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The following is a list of the heirs to the throne of the Kingdom of France, that is, those who were legally next in line to assume the throne upon the death of the King.
From 987 to 1792, all heirs to the French throne were male-line descendants of Hugh Capet.
The crown of France under the earliest Capetian monarchs was elective, not hereditary. There was no mechanism for automatic succession unless an heir was crowned as associate king, ready to step up as primary king when the previous king died. This procedure was very similar to the method by which the Germans elected a King of the Romans during the lifetime of the German monarch. The early Capetians generally made sure their sons were crowned as associate kings with them, with such success that the inheritance of the eldest son and heir to the kingship came to be accepted as a matter of right. Louis VI of France was the first king to take the throne without having been crowned in his father's time; however, his right to take the throne was initially contested.
Co-king | Relationship to Monarch | Crowned | Co-kingship ceased | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert (II) | son | 30 December 987 | 24 October 996 | became sole king | Hugh Capet |
Hugh Magnus | son | 19 June 1017 | 17 September 1025 | died | Robert II of France |
Henry (I) | son | 14 May 1027 | 20 July 1031 | became sole king | |
Philip (I) | son | 23 May 1059 | 4 August 1060 | became sole king | Henry I of France |
Philip | son | 14 April 1129 | 13 October 1131 | died | Louis VI of France |
Louis (VII) | son | 25 October 1131 | 1 August 1137 | became sole king | |
Philip (II) | son | 1 November 1179 | 18 September 1180 | became sole king | Louis VII of France |
After the accession of Philip II of France, the throne became de jure as well as de facto hereditary, so that on the death of the king, the legal heir became king immediately, and could exercise authority without coronation. The throne passed to the closest male heir.
Heirs who actually succeeded are shown in bold type. From 1350 on, the heir apparent to the French throne was styled Dauphin. Heirs so styled are accompanied on the table below by an image of the Dauphin's coat of arms. The title was abandoned in 1791 in favor of the style Prince Royal, less than a year before the abolition of the monarchy.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession Relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Louis | heir apparent | son | 5 September 1187 | born | 14 July 1223 | became king | succession uncertain (1187–1209) [1] | Philip II of France |
Philip son (1209–1218) | ||||||||
Louis son (1218–1223) | ||||||||
Louis | heir apparent | son | 14 July 1223 | father became king | 8 November 1226 | became king | Robert brother | Louis VIII of France |
Robert I of Artois | heir presumptive | brother | 8 November 1226 | brother became king | 25 February 1244 | son born to king | Jean Tristan, Count of Anjou brother (1226–1232) | Louis IX of France |
Alfonso, Count of Poitou brother (1232–1244) | ||||||||
Louis | heir apparent | son | 25 February 1244 | born | 11 January 1260 | died | Robert I of Artois uncle (1244–1245) | |
Philip brother (1245–1260) | ||||||||
Philip | heir apparent | son | 11 January 1260 | brother died | 25 August 1270 | became king | Jean Tristan brother (1260–1264) | |
Louis son (1264–1270) | ||||||||
Louis | heir apparent | son | 25 August 1270 | father became king | May 1276 | died | Philip brother | Philip III of France |
Philip | heir apparent | son | May 1276 | brother died | 5 October 1285 | became king | Charles, Count of Valois brother | |
Charles, Count of Valois | heir presumptive | brother | 5 October 1285 | brother became king | 4 October 1289 | son born to king | Louis brother | Philip IV of France |
Louis | heir apparent | son | 4 October 1289 | born | 29 November 1314 | became king | Charles, Count of Valois uncle (1289–1293) | |
