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The 'Dauphin of France' (French:''Dauphin de France'')—strictly, 'Dauphin of Viennois' (''Dauphin de Viennois'')—was the title given to the heir apparent of the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830.

Guy VIII, Count of Vienne, had a dolphin on his coat of arms and had been nicknamed ''le Dauphin'' (French for ''dolphin''). The title of Dauphin de Viennois descended in his family until 1349, when Humbert II sold his signeurie, called the Dauphiné, to King Philippe VI on condition that the heir of France assumed the title of ''le Dauphin''. The wife of the Dauphin was known as ''la Dauphine''.
The first French prince called ''le Dauphin'' was Charles V. The title is roughly equivalent to the English title ''Prince of Wales''. The official style of a Dauphin of France, prior to 1461, was ''par la grâce de Dieu, dauphin de Viennois, comte de Valentinois et de Diois'' ("By the Grace of God, Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois"). A Dauphin of France would unite the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which featured Dolphins, with the French ''fleurs-de-lys'', and might where appropriate further unite that with other arms (e.g. François, son and ''Dauphin'' of Francis I, was ruling Duke of Brittany, so united the coat of arms of that province with the typical arms of a Dauphin of France; Francis II, whilst Dauphin, was also King of Scotland by marriage, and so added those arms to those of the Dauphin of France).

Originally, the Dauphin was personally responsible for the rule of the Dauphiné, which was legally part of the Holy Roman Empire, and which the Emperors, in gifting the rule of the province to the French heirs, had stipulated must never be united with France. Because of this, the Dauphiné suffered from anarchy in the 14th and 15th centuries (since the Dauphins of France were frequently minors, or concerned with other matters).

The province was united with France by Louis XI. During his period as ''Dauphin'', Louis defied his father, Charles VII, by remaining in the province longer than the King had permitted and by engaging in personal politics more beneficial to the Dauphiné than to France. For example, Louis married Charlotte of Savoy against his father's wishes. Savoy was a traditional ally of the Dauphiné, and Louis wished to reaffirm that alliance, so as to stamp out rebels and robbers in the province. Louis was driven out of the Dauphiné by Charles VII's soldiers in 1456, leaving the region to fall back into disorder. After his succession in 1461, Louis united the Dauphiné with France, bringing it permanently under royal control.
The title of ''Dauphin'' was automatically conferred upon the next heir apparent in the direct line upon birth, accession of the parent to the throne, or death of the previous Dauphin, unlike the English title ''Prince of Wales''; which was (and is) granted at the will of the monarch, rather than as an automatic right at birth.
The title was abolished by the Constitution of 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. Under the constitution, the heir to the throne (Dauphin Louis-Charles at that time) was restyled as ''Prince Royal'' (a ''Prince of the Blood'' would be retitled as ''prince français''), taking effect from the inception of the Legislative Assembly on 1 October 1791. The title was restored ''in potentia'' under the Bourbon Restoration of Louis XVIII; there was not, however, another Dauphin until his death. With the accession of his brother Charles X, Charles' son and heir, Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angouleme, automatically became Dauphin. However, with the removal of the Bourbons, the title fell once again into disuse (the heirs of Louis-Philippe being titled as ''Prince Royal''). After the death of Henri, comte de Chambord, Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the heir of the legitimist claimant, Juan, Count of Montizón, made use of the title in pretense, as have the Spanish legitimist claimants since.

