View source for Emperor of the French

{{short description|Monarchical title of Napoleon I to III}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox former monarchy
| border            = imperial
| royal_title       = Emperor
| realm             = the French
| native_name       = ''Empereur des Français''
| coatofarms        = File:Grandes Armes Impériales (1804-1815)2.svg
| coatofarmscaption = '''[[National emblem of France|Imperial coat of arms]]'''
| image             = Napoleon in Coronation Robes by François Gérard.jpg
| caption           = '''First to Reign'''<br />[[Napoleon]] I<br>18 May 1804 – 22 June 1815
| first_monarch     = [[Napoleon]] I
| last_monarch      = [[Napoleon III]]
| style             = [[Imperial Majesty (style)|His Imperial Majesty]]
| residence         = [[Tuileries Palace]], [[Élysée Palace|Elysée-Napoléon]], [[Paris]]
| appointer         = 
| began             = 18 May 1804<br />2 December 1852
<!-- | ended             = 22 June 1815<br />4 September 1870 -->
| pretender         = [[Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon|Jean-Christophe Napoléon]]
}}
'''Emperor of the French''' ([[French language|French]]: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the [[monarch]] and supreme ruler of the [[First French Empire]] and the [[Second French Empire]]. The emperor of France was an [[absolute monarch]].

==Details==
[[File:The Four Napoleons.jpg|thumb|"''The Four Napoleons''", 1858 propaganda image depicting [[Napoleon|Napoleon I]], [[Napoleon II]], [[Napoleon III]], and [[Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial|Louis-Napoléon]]]]
After rising to power by the [[Coup of 18 Brumaire]] in 1799 and ending the [[French Revolution]], [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] was proclaimed Emperor on 18 May 1804 by the [[Sénat conservateur|Senate]].  He [[Coronation of Napoleon|crowned]] himself as Emperor of the French on 2 December 1804 at the cathedral of [[Notre-Dame de Paris]], with the [[Crown of Napoleon]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thierry |first1=Lentz |title=The Proclamation of Empire by the {{lang|fr|Sénat Conservateur|nocat=y}} |url=http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/articles/files/lentz_proclamation.asp |website=napoleon.org |publisher=Fondation Napoléon |access-date=15 August 2014 }}</ref>

The title of "Emperor of the French" was supposed to demonstrate that Napoleon's coronation was not a restoration of the monarchy, but an introduction of a new political system: the French Empire. The title emphasized that the emperor governed over "the French people" (the nation) with their consent, did not rule over France (the state), and was an office under the [[French First Republic|French Republic]] similar to the previous office of [[French Consulate|First Consul]]. The old formula of "[[List of French monarchs|King of France]]" indicated that the king owned France as a personal possession. The new term indicated a [[constitutional monarchy]].<ref>Philip Dwyer, ''Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power'' (2013) p 129</ref> 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 governed by their emperor. "Emperor" also harkened back to the [[Roman Republic]] title of [[Imperator]], as a magistrate who exercised [[Imperium]] or command, especially over an army. This emphasized Napoleon as [[Chief magistrate|Chief Magistrate]] and [[Commander-in-chief|Commander-in-Chief]] elected by the citizens.  

The creation and taking of the high title "[[emperor]]" also emphasized that the will of the citizens of France was equal in sovereignty to anyone's, especially to what had been until this time the highest sovereignty in the Western world: the [[Holy Roman Emperor|(Holy) Roman Emperor]], who claimed continuity with the ancient Roman Emperors, and whose coronation by the [[Pope]] was used to claim authority by divine right.

It was only after 1 January 1809 that the state was officially referred to as the [[First French Empire|French Empire]] and not the French Republic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/legislation/c_republic.html|title=Decree upon the Term, French Republic|website=napoleon-series.org}}</ref>

Napoleon I'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 in France|Bourbon Restoration]] of 1814 and his exile to [[Elba]], from which he escaped less than a year later to reclaim the throne, reigning as Emperor for another [[Hundred Days|111 days]] before his final defeat and exile.

The second period of empire began not even 50 years later.  Less than a year after the [[1851 French coup d'état]] by Napoleon's nephew [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte]] (which ended in the dissolution of the [[National Assembly (France)|French National Assembly]]), the [[French Second Republic]] was transformed into the Second French Empire, established by a [[1852 French Second Empire referendum|referendum]] on 7 November 1852. President Bonaparte, who had been elected as such by the French people, officially became Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, from 2 December 1852. This date was chosen for its symbolic and historical importance: on 2 December, 48 years earlier, his uncle had been crowned as the first emperor of the first empire.  

Napoleon III's rule would ''de facto'' end on 28 July 1870, when his power as head of state was transferred to his wife and regent [[Eugénie de Montijo|Eugenie de Montijo]]; she would substantively rule, as empress regent of the French, while Napoleon III was overseas with his army. Formally, Napoleon III's time as emperor—and thus his wife's time as empress regent—ended on 4 September 1870, when he was officially deposed after his defeat and capture at the [[Battle of Sedan]] during the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. In March 1871, he was released from Prussian custody and exiled to [[Chislehurst]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], where the former emperor died on 9 January 1873.

Since the death of Napoleon III's only son, [[Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial|Louis-Napoléon]], in 1879, 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. Charles' claim is challenged by his own son, [[Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon]], who was named as heir in his [[Louis, Prince Napoléon|late grandfather's]] testament.

