This is a family tree of the kings and emperors of Germany. It covers the rulers of East Francia, the medieval German kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire, together with the German Confederation and the German Empire. The chart runs from Charlemagne, crowned emperor in 800, and Louis the German, who took the eastern Frankish kingdom at the partition of Verdun in 843, to Wilhelm II, who abdicated in 1918, and traces the marriages and lines of descent that connected the successive ruling houses.
The royal house names and dates are given at the appropriate places. The dynasties covered are the Carolingians, Widonids, Conradines, Ottonians, Salians, Supplinburger, Hohenstaufen, Welf, Habsburg, Nassau, Luxembourg, Wittelsbach, Lorraine, Habsburg-Lorraine, Bonaparte and Hohenzollern.
Only undisputed kings are included; this excludes rulers whose elections were contested, such as Richard of Cornwall and Alfonso X of Castile, both elected German king in the double election of 1257.
The title of these rulers changed over time. The earliest were kings of East Francia. The description of the kingdom as German (regnum Teutonicorum) emerged only in the eleventh century, and gained force when Gregory VII used it to reduce Henry IV to "merely a German king" during the Investiture Controversy. A king elected but not yet crowned emperor was styled King of the Romans.
Chart
Except where a specific citation is given, the genealogical relationships below follow the standard tables in and the biographies in .
See also Family tree of British monarchs Family tree of French monarchs List of monarchs of Germany
References
Sources