List of French monarchs

Long 19th-century (1792–1870)
The period known as the "long nineteenth century" was a tumultuous time in French politics, the period is generally considered to have begun with the French Revolution, which deposed and then executed Louis XVI. Royalists continued to recognize his son, the putative king Louis XVII as ruler of France, however Louis was under arrest by the government of the Revolution, and died in captivity having never ruled. The republican government itself went through several changes in form and constitution until France was declared an empire following the ascension of the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor Napoleon I. Napoleon himself would be overthrown twice following military defeats during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Napoleonic period followed two different royal governments, the Bourbon Restoration, which was ruled successively by two younger brothers of Louis XVI, and the July Monarchy, ruled by Louis Philippe I, a distant cousin who claimed descent from Louis XIII. The French Revolution of 1848 brought an end to the monarchy again, instituting a brief Second Republic that lasted only four years before its President declared himself Emperor Napoleon III, who would himself be deposed and replaced by the Third Republic, and ending monarchic rule in France for good.

House of Bourbon-Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848)
The Bourbon Restoration came to an end with the July Revolution of 1830 which deposed Charles X and replaced him with Louis Philippe I, a distant cousin with more liberal politics. Charles X's son Louis signed a document renouncing his own right to the throne only after a 20-minute argument with his father. Because he was never crowned he is disputed as a genuine king of France. Louis's nephew Henry was likewise considered by some to be Henry V but the new regime did not recognise his claim and he never ruled.

House of Bonaparte, Second French Empire (1852–1870)
The French Second Republic lasted from 1848 to 1852, when its president, Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, was declared Emperor of the French under the regnal name of Napoleon III. He would later be overthrown during the events of the Franco-Prussian War, becoming the last monarch to rule France.