English claims to the French throne

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English claims to the French throne

The English claims to the French throne have a long and rather complex history between the 1340s and the 1800s. From 1340 to 1801, with only brief intervals in 1360-1369 and 1420-1422, the kings and queens of England

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a state in North-West Europe. The Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and a number of smaller outlying islands?what is today the legal unit of England and Wales....
, and after the Acts of Union

Acts of Union 1707

The Acts of Union were a pair of Act of Parliament passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries....
in 1707 the kings and queens of Great Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a country in North-West Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801....
, also bore the title of King or Queen of France.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m3468855",this)' onMouseout='hide("m3468855")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Fernand_Braudel">Fernand Braudel

Fernand Braudel

Fernand Braudel , was the foremost French historian of the postwar era, and a leader of the Annales School. He organized his scholarship around three great projects, each worth several decades of intense study: "The Mediterranean" , "Civilization and Capitalism" , and the unfinished, "Identity of France" ....
: "England acted as a province (or a group of provinces) within the Anglo-French unit" that was "both battlefield and prize" (Braudel 1984 p.

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Kingdom of England

Acts of Union 1707

Kingdom of Great Britain

Hundred Years' War

Fernand Braudel

Kingdom of England

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock....
-French descendant and Norman-French-speaking aristocracy when this title was first adopted in 1340 by King Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was one of the most successful List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Englands of the Britain in the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II of England, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe....
, who claimed the throne of France after the death of his uncle Charles IV of France

Charles IV of France

Charles IV , was the List of French monarchs and List of Navarrese monarchs and Count of Champagne from 1322 to his death: he was the last French king of the House of Capet....
, thereby precipitating the Hundred Years' War

Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne, which was vacant with the extinction of the senior House of Capet line of French kings....
. At the time of Charles IV's death in 1328, Edward was his nearest male relative. They were related, however, through Edward's mother Isabella of France

Isabella of France

Isabella of France , known as the She-Wolf of France, was the Queen consort of Edward II of England and mother of Edward III. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre....
. Since the election of Hugh Capet in 987, the French crown had always passed based on male-line relations (father to son until 1316). There was no precedent for someone succeeding to the French throne based on his maternal ancestry, nor had there needed to be. There had been no shortage of sons and brothers for more than three centuries from the inception of the House of Capet

House of Capet

For a full history of the Capetian family, see Capetian dynasty.The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty - itself a derivative dynasty from the...
until the early 14th century, when new precedents concerning female inheritance finally had to be introduced. On the death of Charles IV's brother Louis X

Louis X of France

Louis X , called the Quarreller, the Headstrong, or the Stubborn , was the List of Navarrese monarchs from 1305 and list of French monarchs from 1314 until his death....
in 1316, immediately followed by that of his posthumous son John I

John I of France

John I , called the Posthumous, was List of French monarchs and List of Navarrese monarchs, and Counts of Champagne, as the son and successor of Louis X of France, for the five days he lived....
, it had to be decided whether his young daughter Joan

Joan II of Navarre

Joan II of Navarre was Queen of Kingdom of Navarre 1328–1349. She was the only daughter of King Louis X of France and his first wife, Margaret of Burgundy ....
or his brother Philip

Philip V of France

Philip V , called the Tall , was List of French monarchs and List of Navarrese monarchs and Count of Champagne from 1316 to his death, and the second to last of the House of Capet....
would succeed to the throne. This was later said to have based on the 5th century Salic law

Salic law

Salic law was an important body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century....
but some researchers assert that the Salic Law was rediscovered later and used to cloak the 1316 decision with an additional aura of authenticity.

At the time of Charles's death in 1328, there was once again a dispute over the succession. Although it had come to be accepted that a woman could not possess the French throne in her own right, Edward III, the nephew of the deceased king, based his claim on the theory that a woman could transmit a right of inheritance to her son. This claim was rejected, however, and the throne was given to the male line heir, Philip, Count of Valois

Philip VI of France

Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the List of French monarchs from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Counts and Dukes of Anjou, Counts and Dukes of Maine, and Count of Valois from 1325 to 1328....
, a first cousin to the deceased king. At the time, Edward accepted this result, and paid homage to Philip VI for his Duchy of Guyenne. Disputes over the next 12 years over the precise nature of Edward III's feudal obligations to Philip in Guyenne led to open war in 1337, and to the revival of Edward's claims to the French throne in 1340, when he claimed the title of King of France.

