The
monarchs of France ruled from the establishment of the
Kingdom of the Franks in 486 to the fall the
Second French Empire in 1870. The first dynasty of kings was the
Merovingian dynasty, which ruled until 751, followed by the second dynasty, the
Carolingians, until 987 (with some interruptions). The third dynasty, the
Capetians, the male-line descendants of
Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. The branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of
Valois (until 1589) and
Bourbon (until 1848).