Philip, Count of Poitou brother (1293–1314) | ||||||||
Philip of Poitou | heir presumptive | brother/ uncle | 29 November 1314 | brother became king | 20 November 1316 | became king | Charles, Count of La Marche brother (1314–1316) | Louis X of France |
Philip son (Nov 15-20, 1316) | John I of France [2] | |||||||
Philip | heir apparent | son | 20 November 1316 | father became king | 24 February 1317 | died | Charles, Count of La Marche uncle | Philip V of France |
Charles of La Marche | heir presumptive | brother | 24 February 1317 | king's son died | 3 January 1322 | became king | Philip son | |
Philip | heir apparent | son | 3 January 1322 | father became king | 24 March 1322 | died | Charles, Count of Valois great-uncle | Charles IV of France |
Charles of Valois | heir presumptive | uncle | 24 March 1322 | king's son died | 20 March 1324 | son born to king | Philip son | |
Louis | heir apparent | son | 20 March 1324 | born | 21 March 1324 | died | Charles, Count of Valois great-uncle | |
Charles of Valois | heir presumptive | uncle | 21 March 1324 | king's son died | 16 December 1325 | died | Philip son | |
Philip of Valois | heir presumptive | 1st cousin | 16 December 1325 | father died | 1 February 1328 | became king | John son | |
John | heir apparent | son | 1 February 1328 | father became king | 22 August 1350 | became king | Charles II, Count of Alençon uncle (1328–1330) | Philip VI of France |
Louis brother (17 Jan, 1330) | ||||||||
Charles II of Alençon uncle (1330–1333) | ||||||||
John brother (2 Oct, 1333) | ||||||||
Charles II of Alençon uncle (1333–1336) | ||||||||
Philip, Duke of Orléans brother (1336–1338) | ||||||||
Charles son (1338–1350) | ||||||||
Charles | heir apparent | son | 22 August 1350 | father became king | 8 April 1364 | became king | Louis, Duke of Anjou brother | John II of France |
Louis, Duke of Anjou | heir presumptive | brother | 8 April 1364 | brother became king | 7 June 1366 | son born to king | John, Duke of Berry brother | Charles V of France |
John | heir apparent | son | 7 June 1366 | born | 21 December 1366 | died | Louis, Duke of Anjou uncle | |
Louis, Duke of Anjou | heir presumptive | brother | 21 December 1366 | king's son died | 3 December 1368 | son born to king | John, Duke of Berry brother | |
Charles | heir apparent | son | 3 December 1368 | born | 16 September 1380 | became king | Louis, Duke of Anjou uncle (1368–1372) | |
Louis brother (1372–1380) | ||||||||
Louis I, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | brother | 16 September 1380 | brother became king | 25 September 1386 | son born to king | Louis, Duke of Anjou uncle (1380–1384) | Charles VI of France |
Louis II, Duke of Anjou 1st cousin (1384–1386) | ||||||||
Charles | heir apparent | son | 25 September 1386 | born | 28 December 1386 | died | Louis I, Duke of Orléans uncle | |
Louis I, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | brother | 28 December 1386 | king's son died | 6 February 1392 | son born to king | Louis II, Duke of Anjou 1st cousin | |
Charles | heir apparent | son | 6 February 1392 | born | 13 January 1401 | died | Louis I, Duke of Orléans uncle (1392–1397) | |
Louis brother (1397–1401) | ||||||||
Louis | heir apparent | son | 13 January 1401 | brother died | 18 December 1415 | died | John brother | |
John | heir apparent | son | 18 December 1415 | brother died | 5 April 1417 | died | Charles brother | |
Charles | heir apparent | son | 5 April 1417 | brother died | 21 October 1422 | became king [3] | Charles, Duke of Orléans 1st cousin |
