poher empereur millerand napoleon.org auriol conservateur series.org robertians bonapartists doumer doumergue bosonids trochu capet fallières dufaure cavaignac napoléon l'eure perier tardieu napoleons carloman bidault sénat rouvier gouin dupuy loubet marsal
who crowned himself as an emperor of france in 1804
Emperor of the French - wikipedia Emperor of the French <Th_colspan="2"> Emperor of the French <Td_colspan="2"> Empereur des Français <Td_colspan="2"> Imperial <Td_colspan="2"> Imperial Coat of arms <Th_colspan="2"> <Td_colspan="2"> Last to reign Napoleon III 2 December 1852 -- 4 September 1870 <Th_colspan="2"> <Th_colspan="2"> Details Style His Imperial Majesty First monarch Napoleon I Last monarch Napoleon III Formation 18 May 1804 2 December 1852 Abolition 22 June 1815 4 September 1870 Residence Tuileries Palace , Paris Pretender ( s ) Jean - Christophe Napoléon The Four Napoleons Emperor of the French ( French : Empereur des Français ) was the title used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon Bonaparte was given the title of Emperor on 18 May 1804 by the French Senate and was crowned emperor of the French on 2 December 1804 at the cathedral of Notre - Dame de Paris , in Paris , with the Crown of Napoleon . The title emphasized that the emperor ruled over `` the French people '' ( the nation ) and not over France ( the republic ) . The old formula of `` King of France '' indicated that the king owned France as a personal possession . The new term indicated a constitutional monarchy . The title was purposely created to preserve the appearance of the French Republic and to show that after the French Revolution , the feudal system was abandoned and a nation state was created , with equal citizens as the subjects of their emperor . ( After 1 January 1809 , the state was officially referred to as the French Empire . ) The title of `` Emperor of the French '' was supposed to demonstrate that Napoleon 's coronation was not a restoration of monarchy , but an introduction of a new political system : the French Empire . Napoleon 's reign lasted until 22 June 1815 , when he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo , exiled and imprisoned on the island of Saint Helena , where he died on 5 May 1821 . His reign was interrupted by the Bourbon Restoration of 1814 and his own exile to Elba , from where he escaped less than a year later to reclaim the throne , reigning as Emperor for another 94 days before his defeat and final exile . Less than a year after the French coup d'état of 1851 by Napoleon 's nephew Louis - Napoléon Bonaparte , which ended in the successful dissolution of the French National Assembly , the Second French Republic was transformed into the Second French Empire , established by a referendum on 7 November 1852 . President Louis - Napoléon Bonaparte , elected by the French people , officially became Napoleon III , Emperor of the French , from the symbolic and historic date of 2 December 1852 . His reign continued until 4 September 1870 , after he was captured at the Battle of Sedan during the Franco - Prussian War . He subsequently went into exile in England , where he died on 9 January 1873 . Since the early death in 1879 of Napoleon III 's only son , Louis Napoléon , the House of Bonaparte has had a number of claimants to the French throne . The current claimant is Charles , Prince Napoléon , who became head of the House of Bonaparte on 3 May 1997 . His position is challenged by his son , Jean - Christophe , Prince Napoléon , who was named as heir in his late grandfather 's testament . Contents 1 Full titles 1.1 Napoleon I 1.2 Napoleon II 1.3 Napoleon III 2 French Empire ( 1804 -- 1814 ) 3 French Empire ( Hundred Days , 1815 ) 4 French Empire ( 1852 -- 1870 ) 5 See also 6 References Full titles ( edit ) The Emperors of the French had various titles and claims that reflected the geographic expanse and diversity of the lands ruled by the House of Bonaparte . Napoleon I ( edit ) His Imperial and Royal Majesty Napoleon I , By the Grace of God and the Constitution of the Republic , Emperor of the French , King of Italy , Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine , Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Co-Prince of Andorra . Napoleon II ( edit ) His Imperial Majesty Napoleon II , By the Grace of God and the Constitution of the Republic , Emperor of the French and Co-Prince of Andorra . Napoleon III ( edit ) His Imperial Majesty Napoleon III , By the Grace of God and the will of the Nation , Emperor of the French and Co-Prince of Andorra . French Empire ( 1804 -- 1814 ) ( edit ) Main article : First French Empire Name Lifespan Reign start Reign end Notes Family Image Napoleon I the Great ( 1769 - 08 - 15 ) 15 August 1769 -- 5 May 1821 ( 1821 - 05 - 05 ) ( aged 51 ) 18 May 1804 11 April 1814 -- Bonaparte French Empire ( Hundred Days , 1815 ) ( edit ) Main article : Hundred Days Regarded as a continuation of the First French Empire despite the brief exile of the Emperor Napoleon I Name Lifespan Reign start Reign end Notes Family Image Napoleon I the Great ( 1769 - 08 - 15 ) 15 August 1769 -- 5 May 1821 ( 1821 - 05 - 05 ) ( aged 51 ) 20 March 1815 22 June 1815 -- Bonaparte Napoleon II ( 1811 - 03 - 20 ) 20 March 1811 -- 22 July 1832 ( 1832 - 07 - 22 ) ( aged 21 ) 22 June 1815 7 July 1815 Son of Napoleon I Bonaparte French Empire ( 1852 -- 1870 ) ( edit ) Main article : Second French Empire Name Lifespan Reign start Reign end Notes Family Image Napoleon III ( 1808 - 04 - 20 ) 20 April 1808 -- 9 January 1873 ( 1873 - 01 - 09 ) ( aged 64 ) 2 December 1852 4 September 1870 Nephew of Napoleon I Cousin of Napoleon II Bonaparte See also ( edit ) Crown of Napoleon French Crown Jewels List of French consorts List of French monarchs References ( edit ) Jump up ^ Thierry , Lentz . `` The Proclamation of Empire by the Sénat Conservateur '' . napoleon.org . Fondation Napoléon . Retrieved 15 August 2014 . Jump up ^ Philip Dwyer , Citizen Emperor : Napoleon in Power ( 2013 ) p 129 Jump up ^ http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/legislation/c_republic.html Jump up ^ http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/napoleon.htm#naptitles Jump up ^ From 22 June to 7 July 1815 , Bonapartists considered Napoleon II as the legitimate heir to the throne , his father having abdicated in his favor . However , the young child 's reign was entirely fictional , as he was residing in Austria with his mother . Louis XVIII was reinstalled as king on 7 July . <Th_colspan="2"> Heads of state of France <Td_colspan="2"> Styled President of the Republic after 1871 , except from 1940 to 1944 ( Chief of State ) and 1944 to 1947 ( Chairman of the Provisional Government ) . Detailed monarch family tree Simplified monarch family tree Carolingians , Robertians and Bosonids ( 751 -- 987 ) Charles II Louis II Louis III Carloman II Charles the Fat Odo Charles III Robert I Rudolph Louis IV Lothair Louis V House of Capet ( 987 -- 1328 ) Hugh Capet Robert II Henry I Philip I Louis VI Louis VII Philip II Louis VIII Louis IX Philip III Philip IV Louis X John I Philip V Charles IV House of Valois ( 1328 -- 1589 ) Philip VI John II Charles V Charles VI Charles VII Louis XI Charles VIII Louis XII Francis I Henry II Francis II Charles IX Henry III House of Lancaster ( 1422 -- 1453 ) Henry VI of England House of Bourbon ( 1589 -- 1792 ) Henry IV Louis XIII Louis XIV Louis XV Louis XVI Louis XVII First Republic ( 1792 -- 1804 ) National Convention Directory Consulate First Empire ( 1804 -- 1815 ) Napoleon I Napoleon II Bourbon Restoration ( 1815 -- 1830 ) Louis XVIII Charles X Louis XIX Henry V July Monarchy ( 1830 -- 1848 ) Louis Philippe I Second Republic ( 1848 -- 1852 ) Jacques - Charles Dupont de l'Eure Executive Commission Louis - Eugène Cavaignac Louis - Napoléon Bonaparte Second Empire ( 1852 -- 1870 ) Napoleon III Government of National Defense ( 1870 -- 1871 ) Louis - Jules Trochu Third Republic ( 1871 -- 1940 ) Adolphe Thiers Patrice de Mac - Mahon Jules Armand Dufaure * Jules Grévy Maurice Rouvier * Sadi Carnot Charles Dupuy * Jean Casimir - Perier Charles Dupuy * Félix Faure Charles Dupuy * Émile Loubet Armand Fallières Raymond Poincaré Paul Deschanel Alexandre Millerand Frédéric François - Marsal * Gaston Doumergue Paul Doumer André Tardieu * Albert Lebrun Vichy France ( 1940 -- 1944 ) Philippe Pétain Provisional Government ( 1944 -- 1947 ) Charles de Gaulle Félix Gouin Georges Bidault Vincent Auriol Léon Blum Fourth Republic ( 1947 -- 1958 ) Vincent Auriol René Coty Fifth Republic ( 1958 -- present ) Charles de Gaulle Alain Poher * Georges Pompidou Alain Poher * Valéry Giscard d'Estaing François Mitterrand Jacques Chirac Nicolas Sarkozy François Hollande Emmanuel Macron <Td_colspan="2"> Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics . Acting heads of state are denoted by an asterisk * . Millerand held the presidency in an acting capacity before being fully elected . Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emperor_of_the_French&oldid=854702569 '' Categories : Lists of French people French titles of nobility French emperors Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from February 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Esperanto Français 한국어 Íslenska Italiano Latina Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Українська 中文 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 13 August 2018 , at 05 : 51 ( UTC ) . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply . By using this site , you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation , Inc. , a non-profit organization . About Wikipedia