List of French monarchs
Article
May 17, 2022
List of French monarchs is a list of French kings after Hugo Capet. The list includes those who have been king or emperor of France. An empire ruled by one ruler arose in Gaul when the Western Roman Empire began to collapse in the 5th century. The Salian Franks became the leading tribe in the area and under them the Frankish Empire was founded, which later became France. The Merovingians became the ruling family of all Franks in the early 500s and came to rule until the middle of the 700s, when the last Merovingian king was deposed by Pipin the Younger (who was the father of Charlemagne). This thus founded the new royal family the Carolingians, who in turn came to rule the Frankish Empire and, after its division through the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the West Frankish Empire until the end of the 10th century. These regents are listed on the list of Frankish kings. In 987 Hugo Capet became the first Capetian king and from this point on, the empire began to be considered more of France rather than the West Frankish empire, as plans to reunite it with Burgundy and the East Franconian empire began to decline. Although the title of King of the Franks officially existed until the beginning of the 13th century, it gradually began to be less used and the standard title became King of France. The title King of France and Navarre was also used from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century and from the end of the 16th century until the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. In the short period before Louis XVI was deposed, the title King of the French was used. , which also resurfaced after the July Revolution of 1830. Both Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III were emperors and therefore bore the title of Emperor of the French. With the French Revolution, the French monarchy was abolished and a republic was established, but after a few years Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor and the kingdom was restored in the early 1800s. In 1848, France became a republic again, but it was abolished in 1852. Then Napoleon III became the country's emperor. He was deposed in 1870 and the country became a new republic, something it has remained. In addition to the French kings, the English rulers also claimed the French throne. For a short period, the claim had some accuracy as Charles VI through the Treaty of Troyes in 1420 recognized the son-in-law Henry V of England as French regent and his heir to the throne. Henry V died before Charles VI and therefore his son Henry VI of England succeeded his grandfather Charles VI as King of France. Much of northern France was in English hands until 1435, but by 1453 the English had been driven out of all of France except Calais and the Channel Islands and were to retain Calais for another 100 years, until 1558.