On May 21, 1420, the government of Charles VI was obliged to sign the Treaty of Troyes, which provided a legal framework for the transfer of power to Henry V, King of England, who had invaded and occupied northern France, including Paris. Under the treaty, Henry, who was to marry Charles' daughter Catherine, was named as "Heir of France" and the Dauphin Charles was disinherited. The treaty was not recognized by those factions which were still at war with England, and only had legal force in English-occupied territory and, more briefly, in the Burgundian lands (1420–1435) and in Brittany.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Henry V, King of England | heir apparent | son-in-law | 21 May 1420 | treaty | 31 August 1422 | died | succession uncertain, (1420–1421) | Charles VI |
Henry, Duke of Cornwall son, (1421–1422) | ||||||||
Henry VI, King of England | heir apparent | grandson | 31 August 1422 | father died | 21 October 1422 | became king | succession uncertain (Aug.-Oct. 1422) | |
succession uncertain 1422–1453 | “Henry II” | |||||||
Edward of Westminster | heir apparent | son | 13 October 1453 | born | 19 October 1453 | father deposed | succession uncertain |
In southern France, the treaty of Troyes was never regarded as valid, and Charles VII was considered to have become king upon his father's death. Given his repudiation by his father, however, his status remained uncertain until his coronation at Reims on 17 July 1429. In the following two decades Charles VII regained control of most of France; the English were finally expelled from Guienne on 19 October 1453, retaining only the port of Calais.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Charles, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | 1st cousin | 21 October 1422 | cousin became king | 3 July 1423 | son born to king | John, Count of Angoulême brother | Charles VII of France |
Louis | heir apparent | son | 3 July 1423 | born | 22 July 1461 | became king | Charles, Duke of Orléans 1st cousin -1 (1423–1426) | |
John of France brother (Sept 19, 1426) | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Orléans 1st cousin -1 (1426–1432) | ||||||||
James of France brother (1432–1437) | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Orléans 1st cousin -1 (1437–1446) | ||||||||
Charles of France brother (1446–1458) | ||||||||
Louis of France son (1458–1460) | ||||||||
Charles of France brother (1460–1461) | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Berry | heir presumptive | brother | 22 July 1461 | brother became king | 4 December 1466 | son born to king | Charles, Duke of Orléans 1st cousin -1 (1461–1465) | Louis XI of France |
Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin (1465–1466) | ||||||||
Francis | heir apparent | son | 4 December 1466 | born | 4 December 1466 | died | Charles, Duke of Berry | |
Charles, Duke of Berry | heir presumptive | brother | 4 December 1466 | king's son died | 30 June 1470 | son born to king | Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin | |
Charles | heir apparent | son | 30 June 1470 | born | 30 August 1483 | became king | Charles, Duke of Berry uncle (1470–1472) | |
Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin -1 (May–Sept 1472) | ||||||||
Francis, Duke of Berry brother (1472–1473) | ||||||||
Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin -1 (1473–1483) | ||||||||
Louis, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | 2nd cousin -1 | 30 August 1483 | cousin became king | 11 October 1492 | son born to king | Charles, Count of Angoulême 1st cousin | Charles VIII of France |
Charles–Orland | heir apparent | son | 11 October 1492 | born | 6 December 1495 | died | Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin -2 | |
Louis, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | 2nd cousin -1 | 6 December 1495 | king's son died | 8 September 1496 | son born to king | Charles, Count of Angoulême 1st cousin (1495–1496) | |
Francis, Count of Angoulême 1st cousin +1 (Jan–Sep 1496) | ||||||||
Charles | heir apparent | son | 8 September 1496 | born | 2 October 1496 | died | Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin -2 | |