==Honours==
Among the honours Napoleon I instituted or received were:
* {{flag|First French Empire}}: Grand Master of the [[Legion of Honour]]
* {{flag|First French Empire}}: Grand Master of the [[Order of the Reunion]]
* {{flag|Napoleonic Italy|name=Kingdom of Italy}}: Grand Master of the [[Order of the Iron Crown (Kingdom of Italy)|Order of the Iron Crown]]
* {{flag|Austrian Empire}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary|Order of St. Stephen]], 1810<ref>[http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm "A Szent István Rend tagjai"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}: Knight of the [[Order of Saint Hubert|Order of St. Hubert]], 1805<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iy1RAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA27|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1812|publisher=Landesamt|year=1812|page=27}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Denmark}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Elephant]], 18 May 1808<ref name="Berlien1846">{{cite book|author=J ..... -H ..... -Fr ..... Berlien|url=https://archive.org/details/derelephantenor00berlgoog|title=Der Elephanten-Orden und seine Ritter|publisher=Berling|year=1846|pages=[https://archive.org/details/derelephantenor00berlgoog/page/n158 122]–124}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Portugal|1750}}: Grand Cross of the [[Sash of the Three Orders]], 8 May 1805<ref name="Vicente">{{cite journal|last1=Bragança|first1=Jose Vicente de|date=2011|title=A Evolução da Banda das Três Ordens Militares (1789–1826)|trans-title=The Evolution of the Band of the Three Military Orders (1789–1826)|url=http://revistas.lis.ulusiada.pt/index.php/lh/article/download/1560/1673|journal=Lusíada História|language=pt|volume=2|page=272|issn=0873-1330|number=8}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Black Eagle]], 1805<ref>''Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler'' (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" [https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10362193?page=25 p. 15]</ref>
* {{flag|Russian Empire}}: Knight of the [[Order of St. Andrew]], July 1807<ref>{{cite book|author=Sergey Semenovich Levin|title=Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-called (1699–1917). Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine (1714–1917)|year=2003|publication-place=Moscow|chapter=Lists of Knights and Ladies}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of Spain (1760–1785).svg}} [[Enlightenment in Spain|Kingdom of Spain]]: Knight of the [[Order of the Golden Fleece]], 1805<ref>{{citation|title=Caballeros Existentes en la Insignie Orden del Toyson de Oro|date=1806|url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000927700&search=&lang=es|journal=Calendario manual y guía de forasteros en Madrid|page=41|language=es|access-date=17 March 2020}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|Svensk flagg 1815.svg}} [[Sweden|Kingdom of Sweden]]: Knight of the [[Order of the Seraphim]], 3 February 1811<ref>{{cite book|author=Per Nordenvall|title=Kungliga Serafimerorden: 1748–1998|year=1998|isbn=91-630-6744-7|publication-place=Stockholm|language=sv|chapter=Kungl. Maj:ts Orden}}</ref>

==List of emperors==
===First French Empire===
{{main|First French Empire}}
{{Succession table monarch
| image1      = Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries - Google Art Project (3x4 close cropped).jpg
| alt1        = Napoleon I of France
| name1       = '''[[Napoleon]]'''
| nickname1   = the Great
| native1     = 
| life1       = {{Birth date|1769|8|15|df=yes}} – {{Death date and age|1821|5|5|1769|8|15|df=yes}}
| reignstart1 = 18 May 1804
| reignend1   = 6 April 1814<br />(''{{ayd|1804|05|18|1814|04|06}}'')
| notes1      = —
| family1     = [[House of Bonaparte|Bonaparte]]
}}

===Hundred Days===
{{main|Hundred Days}}

''Regarded as a continuation of the First French Empire despite the brief exile of the Emperor Napoleon I''
{{Succession table monarch
| image1      = Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries - Google Art Project (3x4 close cropped).jpg
| alt1        = Napoleon I of France
| name1       = Napoleon
| nickname1   = the Great
| native1     = 
| life1       = {{Birth date|1769|8|15|df=yes}} – {{Death date and age|1821|5|5|1769|8|15|df=yes}}
| reignstart1 = 20 March 1815
| reignend1   = 22 June 1815<br />(''{{ayd|1815|03|22|1815|06|22}}'')
| notes1      = —
| family1     = Bonaparte
| image2      = Le duc de Reichstadt (3x4 cropped).jpg
| alt2        = Napoleon II of France
| name2       = '''[[Napoleon II]]'''<br /><ref>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.</ref>
| nickname2   = the Eaglet 
| native2     = 
| life2       = {{Birth date|1811|3|20|df=yes}} – {{Death date and age|1832|7|22|1811|3|20|df=yes}}
| reignstart2 = 22 June 1815
| reignend2   = 7 July 1815<br />(''{{ayd|1815|06|22|1815|07|7}}'')
| notes2      = Son of Napoleon I
| family2     = Bonaparte
}}

===Second French Empire===
{{main|Second French Empire}}

{{Succession table monarch
| image1      = Napoléon III par Jean Hippolyte Flandrin (3x4 cropped).jpg
| alt1        = Napoleon III of France
| name1       = '''[[Napoleon III]]'''
| nickname1   =
| native1     = 
| life1       = {{Birth date|1808|4|20|df=y}} – {{Death date and age|1873|1|09|1808|4|20|df=yes}}
| reignstart1 = 2 December 1852
| reignend1   = 4 September 1870<br />(''{{ayd|1852|12|2|1870|09|04}}'')
| notes1      = Nephew of Napoleon I<br/>Cousin of Napoleon II<br/>Grandson of [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Empress Joséphine]]
| family1     = Bonaparte
}}

==See also==
* [[Crown of Napoleon]]
* [[French Crown Jewels]]
* [[List of French royal consorts|List of French consorts]]
* [[List of French monarchs]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Monarchs of France}}

[[Category:Emperors of the French| ]]
[[Category:French titles of nobility]]
[[Category:Lists of French people|Emperor]]