Kings of France : 15 centuries of history

By being crowned in 481, Clovis became the first king of what would become France, and the first Christian ruler of the kingdom of the Franks.

The story of the reign of Dagobert I, born around 602/605, died on January 19, 638 or 639. He was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty. Son of Clotaire II (584-629), a great-grandson of Clovis, he reigned over Austrasia from 622 to 632 and was king of the Franks from 629 to 639.

Charles Martel (690 - 741) is the founder of the Carolingian dynasty. He is known for his victory in Poitiers over the Arabs who had invaded Aquitaine (732). After the reconquest of Burgundy and Provence, his power became so strong that, without deposing the Merovingian king Thierry IV, who died in 737, he had the kingdom at his disposal, which he divided between his two sons Carloman and Pepin the Short.

Elder son of Pepin the Short and Bertrade of Laon. Consecrated with his father and younger brother Carloman in 754. The kingdom was divided between the two brothers on the death of Pepin, with Charles obtaining Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitaine. The death of his brother in 771 allowed him to reunify the kingdom. He was crowned emperor of the West by Pope Leo III in Rome on December 25, 800.

Son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I. Duke of the Franks since 960, he was elected king of the Franks after the death of Louis V and was crowned in 987.

Only son of Louis VII and Adele of Champagne. Consecrated in Reims on November 1, 1179 as associate king. He was the first to use the title "King of France".

King of France from 1226 to 1270, Louis IX, also known as Saint Louis, has left the image of a pious, just and popular sovereign. The fourth son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, he succeeded his father under the regency of his mother until he came of age in 1235. Consecrated in Reims on November 29, 1226. Died of dysentery before Tunis. Canonized in 1297.

Son of Charles de Valois, the younger brother of Philip IV, he became king of France at the birth of the posthumous daughter of Charles IV, Blanche de France, on April 1, 1328. Navarre was left to Jeanne d'Évreux, the daughter of Louis X, in exchange for her renunciation of the French throne. Consecrated in Reims on May 29. The succession was disputed by Edward III of England: this was the beginning of the Hundred Years War.

The eldest of the surviving sons of Charles VI and Isabeau of Bavaria, he refused to ratify the Treaty of Troyes, which disinherited him in favor of Henry V of England. Consecrated in Reims on July 17, 1429.

Elder son of Charles VII and Marie d'Anjou. Consecrated in Reims on August 15, 1461.

The only son of Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy, he succeeded his father under the regency of his elder sister Anne of France until 1491. Consecrated in Reims on May 30, 1484. Died accidentally, without male descendants.

Louis XII, king of France from 1498 to 1515. His reign was marked by the Italian wars, which ended with the defeat of Novara in 1513 and, on the domestic front, the reform of justice and taxes. His image was cultivated after his death as a symbol of a moderate monarchy, relying on the States General, in contrast to the absolute monarchy.

Descendant of Charles V, cousin of Louis XII whose daughter Claude de France he married. First king of the Valois-Angouleme branch. Consecrated in Reims on January 25, 1515. Died of septicemia.

Second son of Francis the 1st and Claude of France. Consecrated in Reims on July 26, 1547. Died as a result of a tournament accident.

The story of Francis II, Charles IX and Henri III last of the Valois, all three sons of Henri II and Catherine de Medici. Kings from 1559 to 1589 and died without descendants.

Descendant of Robert de Clermont, the last son of Louis IX. King of Navarre since 1572, he became King of France on August 2, 1589 after the death of his distant cousin Henry III, who had designated him as his successor. He abjured Protestantism to be crowned in Chartres on February 27, 1594. Assassinated by François Ravaillac.

The eldest son of Henri IV and Marie de Medici, he succeeded his father on the thrones of France and Navarre under the regency of his mother until his majority in 1614. He was consecrated in Reims on October 17, 1610. Died of tuberculosis.

The eldest son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, he succeeded his father under the regency of his mother until he came of age in 1661. Consecrated in Reims on June 7, 1654. Died of gangrene in his thigh.

Son of the Petit Dauphin (died in 1712), grandson of the Grand Dauphin (died in 1711) and great-grandson of Louis XIV, he succeeded him under the regency of Philippe d'Orléans, nephew of the deceased king, until his majority in 1723. He was consecrated in Reims on October 25, 1722. Died of smallpox.

Son of Louis of France (died in 1765) and grandson of Louis XV, he was crowned in Reims on June 11, 1775. Became "King of the French" by the Constitution of 1791. He was suspended by the National Assembly on August 10, 1792, then dethroned on September 21. Died on the guillotine after his trial. His captive son was recognized as his successor under the name of Louis XVII by the royalists and the coalescents without ever being crowned before his death, on June 8, 1795.

The story of the he reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, who ruled France from 1799 to 1815, first as First Consul, then as Emperor, starting in 1804.

First consul since 1799, consul for life since 1802, he became emperor of the French by the constitution of May 18, 1804, approved by plebiscite on November 6. He was crowned at Notre-Dame-de-Paris on December 2. Deposed by the Senate on April 3, 1814, he abdicated on April 4 in favor of his son Napoleon II, then on April 6 without conditions.

Younger brother of Louis XVI, he proclaimed himself king after the death of his nephew Louis XVII, on June 8, 1795. He did not become king until April 6, 1814, after the abdication of Napoleon I. When the latter's return was announced, he fled Paris during the night of March 20, 1815.

Descendant of Louis XIII, distant cousin of Charles X, he was proclaimed King of the French on August 9, 1830, after the Three Glorious Years. During the revolution of 1848, he abdicated on February 24 in favor of his grandson Philippe d'Orléans, but the Assembly refused to recognize the latter and proclaimed the Second Republic.

Nephew of Napoleon I. Elected first president of the Second Republic in 1848, he led the coup d'état of December 2, 1851, which led to the establishment of the Second Empire on December 2, 1852, becoming emperor of the French. Defeated at Sedan, he was taken prisoner on September 2, 1870. The Third Republic was proclaimed two days later. He was deposed by the National Assembly on March 1, 1871.