Louis, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | 2nd cousin -1 | 2 October 1496 | king's son died | July 1497 | son born to king | Francis, Count of Angoulême 1st cousin +1 | |
Francis | heir apparent | son | July 1497 | born | July 1497 | died | Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin -2 | |
Louis, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | 2nd cousin -1 | July 1497 | king's son died | 7 April 1498 | became king | Francis, Count of Angoulême 1st cousin +1 | |
Francis, Count of Angoulême | heir presumptive | 1st cousin +1 | 7 April 1498 | cousin became king | 1 January 1515 | became king | Charles IV, Duke of Alençon 5th cousin -1 | Louis XII of France |
Charles IV, Duke of Alençon | heir presumptive | 5th cousin –1 | 1 January 1515 | cousin became king | 28 February 1518 | son born to king | Charles III, Duke of Bourbon 7th cousin | Francis I of France |
Francis | heir apparent | son | 28 February 1518 | born | 10 August 1536 | died | Charles IV, Duke of Alençon 5th cousin -2 (1518–1519) | |
Henry, Duke of Orléans brother (1519–1536) | ||||||||
Henry | heir apparent | son | 10 August 1536 | brother died | 31 March 1547 | became king | Charles, Duke of Orléans brother (1536–1544) | |
Francis of France son (1544–1547) | ||||||||
Francis | heir apparent | son | 31 March 1547 | father became king | 10 July 1559 | became king | Antoine, Duke of Vendôme 8th cousin –2 (1547–1549) | Henry II of France |
Louis, Duke of Orléans brother (1549–1550) | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Orléans brother (1550–1559) | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | brother | 10 July 1559 | brother became king | 5 December 1560 | became king | Henry of France brother | Francis II of France |
Henry of Poland | heir presumptive | brother | 5 December 1560 | brother became king | 30 May 1574 | became king | Francis, Duke of Alençon brother | Charles IX of France |
François, Duke of Anjou | heir presumptive | brother | 30 May 1574 | brother became king | 10 June 1584 | died | Henry III of Navarre 9th cousin -1 | Henry III of France |
Henry III of Navarre | heir presumptive | 9th cousin -1 | 10 June 1584 | king's brother died | 2 August 1589 | became king | Charles of Bourbon uncle | |
Charles of Bourbon | heir presumptive | uncle | 2 August 1589 | nephew became king | 9 May 1590 | died | Henry, Prince of Condé great-nephew | Henry IV of France |
Henry, Prince of Condé | heir presumptive | 1st cousin +1 | 9 May 1590 | great-uncle died | 27 September 1601 | son born to king | Francis, Prince of Conti uncle | |
Louis | heir apparent | son | 27 September 1601 | born | 14 May 1610 | became king | Henry, Prince of Condé 2nd cousin (1601–1607) | |
Nicolas Henry, Duke of Orléans brother (1607–1610) | ||||||||
Nicolas Henry, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | brother | 14 May 1610 | brother became king | 17 November 1611 | died | Gaston, Duke of Anjou brother | Louis XIII of France |
Gaston, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | brother | 17 November 1611 | brother died | 5 September 1638 | son born to king | Henry, Prince of Condé 2nd cousin | |
Louis | heir apparent | son | 5 September 1638 | born | 14 May 1643 | became king | Gaston, Duke of Orléans uncle (1638–1640) | |
Philip, Duke of Anjou brother (1640–1643) | ||||||||
Philip I, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | brother | 14 May 1643 | brother became king | 1 November 1661 | son born to king | Gaston, Duke of Orléans uncle (1643–1660) | Louis XIV of France |
Louis II, Prince of Condé 3rd cousin (1660–1661) | ||||||||
Louis Le Grand Dauphin | heir apparent | son | 1 November 1661 | born | 14 April 1711 | died | Philip I, Duke of Orléans uncle (1661–1668) | |
Philip Charles, Duke of Anjou brother (1668–1671) | ||||||||
Philip I, Duke of Orléans uncle (1671–1672) | ||||||||
Louis Francis, Duke of Anjou brother (Jun–Nov 1672) | ||||||||
Philip I, Duke of Orléans uncle (1672–1682) | ||||||||