Edward continued to use this title until the Treaty of Brétigny

Treaty of Brétigny

The Treaty of Br?tigny was a treaty signed on 8 May 1360, between Edward III of England of England and John II of France of France. The treaty was signed at Br?tigny, Eure-et-Loir, a village near Chartres, and marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War , as well as the height of English hegemony on the Continental Europe....
on May 8, 1360, when he abandoned his claims in return for substantial lands in France. After the resumption of hostilities between the English and the French in 1369, however, Edward resumed his claim and the title of King of France. His successors also used the title until the Treaty of Troyes

Treaty of Troyes

The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that Henry V of England would inherit the throne of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was signed in Troyes, France in 1420....
on May 21, 1420, in which the English recognised Charles VI

Charles VI of France

Charles VI , called the Well-loved and the Mad , was the List of French monarchs from 1380 to 1399, as a member of the House of Valois....
as King of France, but with his new son-in-law King Henry V of England

Henry V of England

Henry V was one of the most significant English warrior kings of the 15th century. He was born at Monmouth, Wales, in the tower above the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, and reigned as King of England from 1413 to 1422....
as his heir (disinheriting Charles VI's son, the Dauphin Charles

Charles VII of France

File:Charles VII Franc a cheval 1422 1423.jpgCharles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was List of French monarchs from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent ruled much of France from Paris....
). Henry V then adopted the title Heir of France instead.

Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other in 1422, and Henry V's infant son (Charles VI's grandson) Henry VI

Henry VI of England

Henry VI was Kingdom of England 1422?1461 and then 1470?1471, and King of France as the de jure monarch from 1422 to 1429....
became King of France. He was the only English king who was de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
King of France, rather than using the style as a mere title of pretence. However, by 1429 Charles VII

Charles VII of France

Joan of Arc

Saint Joan of Arc also known as the Maid of Orleans, is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, claiming divine guidance, and was indirectly responsible for the coronation of Charles VII of Franc...
, had been crowned at Reims and begun to push the English out of northern France. In 1435, an end to the French civil war between Burgundians and Armagnacs allowed Charles to return to Paris, and by 1453 the English had been driven out of their last strongholds in Normandy and Guyenne. The only French territory left to the English was Calais

Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, which was held until 1558.

The original claimants

"Kings of France" (1340)

Edward III, King of England
Edward III of England

Edward III was one of the most successful List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Englands of the Britain in the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II of England, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe....
(first term January 24, 1340 - May 8, 1360).

"Kings of France" (title resumed 1369)

Edward III, King of England
Edward III of England

Edward III was one of the most successful List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Englands of the Britain in the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II of England, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe....
(second term 1369 - June 21, 1377).
Richard II, King of England
Richard II of England

Richard II was the eighth King of England of the House of Plantagenet. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III of England....
(reigned June 22, 1377 - September 30, 1399).
Henry IV, King of England
Henry IV of England

Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . Like other kings of England, he also claimed the title of King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke....
(reigned September 30, 1399 - March 20, 1413).
Henry V, King of England
Henry V of England

Henry V was one of the most significant English warrior kings of the 15th century. He was born at Monmouth, Wales, in the tower above the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, and reigned as King of England from 1413 to 1422....
(reigned March 20, 1413 - May 21, 1420).

