Kingdom of France/French Empire Index

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Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoléon III, Emperor of the French, the last monarch of France, reigned 1852 – 1870

There were monarchies in France, with several interruptions, from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 until the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870.  Descendants of Hugh Capet (reigned 987 – 996), founder of the House of Capet, were the first rulers to adopt the title of King of France, with Philippe II (reigned 1180 – 1223), the first French monarch to do so.

The Capetian line was succeeded by cadet branches, the House of Valois and then the House Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. Napoléon Bonaparte made himself  Napoléon I, Emperor of the French and reigned 1804 – 1815. Napoléon I’s four-year-old son by his second wife was Napoléon II, Emperor of the French for sixteen days. Ultimately, the Bourbons were restored in the aftermath of Napoléon I’s defeat and final exile and reigned from 1815 – 1830. The House of Orléans, descendants of King Louis XIV’s brother Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, reigned from 1830 – 1848 with Louis Philippe I, as King of the French. In 1848, the Second Republic was declared, once again ending the monarchy in France.

Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (typically known as Louis-Napoléon), the son of Louis Bonaparte, (younger brother of Emperor Napoléon I) and Hortense de Beauharnais (the daughter of Emperor Napoléon’s first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais and her first husband) became Prince-President of the Second Republic. He was able to have the French Senate declare him Emperor. In 1852,  the Second Republic ended and the Second French Empire was declared. Louis-Napoléon took the throne as Napoléon III, Emperor of the French. In 1870, after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the Third Republic was declared, ending, for the last time, the French monarchy.

Below is an indexed listing with links to articles and information about the French Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty.  If it says “Notable Issue” before a name, that means not all of the children for the parent of that person are listed.

Earlier French Royals

House of Valois (1328–1589)

Monarchs from 1483-1589

Family of King Charles VIII of France

Family of King Louis XII of France

Family of King François I of France

Family of King Henri II of France

  • Henri II, King of France (reigned 1547 – 1559)
  • Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France (wife of Henri II)
    • Notable Issue: François II, King of France, King Consort of Scotland (see below)
    • Notable Issue: Elisabeth of Valois, Queen of Spain (3rd wife of King Philip II of Spain, had two daughters)
    • Notable Issue: Charles IX, King of France (see below)
    • Notable Issue: Henri III, King of France (see below)
    • Notable Issue: Marguerite of Valois, Queen of France (1st wife of King Henri IV of France, marriage annulled, no issue, see below)

King François II of France, King Consort of Scotland

Family of King Charles IX of France

King Henri III of France

House of Bourbon (1589–1792)

Family of King Henri IV of France

Family of King Louis XIII of France

Family of King Louis XIV of France

Family of King Louis XV of France

Family of King Louis XVI of France

House of Bonaparte, First Empire (1804–1814), (Hundred Days, 1815)

Family of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French

House of Bourbon (1814–1815) (1815–1830)

King Louis XVIII of France

Family of King Charles X of France

House of Orléans (1830–1848)

Family of Louis Philippe I, King of the French

House of Bonaparte, Second Empire (1852–1870)

Family of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoleon III, Emperor of the French

Pretenders to the Throne

Orléanist

  • LAST REIGNING: Louis Philippe I, King of the French (1848-1850)
  • Former: Philippe, Count of Paris (1850-1873) – First term
  • Former: Henri, Count of Chambord (1873-1883)
  • Former: Philippe, Count of Paris (1883-1894) – Second term
  • Former: Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1894-1926)
  • Former: Jean, Duke of Guise (1926-1940)
  • Former: Prince Henri of Orléans, Count of Paris (1940-1999)
  • Former: Prince Henri of Orléans, Count of Paris (1999-2019)
  • Current: Prince Jean, Count of Paris (2019-present)

Legitimist

Bonapartist

Other French Royals

Notable French Mistresses

Notable French Favorites

France: First Cousins

French Royal Churches

French Content Areas and Miscellaneous Articles