Louis, Duke of Burgundy son (1682–1711) | ||||||||
Louis Le Petit Dauphin | heir apparent | grandson | 14 April 1711 | father died | 18 February 1712 | died | Louis, Duke of Brittany son | |
Louis | heir apparent | great–grandson | 18 February 1712 | father died | 8 March 1712 | died | Louis, Duke of Anjou brother | |
Louis | heir apparent | great–grandson | 8 March 1712 | brother died | 1 September 1715 | became king | Philip V of Spain uncle (1712-1713) [4] | |
Charles, Duke of Berry uncle (1713–1714) | ||||||||
Philip II, Duke of Orléans 1st cousin –2 (1714–1715) | ||||||||
Philip II, Duke of Orléans Regent of France | heir presumptive | 1st cousin –2 | 1 September 1715 | cousin became king | 2 December 1723 | died | Louis, Duke of Chartres son | Louis XV of France |
Louis, Duke of Orléans | heir presumptive | 2nd cousin –1 | 2 December 1723 | father died | 4 September 1729 | son born to king | Louis Henry, Prince of Condé 5th cousin +1 (1723–1725) | |
Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres son (1725–1729) | ||||||||
Louis | heir apparent | son | 4 September 1729 | born | 20 December 1765 | died | Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin –2 (1729–1730) | |
Philip, Duke of Anjou brother (1730–1733) | ||||||||
Louis, Duke of Orléans 2nd cousin –2 (1733–1751) | ||||||||
Louis, Duke of Burgundy son (1751–1761) | ||||||||
Louis–Auguste, Duke of Berry son (1761–1765) | ||||||||
Louis–Auguste | heir apparent | grandson | 20 December 1765 | father died | 10 May 1774 | became king | Louis, Count of Provence brother | |
Louis, Count of Provence | heir presumptive | brother | 10 May 1774 | brother became king | 22 October 1781 | son born to king | Charles, Count of Artois brother | Louis XVI of France |
Louis Joseph | heir apparent | son | 22 October 1781 | born | 4 June 1789 | died | Louis, Count of Provence uncle (1781–1785) | |
Louis–Charles, Duke of Normandy brother (1785–1789) | ||||||||
Louis Charles | heir apparent | son | 4 June 1789 | brother died | 21 September 1792 | monarchy abolished | Louis, Count of Provence uncle |
Following the abolition of the monarchy of France by the French National Convention, Louis XVI and his family were held in confinement. Louis XVI was found guilty by the Convention of treason against the state, and was executed on 21 January 1793. The Dauphin Louis–Charles was thereafter proclaimed "Louis XVII of France" by French royalists, but was kept confined and never reigned. He died of illness on 8 June 1795.
Louis–Stanislas–Xavier, Count of Provence, was subsequently proclaimed "Louis XVIII", but was in exile from France and powerless.
France passed through a series of republican regimes until a hereditary monarchy was restored in the person of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was proclaimed hereditary Emperor of the French on 18 May 1804. The succession law promulgated at the same time also demanded a Salic succession, in which Napoleon was to be succeeded by, first, his own legitimate offspring, then his elder brother Joseph Bonaparte and his descendants, and finally his younger brother Louis Bonaparte and his descendants. [5] (Napoleon's other brothers were omitted for various reasons.) The title of the heir apparent of the First Empire was King of Rome .
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Joseph Bonaparte | heir presumptive | elder brother | 18 May 1804 | Empire proclaimed | 20 March 1811 | son born to Emperor | Louis Bonaparte brother | Napoleon I |
Napoleon Francis King of Rome | heir apparent | son | 20 March 1811 | born | 6 April 1814 | abdication of Napoleon I end of the Empire | Joseph Bonaparte uncle |
Napoleon I was defeated by an alliance of most of the other European powers, and abdicated unconditionally, for himself and his son, on 6 April 1814 (an abdication given legal force by a treaty with the Allies dated 11 April 1814) and went into exile.
