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The 'monarchs of France' ruled, first as kings and later as emperors, from the Middle Ages to 1870. There is some disagreement as to when France came into existence. The earliest date would be the establishment of the Merovingian Frankish kingdom by Clovis I in 486 with the defeat of Syagrius, the last Roman official in Gaul. That kingdom's rulers were deposed in the 8th century. The Treaty of Verdun established the Kingdom of Western Francia in 843.
However, the relevance of such traditional outlooks on the origins of modern nations is historically dubious (see below for recent studies). In light of these recent trends, this list begins with Charles the Bald and the Kingdom of Western Francia, originating in 843, the state which would directly evolve into modern France. For earlier Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish Kings.
In addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340-1360 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 his son, Henry VI, succeeded his grandfather 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 monarchs continued to claim the title until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. Various English kings between 1337 and 1422 had also claimed the title of King of France, but only intermittently.
The title "King of the Franks" () remained in use until the reign of Philip IV. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect (1791-1792) 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 ''people'', not to the ''territory'' of France.
:''See also ''List of Frankish Kings
The name of France comes from the Germanic tribe known as the Franks. The Merovingian kings began as mere chieftains, the oldest known being Pharamond. Clovis I was the first of these to rise to true kingship. After his death, his kingdom was split between his sons into Soissons (Neustria), Paris, Orleans (Burgundy), and Metz (Austrasia). Various other kingdoms would continue to break apart and be formed as the various Merovingian kings warred with each other.
The Carolingians overpowered the Merovingian kings. First they became their majordomos (mayor of the palace) in Austrasia. Eventually, they united the entire Frankish kingdom for the first time since Clovis. With Mayor Pippin the Younger, the Merovingians were completely phased out. The Carolingian Dynasty would be the first true French monarchy. The great and extended kingdom of Pippin's son, the legendary Charlemagne (Charles I), was split by Louis I (Louis the Pious). In 843, while Louis's son Lothair was in power, the great Frankish kingdom was split. The Eastern Kingdom became Germany, the Middle Kingdom became Lotharingia and later part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Western Kingdom became France. Charles the Bald was the first ruler of the independent West Franks (France).
==Carolingian Dynasty (843 to 987)==

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Charles II the Bald	843	October 6, 877
	Louis II the Stammerer	October 6, 877	April 10, 879
	Louis III	April 10, 879	August 5, 882

|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Carloman||align="center"|April 10, 879||align="center"|December 6, 884
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Charles III the Fat||align="center"|885||align="center"|January 13, 888
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Odo
(Eudes Ier)||align="center"|February 29, 888||align="center"|January 1, 898
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Charles III the Simple||align="center"|January 1, 898||align="center"|June 30, 922
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Robert I||align="center"|June 30, 922||align="center"|June 15, 923
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Rudolph
(Raoul de France)||align="center"|July 13, 923||align="center"|January 14, 936
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Louis IV from Overseas||align="center"|June 19, 936||align="center"|September 10, 954
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Lothair
(Lothaire de France)||align="center"|November 12, 954||align="center"|March 2, 986
|-
|align="center"|||align="center"|Louis V the Lazy||align="center"|June 8, 986||align="center"|May 22, 987
|}
==Capetian Dynasty, Direct Capetians (987 to 1328)==
The Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet ruled France 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' and 'Bourbon'.

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Hugh Capet (Hugues Capet)	July 3, 987	October 24, 996
	Robert II the Pious	October 24, 996	July 20, 1031
	Henry I (Henri Ier)	July 20, 1031	August 4, 1060
	Philip I (Philippe Ier)	August 4, 1060	July 29, 1108
	Louis VI the Fat	July 29, 1108	August 1, 1137
	Louis VII the Young	August 1, 1137	September 18, 1180
	Philip II (Philippe-Auguste)	September 18, 1180	July 14, 1223
	Louis VIII the Lion	July 14, 1223	November 8, 1226
	Louis IX (Saint Louis)	November 8, 1226	August 25, 1270
	Philip III the Bold (Philippe III de France, le Hardi)	August 25, 1270	October 5, 1285
	Philip IV the Fair (Philippe IV de France, le Bel)	October 5, 1285	November 29, 1314
	Louis X the Quarreller	November 29, 1314	June 5, 1316
	John I the Posthumous (Jean Ier de France, le Posthume)	November 15, 1316	November 20, 1316
	Philip V the Tall (Philippe V de France, le Long)	November 20, 1316	January 3, 1322
	Charles IV the Handsome	January 3, 1322	February 1, 1328

==Capetian Dynasty, House of Valois (1328-1589)

Contents

Later pretenders

References

See also

==

(1328-1498)

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Philip VI de Valois (Philippe VI de France, de Valois)	February 1, 1328	August 22, 1350
	John II the Good (Jean II de France, le Bon)	August 22, 1350	April 8, 1364
	Charles V the Wise	April 8, 1364	September 16, 1380
	Charles VI the Beloved	September 16, 1380	October 21, 1422
	Charles VII the Victorious	October 21, 1422	July 22, 1461
	Louis XI the Prudent	July 22, 1461	August 30, 1483
	Charles VIII the Affable	August 30, 1483	April 7, 1498

===Capetian Dynasty, Valois-Orléans Branch (1498-1515)===

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Louis XII the Father of People	April 7, 1498	January 1, 1515

===Capetian Dynasty, Valois-Angoulême Branch (1515-1589)===

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Francis I the Father and Restorer of Letters (François Ier de France, le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres)	January 1, 1515	March 31, 1547
	Henry II Henri II de France	March 31, 1547	July 10, 1559
	Francis II (François II de France)	July 10, 1559	December 5, 1560
	Charles IX	December 5, 1560	May 30, 1574
	Henry III Henri III	May 30, 1574	August 2, 1589

