List of heirs to the French throne

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• List of French monarchs
• Fundamental laws of the Kingdom of France