The Great Officers of the Crown of France were the most important officers of state in the French royal court during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the King of France, with all but the Keeper of the Seals being appointments for life. These positions were neither transmissible nor hereditary. During the time of the First French Empire, the equivalent officers were known as the Grand Dignitaries of the French Empire. The Great Officers of the Crown of France should not be confused with the similarly named Great Officers of the Royal Household of France (Grands officiers de la maison du roi de France), which share certain officers, headed by the Grand Master of France.

History

In 1224, Louis VIII legislated that the Great Officers participate, alongside the peers of France, in trials of members of the peers. The military titles, such as Marshal of France, Grand Master of Artillery, and Colonel General, were offices granted to individuals and not military ranks.

Great Officers of the Crown

In the hierarchical order established by Henry III in 1582, the Great Officers of the Crown of France were: In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Secretaries of State were also included with the Great Offices:

Other officers

In addition to the aforementioned Great Officers of the Crown there were several positions of importance that have been considered de facto Great Officers by scholars, and other offices that were created to carry out specific functions of the Great Officers whose list of responsibilities became too cumbersome to perform alone and those offices that acted as direct subordinates to the Great Officers. The 17th century genealogist Père Anselme also included the following as Great Officers: The following offices from the Medieval court are generally considered a posteriori Great Offices, even though the expression, as such, did not exist at the time:

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