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List of French monarchs

France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.

This article is about French kings beginning with the 843 Treaty of Verdun. For kings before 843, see List of Frankish kings.

Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Franks (r. 507–511), as the first king of France. However, historians today consider that such a kingdom did not begin until the establishment of West Francia, during the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire in the 800s.[1][2]

Legitimist claimants to the throne of France

Blancs d'Espagne

: descendants of Louis-Phillippe, himself descended from a junior line of the Bourbon dynasty, rejecting all heads of state since 1848. They argue that King Louis Philippe acquired legitimacy via popular sovereignty when the representatives of the French people in the French Parliament recognized him as king, with the Bourbons having already been rejected and dethroned by the French people after two revolutions. Blancs d'Espagne argue that the Orléans do not deserve the throne because they are descended from a regicide, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who voted for the execution of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution, violating the fundamental laws of the kingdom. Another argument against the Orléans is that the very French Parliament that recognized Louis Philippe as king refused to give the throne to his grandson (and descendants) and proclaimed the Second French Republic.

Orléanist claimants to the throne of France

: descendants of Napoleon I and his brothers, rejecting all heads of state 1815–48 and since 1870. They argue that the Imperial throne need to return to the House of Bonaparte, as the monarchs of this house had been chosen directly by the people through referendums, giving them legitimacy to reign via popular sovereignty, and both the Bourbons and the Orléans were rejected and dethroned through revolutions and that the Bonaparte were only dethroned due the interference of foreign enemies, with no popular revolution taking place to overthrow the Bonapartes and that the Third Republic was originally intended to be a provisional regime to return the throne to an Orléans or Bourbon (what never happened).

Bonapartist claimants to the throne of France

: kings of England and later of Great Britain (renounced by Hanoverian King George III upon union with Ireland in 1800).

English claimants to the throne of France

: senior heirs-general of Edward III of England and thus his claim to the French throne, also claiming England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Jacobite claimants to the throne of France

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 one another. These groups are:

Family tree of French monarchs

Family tree of French monarchs (simplified)

English claims to the French throne

Fundamental laws of the Kingdom of France

List of French royal consorts

List of heirs to the French throne

List of presidents of France

Style of the French sovereign

Succession to the French throne