King Louis

The name Louis is the most popular name borne by Kings of France - and of various other European rulers, mostly of relatively minor territories and before the 16th century. (You may also like to see AWE's pages on the differences between Lewes, Lewis and Louis‎, Saint Louis and the name Louis.)

There were eighteen fully legitimate Kings of France, who are the subjects of this list. There were also a Louis XIX who may have ruled for 20 minutes, and Napoleon III, a nephew of Napoleon I, elected President in 1848, and taking the throne by a coup d'état in 1851-2, who is often called Louis-Napoleon in English historiography

Name	dynasty	dates of birth & death	nickname	regnal dates	notes
Louis I & H.R. Emperor	Carolingian	778-840	'The Pious' (also 'Fair'; 'Debonair'	814-840 deposed 833-834	Sole surviving son of Charlemagne .
Louis II	Carolingian	846-79	'the Stammerer' (le Bègue	877-9	King of Aquitaine and later West Francia (~ France)
Louis III	Carolingian	863 or 865-882		879-882	2nd s. of Louis II; K of W. Francia
Louis IV	Carolingian	921-54	d'Outremer, Transmarinus (~ 'from overseas')	936-54	Succeeded after a childhood in safety in England
Louis V	Carolingian	967-87	le Fainéant ('the Sluggard')	979-87	Last Carolingian K. of France
Louis VI	Capetian	1081-1137	le Gros or le Batailleur ('the Fat' or 'the Fighter')	1108-37	Warrior who strengthened royal power
Louis VII	Capetian	1120-80	le jeune 'the Young'	1137-80)	2nd s. of Louis VI
Louis VIII	Capetian	1187-1226	'the Lion'	1223-6	Fought a Crusade against the Albigensians also crowned K. Louis I of England (barons' revolt vs John)
Louis IX	Capetian	1214-70	Saint Louis	1226-70	s. of Louis VIII; patron of arts; builder of Sainte-Chapelle to house Crown of Thorns & fragment of True Cross relics
Louis X	Capetian	1289-1316	le Hutin (~ 'the Quarreller', 'Headstrong' 'Stubborn'	1314-16
Louis XI	Valois	1423-83	'the Prudent' (or l'universelle aragne (~ the universal spider')	1461-83	detractors called him 'spider' for his intrigues
Louis XII	Valois	1462-1515	'Father of the people'	1498-1515	nicknamed for his reduction of taxes
Louis XIII	Bourbon	1601-1643	'the Just'	1610-1643	Ruled largely through Cardinal Richelieu; strengthened catholicism in France, reduced the power of the aristocracy and strengthened France against Spain
Louis XIV	Bourbon	1638-1715	'the Great' le roi soleil (~ 'Sun-King')	1643-1715	s. of Louis XIII. The greatest of all the modern French kings
Louis XV	Bourbon	1710-74	le bien aimé (~ 'the Well beloved'	1715-74	grandson of Louis XIV; a disappointing king, whose fiscal exactions may have hastened the French revolution
Louis XVI	Bourbon	1754-93		1774-92	The king guillotined in the French Revolution, along with his wife, Marie Antoinette
Louis XVII	Bourbon	1785-95	-	-	son of Louis XVI, king in name only; died in prison during the Revolution
Louis XVIII	Bourbon	1755-1824	le Désiré (~ the desired')	1814-24) (intermission for the 'Hundred Days'	grandson of Louis XV
[Louis XIX	Bourbon	1775-1844	Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême	02/08/1830 - 02/08/1830	s. of Charles X last Dauphin of France (1824-1830)	Reigned for twenty minutes, then the legitimist pretender as Louis XIX of France and Navarre.
Emperor Napoleon III, often named by English authors Louis Napoleon	Bonaparte	1808-1873	1852-1870		Both the first titular president and the last monarch of France.