==Capetian Dynasty, House of Bourbon (1589-1792)==

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Henry IV (Good King Henry) (Henri IV)	August 2, 1589	May 14, 1610
	Louis XIII	May 14, 1610	May 14, 1643
	Louis XIV the Sun King	May 14, 1643	September 1, 1715
	Louis XV the Beloved	September 1, 1715	May 10, 1774
	Louis XVI	May 10, 1774	August 10, 1792
	Louis XVII (not officially reigning)	January 21, 1793	June 8, 1795

==First Republic (1792-1804)==
''Many people were monarchists at the time and consequently refused to recognise the overthrow of the monarchy, and considered Louis XVI's reign to have continued until his death in 1793, then his son Louis XVII to have reigned until his death in 1795, with Louis XVIII's reign then commencing, hence the numbering.''
==Bonaparte Dynasty, First Empire (1804-1814) ==

Portrait	Name	Emperor From	Emperor Until
	Napoleon I (Napoléon 1er)	May 18, 1804	April 11, 1814

==Capetian Dynasty, House of Bourbon, Restored (1814)==

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Louis XVIII	May 2, 1814	March 13, 1815

==Bonaparte Dynasty, First Empire, Restored (The Hundred Days, 1815)==

Portrait	Name	Emperor From	Emperor Until
	Napoleon I (Napoléon 1er)	March 20, 1815	June 22, 1815
	Napoleon II the Eaglet (Napoléon II, l'Aiglon)	June 22 1815	July 7, 1815

==Capetian Dynasty, House of Bourbon, Restored (1815-1830)==

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Louis XVIII	July 7, 1815	September 16, 1824
	Charles X	September 16, 1824	August 2, 1830
	Louis XIX	August 2, 1830
	Henry V (Henri V)	2 August, 1830	9 August, 1830

Note: ''The last king of the Bourbon line is considered in France to be Charles X, meaning that the Duke of Angoulême and the Count of Chambord never actually acceeded to the throne. They were to become the monarch, had the direct line of the Bourbons been restored. Instead the throne went to Louis-Philippe''.
==Capetian Dynasty, House of Bourbon-Orléans (The Monarchy of July 1830-1848)==

Portrait	Name	King From	King Until
	Louis-Philippe the Citizen King	August 9, 1830	February 24, 1848

==Second Republic, Restored (1848 - 1852)==
''The Second French Republic lasted from 1848 to 1852, when its president, Louis Napoleon, was declared Emperor of the French.''
==Bonaparte Dynasty, Second Empire, Restored (1852-1870)==

Portrait	Name	Emperor From	Emperor Until
	Napoleon III (Napoléon III)	December 2, 1852	September 4, 1870

==Government of National Defense (Paris Commune 1870 - 1871)==
''The transition period between the fall of the Second Empire after the capture of Napoleon III by the Prussian, and the Third Republic was assumed by General Louis Jules Trochu.''
==Third Republic, Restored (1871 - 1940)==
''The Third French Republic started with the Republican Adolphe Thiers (1871-1873) the latter being a former Prime Minister of King Louis-Philippe. Thiers became Chief of State then provisional President of the Republic until he had to resign because of the Monarchist majority. He was succeeded by Marshal Patrice MacMahon, Duke of Magenta a Monarchist who became the first actual President of the Third Republic in 1875.''

Later pretenders

The chronology of Head of State of France continues with the Presidents of the French Republic and short term interim periods by the Chief of State of the French State (1940-1944), the Chairman of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944-1946) and the president of the French Senate (1969 and 1974) during the Fifth Republic. Various pretenders descended from the preceding monarchs have claimed to be the legitimate monarch of France, rejecting the claims of the President of France, and of each other. These groups are:

★ Legitimist claimants to the throne of France — descendants of the Bourbons, rejecting all heads of state since 1830. Some "fusionists" recognised the Orléanist claimant after 1883.

★ Orléanist claimants to the throne of France — descendants of Louis-Phillippe, rejecting all heads of state since 1848.

★ Bonapartist claimants to the throne of France — descendants of Napoleon I and his brothers, rejecting all heads of state 1815-52, and since 1870.

★ Jacobite claimants to the throne of France — descendants of King Edward III of England, also claiming England, Scotland, and Ireland.

References

★ Edward James, ''. ISBN 0-333-27052-5

★ Edward James, ''The Franks.'' Blackwell: 1991. ISBN 0-631-17936-4

★ The history of France as recounted in the ''Grandes Chroniques de France'', and particularly in the personal copy produced for King Charles V between 1370 and 1380 that is the saga of the three great dynasties, the Merovingians, Carolingians, and the Capetian Rulers of France, that shaped the institutions and the frontiers of the realm. It should be noted that this work was commissioned at a time that France was embroiled in the Hundred Years' War with England, a war fought over hereditary claims to the throne of France. It must therefore be read with a careful eye toward biases meant to justify the Capetian claims of continuity and inheritance.

★ ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of France'' - Cambridge University Press

★ Paul Fouracre and Richard A. Gerberding, ''Late Merovingian France: History and Hagiography, 640-720''. Manchester University Press - ISBN 0-7190-4791-9

★ Patrick Geary, ''Before France and Germany: The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World.'' Oxford: Oxford U. Press, 1988. ISBN 0-19-504458-4

★ Patrick Geary, ''The Myth of Nations: The Medieval Origins of Europe.'' Princeton U. Press, 2001. ISBN 0-691-11481-1

See also

★ Franks (main history of Frankish kingdoms)

★ List of Frankish Kings

★ Members of the French Royal Families

★ Kings of France family tree

★ English Kings of France

★ Bourbon family tree