Heirs of France (de jure
De jure

De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".The terms de jure and de facto are used instead of "in principle" and "in practice", respectively, when one is describing politics or legal situations....
and de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
) (1420)

Henry V, King of England
Henry V of England

Henry V was one of the most significant English warrior kings of the 15th century. He was born at Monmouth, Wales, in the tower above the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, and reigned as King of England from 1413 to 1422....
(term May 21, 1420 - August 31, 1422)
Henry VI, King of England
Henry VI of England

Henry VI was Kingdom of England 1422?1461 and then 1470?1471, and King of France as the de jure monarch from 1422 to 1429....
(term August 31 - October 21, 1422). Succeeded as King of France upon the death of Charles VI

Kings of France (de facto) (1422)

Henry VI, King of England
Henry VI of England

Henry VI was Kingdom of England 1422?1461 and then 1470?1471, and King of France as the de jure monarch from 1422 to 1429....
(reigned (in England) October 21, 1422 - March 4, 1461, October 31, 1470 - April 11, 1471. De facto King of northern France from 1422 to 1453. De facto King of southern France was Charles VII
Charles VII of France

File:Charles VII Franc a cheval 1422 1423.jpgCharles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was List of French monarchs from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent ruled much of France from Paris....
from 1422 and became de jure King of France in 1429. Henry was deposed in England on March 4, 1461. Continued to be recognized as King by supporters of the House of Lancaster
House of Lancaster

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century....
, and briefly restored to the English throne 1470-1471.

Rulers of Calais

Following an episode of insanity

Insanity

Traditionally, insanity or madness is the behavior whereby a person flouts societal norms and may become a danger to themselves and others....
on the part of Henry VI of England

Henry VI of England

Henry VI was Kingdom of England 1422?1461 and then 1470?1471, and King of France as the de jure monarch from 1422 to 1429....
, in 1453 and the subsequent outbreak of the Wars of the Roses

Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of House of Lancaster and House of York....
(1455 - 1487), the English were no longer in any position to pursue their claim to the French throne and lost all their land on the continent, except for Calais.

Calais would know the rule of eight more English Kings and Queens of France until 1558:

Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England

Edward IV was Kingdom of England from 4 March 1461 until 2 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death....
(March 4, 1461 - April 9, 1483).
Edward V of England
Edward V of England

Edward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III of England....
(April 9 - June 25, 1483).
Richard III of England
Richard III of England

Richard III was List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of England of Kingdom of England from 1483 until his death. He was the last king from the House of York, and his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the culmination of the Wars of the Roses and the end of the Plantagenet dynasty....
(June 25, 1483 - August 22, 1485).
Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England

Henry VII was the Kingdom of England and Lordship of Ireland from his usurpation of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty....
(August 22, 1485 - April 21, 1509).
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
(April 21, 1509 - January 28, 1547).
Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England

Edward VI became List of English monarchs and King of Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII of England and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first Protestantism ruler....
(January 28, 1547 - July 6, 1553).
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey

Lady Jane Grey , also known as Queen Jane of England, was a claimant to the Kingdom of England and Monarchy of Ireland, who was de facto monarch of England for just over a week in 1553....
(July 10 - July 19, 1553).
Mary I of England
Mary I of England

Mary I , was Queen of England and Monarchy of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived half brother, Edward VI of England, to the English throne....
(July 19, 1553 - January 7, 1558).

Rest of Tudor Claimants

Ill feeling between the two nations continued well into the 16th century. Calais was captured by French troops under Francis, Duke of Guise

Francis, Duke of Guise

Francis II, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Duke of Aumale , called Balafr? , was a France soldier and politician....
on January 7, 1558. Mary would continue, however, to be styled Queen of France for the rest of her reign, as did her half-sister and successor Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was List of English monarchs and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the House of Tudor....
, despite her abandonment of her claims to Calais in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis of 1559.

Mary I of England
Mary I of England

Mary I , was Queen of England and Monarchy of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived half brother, Edward VI of England, to the English throne....
(January 7 - November 17, 1558)
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was List of English monarchs and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the House of Tudor....
(November 17, 1558 - March 24, 1603)

The Stuart dynasty claimants

Elizabeth died childless. Her successor was her cousin, James VI of Scotland

James I of England

James VI and I was List of monarchs of Scotland as James VI, and List of English monarchs and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Kingdom of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary I of Scotland....
. The thrones of England and Scotland were joined in a personal union