On 6 April 1814, the Senate of the French Empire summoned Louis Stanislas Xavier, Count of Provence—already styling himself "Louis XVIII"—to become head of a restored, but constitutional, French monarchy. Louis' younger brother, Charles, Count of Artois, came to Paris on 12 April and was appointed Lieutenant-General of the realm; Louis himself returned on 3 May, and on 4 June he authorized the publication of a constitution for France (the Charter of 1814) by which he became a constitutional monarch. With the acceptance of this constitution we can say that the monarchy was resumed, although by royalist principles the Republican and Imperial governments of 1792–1814 had all been illegitimate, and the monarchy itself had never ceased.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Charles, Count of Artois | heir presumptive | brother | 6 April 1814 | brother became king | 19 March 1815 | fall of royal government | Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême son | Louis XVIII of France |
On 1 March 1815, however, Napoleon returned to France. With Napoleon I within miles of the capital, Louis XVIII and all his family fled Paris on 19 March, and for the next several months they remained in exile, until the victory of Waterloo allowed them to return.
On 20 March Napoleon entered Paris and once again proclaimed the Empire. Although the Imperial Constitution was amended in a more democratic direction, the hereditary office of Emperor and the succession laws remained unchanged.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Napoleon Francis King of Rome | heir apparent | son | 20 March 1815 | Empire re-proclaimed | 22 June 1815 | nominally became Emperor | Joseph Bonaparte uncle | Napoleon I of France |
Joseph Bonaparte | heir presumptive | uncle | 22 June 1815 | nephew became Emperor | 7 July 1815 | end of Empire | Louis Bonaparte brother | Napoleon II of France |
This restored First Empire lasted until 22 June 1815, when Napoleon abdicated again, this time in favor of a regency on behalf of his son (who had been separated from his father in 1814 and was living in Vienna, Austria). The nominal reign of Napoleon II lasted no longer than until 7 July 1815, when an Allied army occupied Paris. Napoleon I was now exiled to the Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he died a prisoner 5 May 1821. Napoleon II continued to live under close observation in Vienna until he died of tuberculosis 22 July 1832. Neither Joseph nor Louis Bonaparte ever made any effort on behalf of the imperial claims that had descended to them.
On July 8 Louis XVIII returned to Paris. Government was resumed under the 1814 Constitution as before.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Charles, Count of Artois | heir presumptive | brother | 8 July 1815 | resumption of royal government | 16 September 1824 | became king | Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême son | Louis XVIII of France |
Louis-Antoine | heir apparent | son | 16 September 1824 | father became king | 2 August 1830 | father abdicated/ technically became king | Henry, Duke of Bordeaux nephew | Charles X of France |
Charles X's attempt in July 1830 to suspend the Charter of 1814 prompted a revolution. After several days of violence at the end of July and the beginning of August, Charles and his son fled Paris and signed an instrument of abdication. The intended beneficiary of the abdication was Charles' grandson (the Dauphin's nephew) Henry, Duke of Bordeaux, a child of 9.
After several days of discussion, the French Chamber of Deputies chose to ignore the instrument and instead proclaimed Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, as King on 9 August 1830.
Under the Orléans régime, the style Dauphin was not used for the heir apparent to the French throne; he was called instead Prince Royal, in accordance with the 1791–1792 usage.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans | heir apparent | son | 9 August 1830 | father elected king | 13 July 1842 | died | Louis, Duke of Nemours brother (1830–1838) | Louis-Philippe of France |
Philippe, Count of Paris son (1838–1842) | ||||||||
Philippe, Count of Paris | heir apparent | grandson | 13 July 1842 | father died | 24 February 1848 | abdication of Louis-Philippe | Robert, Duke of Chartres brother |
After a further revolutionary upheaval in 1848, Louis-Philippe abdicated on 24 February in favor of his grandson Philippe. The choice of Philippe was not accepted by the Chamber of Deputies, and instead the monarchy was abolished and a new Republic declared.
The Second Republic elected as its president Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, son of Napoleon I's brother Louis Bonaparte. President Bonaparte overthrew the Republic by self coup on 2 December 1851; exactly one year later, following a plebiscite, he converted himself into an Emperor, Napoleon III—considering the brief reign of "Napoleon II" in 1815 as valid.
