Monarchs of France

Charles the Great united most of Western Europe for the first time since Rome. Crowned Imperator by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day ...

Louis ruled personally from 1661 after Mazarin death, Létat cest moi attributed. Versailles, the hunting lodge turned palace, dome...

Well meaning but indecisive, Louis convened the Estates General 1789, first since 1614, over bankruptcy. The Revolution swept past...

Artillery officer of Corsica, revolutionary general, first consul after 18 Brumaire, emperor 1804. The Code Civil, meritocracy, le...

Philip the Fair warred on popes, Boniface VIII seized and humiliated at Anagni, moved the papacy to Avignon under French control. ...

Canonized 1297, the only French king sainted. He bought the Crown of Thorns, Sainte Chapelle built to house it. Reformed justice, ...

Elected king after the last Carolingian, Hugh held little beyond the Île de France, Paris region. But his line, father to son for ...

Francis won a great victory at Marignano in his first year and spent much of his reign fighting Charles V for dominance in Italy. ...

Henry of Navarre, a Protestant leader, inherited the throne as the first Bourbon king amid civil war. He converted to Catholicism ...

Philip turned the Capetian monarchy into the dominant power in France. He joined the Third Crusade with Richard I but returned ear...