Contents

List of Dauphins of France

In Literature

Modern Uses of the Term

See also

List of Dauphins of France

Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Dauphin	Ceased to be Dauphin	Death	Other Titles before/whilst Dauphin	Regnal Name	Dauphine
	Charles, 1st Dauphin of France	John II	21 January 1338	22 August 1350	8 April 1364 ''became King''	16 September 1380	Duke of Normandy	'Charles V'	Joanna of Bourbon
	John, 2nd Dauphin of France	Charles V	7 June 1366		21 December 1366			–	–
	Charles, 3rd Dauphin of France	Charles V	3 December 1368		16 September 1380 ''became King''	21 October 1422		'Charles VI'	–
	Charles, 4th Dauphin of France	Charles VI	26 September 1386		28 December 1386			–	–
	Charles, 5th Dauphin of France	Charles VI	6 February 1392		13 January 1401		Duke of Guyenne	–	–
	Louis, 6th Dauphin of France	Charles VI	22 January 1397	13 January 1401	18 December 1415		Duke of Guyenne	–	Margaret of Burgundy
	John, 7th Dauphin of France	Charles VI	31 August 1398	18 December 1415	5 April 1417		Duke of Touraine	–	Jacqueline of Hainaut
	Charles, 8th Dauphin of France	Charles VI	22 February 1403	5 April 1417	21 October 1422 ''became King''	22 July 1461	Count of Ponthieu	'Charles VII'	–
	Louis, 9th Dauphin of France	Charles VII	3 July 1423		22 July 1461 ''became King''	30 August 1483		'Louis XI'	Margaret of Scotland; Charlotte of Savoy
	François, 10th Dauphin of France	Louis XI	1466					–	–
	Charles, 11th Dauphin of France	Louis XI	30 June 1470		30 August 1483 ''became King''	7 April 1498		'Charles VIII'	–
	Charles-Orland, 12th Dauphin of France	Charles VIII	11 October 1492		16 December 1495			–	–
	Charles, 13th Dauphin of France	Charles VIII	8 September 1496		2 October 1496			–	–
	François, 14th Dauphin of France	Charles VIII	July 1497					–	–
	François, 15th Dauphin of France	Francis I	28 September 1518		10 August 1536		Duke of Brittany	–	–
	Henry, 16th Dauphin of France	Francis I	31 March 1519	10 August 1536	31 March 1547 ''became King''	10 July 1559	Duke of Orleans, Duke of Brittany	'Henry II'	Catherine de' Medici
	Francis, 17th Dauphin of France	Henry II	19 January 1544	31 March 1547	10 July 1559 ''became King''	5 December 1560	King-consort of Scotland	'Francis II'	Mary of Scotland
	Louis, 18th Dauphin of France	Henry IV	27 September 1601		14 May 1610 ''became King''	14 May 1643		'Louis XIII'	–
	Louis, 19th Dauphin of France	Louis XIII	5 September 1638		14 May 1643 ''became King''	1 September 1715		'Louis XIV'	–
	Louis, ''le Grand Dauphin'', 20th Dauphin of France	Louis XIV	1 November 1661		14 April 1711			–	Maria Anna of Bavaria
	Louis, 21st Dauphin of France	Louis XIV	16 August 1682	14 April 1711	18 February 1712		Duke of Burgundy	–	Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy
	Louis, 22nd Dauphin of France	Louis XIV	8 January 1707	18 February 1712	8 March 1712		Duke of Brittany	–	–
	Louis, 23rd Dauphin of France	Louis XIV	15 February 1710	8 March 1712	1 September 1715 ''became King''	10 May 1774	Duke of Anjou	'Louis XV'	–
	Louis, 24th Dauphin of France	Louis XV	4 September 1729		20 December 1765			–	Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain; Marie-Josèphe of Saxony
	Louis-Augustus, 25th Dauphin of France	Louis XV	23 August 1754	20 December 1765	10 May 1774 ''became King''	21 January 1793	Duke of Berry	'Louis XVI'	Maria Antonia of Austria
	Louis-Joseph, 26th Dauphin of France	Louis XVI	22 October 1781		4 June 1789			–	–
	Louis-Charles, 27th Dauphin of France	Louis XVI	27 March 1785	4 June 1789	1 October 1791 ''retitled as 'Prince-royal'''	8 June 1795	Duke of Normandy	'Louis XVII'	–
	Louis-Antoine, 28th Dauphin of France	Charles X	6 August 1775	16 September 1824	2 August 1830 ''became King/deposed''	3 June 1844	Duke of Angouleme	'Louis XIX'	Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France
Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Dauphin	Ceased to be Dauphin	Death	Other Titles whilst Dauphin	Regnal Name	Dauphine

In Literature

In Mark Twain's ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', Huck encounters two odd characters who turn out to be professional con men. One of them claims that he should be treated with deference, since he is "really" an impoverished English duke, and the other, not to be outdone, reveals that he is "really" the Dauphin ("Looy the Seventeen, son of Looy the Sixteen and Marie Antoinette").

Modern Uses of the Term

Today, the term Dauphin is used as the name for the yearbook of St. Louis University High in St. Louis, MO, United States. The high school, the oldest west of the Mississippi River, has carried down through its almost 200-year history some symbols of the French influence on the beginnings of the city of St. Louis, which was, of course, named for the French king, Louis IX. Its theatre players are known as the Dauphin Players.
Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, USA, is in Dauphin County.
Dauphin Island, a barrier island off the coast of Alabama, received its name when it was part of French Louisiana.
There is also a helicopter with the name Dauphin made by the French company, Eurocopter.

See also

★ Prince of Wales

★ Crown Prince

★ Dauphins of France

★ Dauphins of Viennois

★ Dauphins of Auvergne