Personal union

A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states are governed by the same monarch, while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct....
until 1707. The seven monarchs of this period would continue to use the style King/Queen of France. Their claim was however merely nominal. None of them was willing to engage in military campaigns for France against the actual Kings of France

List of French monarchs

The monarchs of France ruled, first as kings and later as emperors , from the Middle Ages to 1870. There is some disagreement as to when France came into existence....
Henry IV

Henry IV of France

Henry de Bourbon, , ruled as Henry III, List of Navarrese monarchs, from 1572 to 1610, and as Henry IV, List of French monarchs, from 1589 to 1610....
, Louis XIII

Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII reigned as List of French monarchs and List of Navarrese monarchs from 1610 to 1643....
and Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV ruled as List of French monarchs and of King of Navarre. He ascended the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his prime minister , the Italians Jules Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661....
. Indeed, Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
married a sister of Louis XIII, and his son Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was the Monarchy of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland.His father Charles I of England Regicide#The regicide of Charles I of England at Palace of Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War....
, spent much of his exile during the Interregnum

Interregnum

An interregnum is a period of discontinuity of a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next , and the concepts of interregnum and Regent therefore overlap....
in France:

James I of England and VI of Scotland
James I of England

James VI and I was List of monarchs of Scotland as James VI, and List of English monarchs and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Kingdom of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary I of Scotland....
(March 24, 1603 - March 27, 1625).
Charles I of England and Scotland
Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
(March 27, 1625 - January 30, 1649).
Charles II of England and Scotland
Charles II of England

Charles II was the Monarchy of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland.His father Charles I of England Regicide#The regicide of Charles I of England at Palace of Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War....
(January 30, 1649 - February 6, 1685).
James II of England and VII of Scotland
James II of England

James II and VII was List of English monarchs, List of Scottish monarchs, and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685. He was the last Roman Catholic Church monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
(February 6, 1685 - February 12, 1689).
Mary II of England and Scotland
Mary II of England

Mary II reigned as List of English monarchs, List of Scottish monarchs, and King of Ireland from 1689 until her death. Mary, a Protestantism, came to the thrones following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of her Roman Catholic father, James II of England....
(February 13, 1689 - December 28, 1694).
William III of England and II of Scotland
William III of England

William III was a Prince of Orange by birth. From 1672 onwards, he governed as List_of_stadtholders_for_the_Low_Countries_provinces William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic....
(February 13, 1689 - March 8, 1702).
Anne of England and Scotland
Anne of Great Britain

Anne became Queen of England, Queen of Scots and Kingdom of Ireland on 8 March 1702, succeeding her brother-in-law, William III of England. Her Roman Catholic father, James II of England, was Glorious Revolution in 1688/9; her brother-in-law and her sister then became joint monarchs as William III & II and Mary II of England, the only such c...
(March 8, 1702 - May 1, 1707).

The claimants of Great Britain

The Act of Union 1707 declared the joining of the Kingdom of England

Kingdom of England

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
to a new Kingdom of Great Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a country in North-West Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801....
. The Kingdom would have four Monarchs until 1801. They would also style themselves Queen/King of France. However none of them actually questioned the rights of Louis XIV and his successors Louis XV

Louis XV of France

Louis XV ruled as List of French monarchs and of List of Navarrese monarchs from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774. Coming to the throne at the age of five, Louis reigned until 15 February 1723, the date of his thirteenth birthday, with the aid of the R?gence, Philippe II, Duke of Orl?ans, his Cousin, thereafter taking formal p...
, Louis XVI

Louis XVI of France

Louis XVI or Louis-Auguste de France ruled as List of French monarchs of France and of List of Navarrese monarchs from 1774 until 1791, and then as Popular monarchy from 1791 to 1792....
, Louis XVII

Louis XVII of France

Louis XVII of France, also Louis VI of Navarre , from birth to 1789 known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy; then from 1789 to 1791 as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France of Viennois; and from 1791 to 1793 as Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France, was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette of Austria....
and Louis XVIII

Louis XVIII of France

Louis XVIII , Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of list of French monarchs and List of Navarrese monarchs. The brother of Louis XVI of France, and uncle of Louis XVII of France, he ruled the kingdom from 1814 until his death in 1824, with a brief break in 1815 due to his flight from Napoleon I of France during the Hundred Da...
:

Anne of Great Britain
Anne of Great Britain

Anne became Queen of England, Queen of Scots and Kingdom of Ireland on 8 March 1702, succeeding her brother-in-law, William III of England. Her Roman Catholic father, James II of England, was Glorious Revolution in 1688/9; her brother-in-law and her sister then became joint monarchs as William III & II and Mary II of England, the only such c...
(May 1, 1707 - August 1, 1714).
George I of Great Britain
George I of Great Britain

George I was List of British Monarchs#House of Hanover and King of Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of Electorate of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
(August 1, 1714 - June 11, 1727).
George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain

George II was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-L?neburg and Prince-elector#High Offices and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death....
(June 11, 1727 - October 25, 1760).
George III of Great Britain (October 25, 1760 - January 1, 1801).

Ending the claim

The Kingdom of France itself had been abolished on September 21, 1792, replaced by the French First Republic

French First Republic

The French First Republic was founded on 22 September, 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon....
. There was no longer a kingdom of France at all.

In July 1797, during the peace negotiations at the Conference of Lille, the French delegates demanded that the King of Great Britain abandon the title of King of France as a condition of peace. The negotiations were broken off in November, 1797.

The Act of Union 1800

Act of Union 1800

The phrase Act of Union 1800 is used to describe two complementary Acts whose official United Kingdom titles are the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and the Act of Union 1800 ,...
declared the joining of the Kingdom of Great Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a country in North-West Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801....
with the Kingdom of Ireland

Kingdom of Ireland

The Kingdom of Ireland was the name given to the Irish state from 1541, by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 of the Parliament of Ireland. It was based on the contested legitimacy of the right of conquest....
to a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927....
. George III chose to drop his claim to the French Throne, whereupon the fleur de lis, part of the coat of arms

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
of all claimant Kings of France since the time of Edward III, was also removed from the British royal arms. Britain recognised the French Republic by the Treaty of Amiens

Treaty of Amiens

The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended the hostilities between France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the French Revolutionary Wars....
of 1802.

The change was not acknowledged by then current Jacobite claimant

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the House of Stuart kings to the thrones of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
Henry Benedict Stuart

Henry Benedict Stuart

Henry Benedict Cardinal Stuart was the fourth and final Jacobitism heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne....
. He continued to formally style himself 'King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland' until his death on July 13, 1807, although he was normally called the Cardinal-Duke of York in everyday usage.

The Jacobite pretenders

The Jacobite

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the House of Stuart kings to the thrones of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
pretender

Pretender

A pretender is a claimant to an abolished throne or to a throne already occupied by somebody else. The English word :wikt:pretend comes from the French word pr?tendre, meaning "to put forward, to profess or claim"....
s were James II of England and his successors, continuing to be styled "Kings of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland" past their deposition in 1689. All four pretenders continued to actively claim the title King of France as well as that of King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1689 till 1807:

James II and VII
James II of England

James II and VII was List of English monarchs, List of Scottish monarchs, and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685. He was the last Roman Catholic Church monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
(February 12, 1689 – September 16, 1701).
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart

Prince James, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England. As such, he claimed the English, Scottish and Irish thrones from the death of his father in 1701, when he was proclaimed king of England, Scotland and Ireland by his cousin Louis XIV of France....
(September 16, 1701 – January 1, 1766), styled James III and VIII, also known as the Chevalier de St. George or as the Old Pretender.
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart

Charles Edward Stuart was the exiled Jacobitism claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland. He is commonly known in English and Scots language as Bonnie Prince Charlie....
(January 1, 1766 – January 31, 1788), styled Charles III, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Chevalier, or as the Young Pretender.
Henry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart

Henry Benedict Cardinal Stuart was the fourth and final Jacobitism heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne....
(January 31, 1788 – July 13, 1807), styled Henry IX and I.

