"The king is dead, long live the king!" is a traditional proclamation made following the accession of a new monarch in various countries. The seemingly contradictory phrase simultaneously announces th
The phrase "The king is dead, long live the king!" was first declared upon the death of King Charles VI in 1422, proclaiming his son Charles VII (shown above) king of France.
Charles VII of France
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Charles VII, called the Victorious or the Well-Served, was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a de facto end of the English claims to th
The king is dead, long live the king!
…monarch. The original phrase came from Middle French (Le roy est mort, vive le roy!), which was first declared upon the accession to the French throne of Charles VII after the death of his father Charles VI in 1422. The original phrase, now translated into modern French (Le roi est mort, vive le roi!), was first…
A 20th-century illustration depicting Joan of Arc at the coronation of Charles VII with her white flag
Charles VII the Victorious by Antoine-Louis Barye, held in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
Charles VII Royal d'or.