Count
Guigues IV of Albon (d. 1142) in
Viennois, within the
Kingdom of Burgundy (Arles), under the
suzerainty of the
Holy Roman Empire, had a
dolphin on his
coat of arms, and was nicknamed
le Dauphin. In time, that nickname came to be used as a title. Since 1285, the title of
Dauphin de Viennois was already in official use by the counts of
Albon, and their domains came to be known as the
Dauphiné. In 1343, a series of negotiations was initiated between dauphin
Humbert II of Viennois and the French king
Philippe VI, regarding the future inheritance of the Dauphiné. Since Humbert had no heirs, it was initially agreed that in exchange for a substantial financial compensation, his domains would pass to king's younger son
Philip, Duke of Orléans, but already in 1344 the provisions were changed by the new agreement, designating king's oldest son and heir
Jean, Duke of Normandy as Humbert's heir in the Dauphiné. By 1349, Humbert decided to relinquish his rule over Dauphiné, and the final agreement was made, designating king's grandson and John's son
Charles as Humbert's successor, on the condition that Dauphiné would remain a distinctive polity, not integrated into the French realm. Thus in the summer of 1349, the young French prince Charles became the first
Dauphin de Viennois from the
House of Valois. In 1350, when his father ascended to the French throne as king John II, Charles became the
heir presumptive and thus for the first time both honors (heir to the French throne and Dauphin de Viennois) were held by the same person. and his son, the Dauphin
Charles de France (later Charles VI). Painted by Claude-Jean Besselièvre . Originally the Dauphin was personally responsible for the rule of the
Dauphiné, which was legally part of the
Holy Roman Empire, and which the emperors, in giving the rule of the province to the French heirs, had stipulated must never be united with France. Because of this, the Dauphiné suffered from anarchy in the 14th and 15th centuries, since the Dauphins were frequently minors or concerned with other matters. During his period as Dauphin, Louis, son of
Charles VII, defied his father by remaining in the province longer than the king permitted and by engaging in personal politics more beneficial to the Dauphiné than to France. For example, he married
Charlotte of Savoy against his father's wishes.
Savoy was a traditional ally of the Dauphiné, and Louis wished to reaffirm that alliance to stamp out rebels and robbers in the province. Louis was driven out of the Dauphiné by Charles VII's soldiers in 1456, leaving the region to fall back into disorder. After his succession as
Louis XI in 1461, Louis united the Dauphiné with France, bringing it under royal control. The title was roughly equivalent to the Spanish
Prince of Asturias, the Portuguese
Prince of Brazil, the English (later British)
Prince of Wales, the Dutch
Prince of Orange, and the Scottish
Duke of Rothesay. The official style of a Dauphin of France, prior to 1461, was
par la grâce de Dieu, dauphin de Viennois, comte de Valentinois et de Diois ("By the Grace of God, Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois"). A Dauphin of France united the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which featured dolphins, with the French
fleurs-de-lis, and might, where appropriate, further unite that with other arms (e.g.
Francis, son of
Francis I, was ruling
Duke of Brittany, so united the arms of that province with the typical arms of a Dauphin;
Francis II, while Dauphin, was also King of Scots by marriage to
Mary I, and added the arms of the
Kingdom of Scotland to those of the Dauphin). The title was automatically conferred upon the next heir apparent to the throne in the direct line upon birth, accession of the parent to the throne or death of the previous Dauphin, unlike the British title
Prince of Wales, which has always been in the gift of the monarch (traditionally conferred upon the heir's 21st birthday). The sons of the King of France held the style and rank of
fils de France (son of France), while male-line grandsons were given the style and rank of
petits-enfants de France (Grandson of France). The sons and grandsons of the Dauphin ranked higher than their cousins, being treated as the king's children and grandchildren respectively. The sons of the Dauphin, though grandsons of the king, were ranked as Sons of France, and the grandsons of the Dauphin ranked as Grandsons of France; other great-grandsons of the king ranked merely as
princes of the blood. The title was abolished by the
Constitution of 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. Under the constitution the heir-apparent to the throne (Dauphin
Louis-Charles at that time) was restyled
Prince Royal (a
Prince of the Blood retitled
prince français), taking effect from the inception of the
Legislative Assembly on 1 October 1791. The title was restored
in potentia under the
Bourbon Restoration of
Louis XVIII, but there would not be another Dauphin until after his death. With the accession of his brother
Charles X, Charles' son and heir
Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême automatically became Dauphin. With the removal of the
Bourbons the title fell into disuse,
Louis Philippe I's heirs (
Ferdinand Philippe and
Philippe of Paris) being titled
Prince Royal. After the death of
Henri, comte de Chambord,
Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the heir of the
legitimist claimant,
Juan, Count of Montizón, made use of the title in
pretense, as have the Spanish legitimist claimants since. == Gallery of Arms ==