Several of these pretenders, notably James II for the last 12 years of his life and his son, the Old Pretender, until the Treaty of Utrecht

Treaty of Utrecht

The Treaty of Utrecht that established the Peace of Utrecht, rather than a single document, comprises a series of individual peace treaty signed in the Dutch Republic city of Utrecht in March and April 1713....
in 1713, were actually pensioners of Louis XIV at the very time they were claiming his title.

The Jacobite successors

The Jacobite succession has continued since 1807 but none of eight recent pretenders has actively pursued his/her claims. They continue to be customarily known as "King (or Queen) of France" by the tiny number of Jacobites.

Ex-King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia
Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia

Charles Emmanuel IV was Kingdom of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802....
(July 13, 1807 – October 6, 1819), who was descended from the youngest daughter of Charles I
Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
.
King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia

File:Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia.jpgVictor Emmanuel I was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont , and Aosta, and King of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821....
(October 6, 1819 – January 10, 1824), his brother.
Maria Beatrice, Princess of Sardinia and later by marriage Duchess of Modena
Modena

Modena is a city and a comune on the south side of the Padan Plain, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and...
(January 10, 1824 – September 15, 1840), his daughter.
Francis V, Duke of Modena
Francis V, Duke of Modena

Francis V of Modena , was Duke of Modena from 1846 to 1875. He was the eldest son of Francis IV of Modena and of Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy....
(September 15, 1840 – November 20, 1875), her son.
Maria Theresia, Princess of Modena and later Queen consort
Queen consort

A queen consort is the title given to the wife of a reigning Monarch. Queens consort usually share their husbands' Royal and noble ranks and hold the feminine equivalent of their husbands' monarchical titles....
of Bavaria
Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
(November 20, 1875 – February 3, 1919), his niece.
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria

Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria or Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria was the last Bavarian Crown Prince.His full title was His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine....
(February 3, 1919 – August 2, 1955), her son.
Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria

Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine , was the son of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria....
(August 2, 1955 – July 8, 1996), his son.
Franz, Duke of Bavaria
Franz, Duke of Bavaria

'Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern' , styled as Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the King of Bavaria....
(July 8, 1996 – ), his son.

Failed claimants

In addition two failed claimants to the throne of England were also styled King of France. They are usually omitted from regnal lists.

Lambert Simnel
Lambert Simnel

Lambert Simnel was a child pretender to the throne of England. He and Perkin Warbeck were two impostors who threatened the rule of Henry VII of England during the last part of the 15th century....
, impersonating Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick

Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick and 7th Earl of Salisbury was the son of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and a potential claimant to the English throne during the reigns of both Richard III of England and his successor, Henry VII of England ....
. Styled "Edward VI, King of England and France" ("reign" May 24 - June 16, 1487). Captured in the Battle of Stoke Field
Battle of Stoke Field

The Battle of Stoke Field took place in England on 16 June, 1487. It is often considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was to be the last engagement in which a King of Wales faced an army of Yorkist supporters, under the pretender Lambert Simnel....
by Henry VII.
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth

James Crofts, later James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and 1st Duke of Buccleuch Privy Council of England , was an English nobleman. He was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the illegitimate son of Charles II of England and his Mistress , Lucy Walter, who had followed him into continental exile after the execution of Charles II's fat...
. Styled "King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland" ("reign" June 20 - July 6, 1685). Captured in the Battle of Sedgemoor
Battle of Sedgemoor

The Battle of Sedgemoor was fought on 6 July 1685 and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerset, England....
by James II/James VII.

Dominion of Canada

The coat of arms of the Dominion of Canada contains the French fleur-de-lis, which was removed from the British sovereign's arms in 1801. This, however, is merely an acknowlegment of the French heritage of Canada, especially of its province of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
, and is not an indication of pretense to the French throne.

English claims to the French throne

Hundred Years' War

The original claimants

"Kings of France" (1340)

"Kings of France" (title resumed 1369)

Kings of France (de facto) (1422)

Rulers of Calais

Rest of Tudor Claimants

The Stuart dynasty claimants

The claimants of Great Britain

Ending the claim

The Jacobite pretenders

The Jacobite successors

Failed claimants

Dominion of Canada

See also

External links