal household, the military household was under the authority of the Secretary of State for the Maison du Roi, but it depended on the ordinaire des guerres (controlled by the Secretary of State for War) for its budget. Under Louis XIV, these two officers of state were given joint command of the military household.

The household was akin to the Household Division of the British Army in that it comprised a number of both cavalry and infantry units, serving as the sovereign's personal guard as well as elite troops during war. Recruitment to some of its units were limited to gentlemen, like the gardes du corps and musketeers. The rank and file of other regiments, such as the French Guards, were made up of commoners. However, it was impossible for commoners to rise to officer rank in units of the military household. On the field of battle, the "Maison du Roi" fought around the king and the "porte-cornette blanche" (the king's white standard), although the corps also fought in the absence of the king. Until the second half of the 17th century, The "Maison du Roi" had — along with the "Cavalerie d'ordonnance", the six "Vieux" and the six "Petits-Vieux" — made up the permanent army of the kingdom.

Over the years, the Maison du Roi included the following corps:

Far from being simply a ceremonial corps, the "Maison du Roi" participated in all the major military campaigns of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The oldest of the regiments of the Maison du Roi was the Garde Écossaise, formed in 1440, and traced its ultimate origins to the Scots forces brought to France in 1419 by John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, to fight against the English in the Hundred Years' War.

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