The succession laws were similar to those of the First Empire, except that Jérôme Bonaparte and his male-line male descendants were, by special decree, eligible for the succession, following the descendants of Napoleon III himself (Joseph Bonaparte had died leaving no male children; other than Napoleon III, no other descendants of Louis Bonaparte survived by 1852).
The heir apparent of the Emperor was titled Prince Imperial, parallel to the Orléans title of Prince Royal.
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Ceased to be heir | Next in succession relation to heir, dates | Monarch | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Reason | Date | Reason | |||||
Jérôme Bonaparte | heir presumptive | uncle | 18 December 1852 | Imperial decree | 16 March 1856 | son born to Emperor | Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte son [6] | Napoleon III |
Louis Napoléon, Prince Imperial | heir apparent | son | 16 March 1856 | born | 4 September 1870 | Third Republic declared | Jérôme Bonaparte great-uncle (1856–1860) | |
Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte 1st cousin -1 (1860–1870) |
With the failure of the Imperial army at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon III was captured and his government collapsed. Two days after the battle a Third Republic was declared which would last for seventy years. The Imperial family went into exile. France has not been ruled by a monarchy from this point.
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The Legitimists are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject the claim of the July Monarchy of 1830–1848 which placed Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, head of the Orléans cadet branch of the Bourbon dynasty, on the throne until he too was dethroned and driven with his family into exile.
A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate. The word may refer to a former monarch or a descendant of a deposed monarchy, although this type of claimant is also referred to as a head of a house.
Emperor of the French was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires.
Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême was the elder son of Charles X and the last Dauphin of France from 1824 to 1830. He is identified by the Guinness World Records as the shortest-reigning monarch, reigning for less than 20 minutes during the July Revolution, but this is not backed up by historical evidence. He never reigned over the country, but after his father's death in 1836, he was the legitimist pretender as Louis XIX.
The 4th House of Orléans, sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. The house was founded by Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger son of Louis XIII and younger brother of Louis XIV, the "Sun King".
Charles, Prince Napoléon is a French politician who is the disputed head of the Imperial House of France and, as such, heir to the legacy of his great-great-granduncle, Emperor Napoléon I.
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility. This sequence may be regulated through descent or by statute.
The Orléanist claimant to the throne of France is Jean, Count of Paris. He is the uncontested heir to the Orléanist position of "King of the French" held by Louis-Philippe, and is also considered the Legitimist heir as "King of France" by those who view the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht as valid. According to the Family Compact of 1909, only the descendants of Henri, Count of Paris are considered to be French dynasts. The founders of the cadet branches of Orleans-Braganza and Orléans-Galliera, by becoming foreigners, are considered under house law to have lost their rights to the throne.
The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the House of Bourbon to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days in March 1815. The regime was born following the victory of the Sixth Coalition as part of the campaign of France, while the country was in conflict during the First Empire. While the Allied powers were divided over the person to be placed on the throne of France, a subtle game was established between the Bourbons in exile, the French institutions, and the foreign powers, before the abdication of Napoleon on 6 April opened the way to Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, who returned to Paris at the end of the month and moved to the Tuileries Palace.
The succession to the throne of the French Empire was vested by Bonapartist emperors in the descendants and selected male relatives of Napoleon I. Following the abolition of the Second French Empire in 1870, Bonapartist pretenders descended from Napoleon I's brothers have maintained theoretical claims to the imperial office.
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement concluded in Fontainebleau, France, on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon and representatives of Austria, Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed in Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides and ratified by Napoleon on 13 April. With this treaty, the allies ended Napoleon's rule as emperor of the French and sent him into exile on Elba.
Louis XIV (1638–1715), the Bourbon monarch of the Kingdom of France, was the son of King Louis XIII of France and Queen Anne.
Succession to the French throne covers the mechanism by which the French crown passed from the establishment of the Frankish Kingdom in 486 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870.