After 24 years of war Nguyen Anh finally defeated the Tay Son. In 1802, after unifying the country, Nguyen Anh ascended to the throne calling himself Gia Long. He was also known as The To. He also renamed the country Vietnam and made Phu Xuan or Hue the capital city. King Gia long passed away in 1819, he was 59 years old. His reign lasted 18 years.
Thanh To - Minh Mang (1820-1840)
King Minh Mang ascended to throne in 1820. He was a very intelligent king. He paid
special attention to education and was responsible for the implementation of many
changes in the educational system in Vietnam. The king strictly followed the
eastern philosophy and the teaching of Confucius. Consequently under his reign
many foreign influences such as Catholicism were strictly prohibited. King Minh
Mang passed way in 1840, he was 50 years old. His reign lasted 21 years.
Hien To - Thieu Tri (1841-1847)
In terms of leadership, King Thieu Tri did not rank favorably in history. Many
of the changes that took place in King Ming Mang's reign were left unchanged.
King Thieu Tri had the tendency to leave everything
status quo. Unfortunately, during his reign, Vietnam was beginning to see an increase
in conflicts with foreigners. While negotiating for the release of several
missionaries, the king fell ill and passed away in 1847. He was 37 years old and
his reign lasted 7 years.
Duc Tong - Tu Duc (1847-1883)
Unlike his predecessor, before King Thieu Tri passed away, he named his second
son as his successor. Prince Hong Nham was crowned in 1847 when he was 19 years
old. King Tu Duc's reign was quite important in Vietnam's history since it was
during this time that Vietnam went under the control of France. The country was
struggling with this change and began to experience some strains
under French rule. It was during this tumultuous time that the king passed away
in 1883. He was 55 years old and his reign lasted 36 years.
Duc Duc (1883)
King Duc Duc became king at the time when both the country and the monarchy was at an extreme crisis. When king Tu Duc passed away, he did not have any heir to the throne. Nguyen Phuoc Ung Chan, a nephew, was adopted by king Tu Duc when he was 2 years old. When King Tu Duc passed away, Ung Chan was 32. He was crowned king under a lot of controversies as the court was divided, one side under French influence and the other wanting to go with what was considered heaven's mandate. Duc Duc was dethroned three days after he was crowned. He was then jailed and died seven days later of starvation.
Hiep Hoa (1883)
King Hiep Hoa was the brother of King Tu Duc. He was on the throne a total of four months before he was forced to take poison to end his life. This chaos was often referred to in Vietnamese as, "tu nguyet tam vuong" or "four moons three kings". During this period, control of the country was held by two extremely powerful mandarins, Mr. Ton That Thuyet, and Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong. One had control over the army and the other had control over the rest of the other mandarins.
Kien Phuc (1883-1884)
King Tu Duc had three adopted sons. Duong Thien was the third and youngest. When all the conflicts were occurring, he was considered too young to be king so even though he was king Tu Duc's choice, the king's will was changed by T.T. Thuyet and N. V. Tuong to make Hiep Hoa King. When these two found that Hiep Hoa may actually pose a threat to their power, they had him killed and made Duong Thien king. King Kien Phuc was crowned in October of 1883 when he was 15 years old. Due to ailments, the king was only on the throne for 6 months when he too passed away in 1884.
Ham Nghi (1884-1885)
When king Kien Phuc passed away, the proper protocol would have been to make Chanh Mong, King Tu Duc's second adopted son, king. However, Tuong and Thuyet did not want an adult on the throne for fear of loosing power. Instead, they opted to make Ung Lich, the younger brother of Chanh Mong, king. King Ham Nghi was crowned in 1885 when he was only 12 years old. While the country and the monarchy was being controlled by the French, the king left Hue to join the resistance. The French made Chanh Mong (Dong Khanh) king and sought to capture Ham Nghi. The king was finally caught and sent to Algeria. The king lived in exile for the rest of his life.
Dong Khanh (1885-1889)
While king Ham Nghi was joining the resistance, the French made Chanh Mong, his
older brother, king. Chanh Mong was pro-French and was easily manipulated. On
January 28, 1889 (dates varies in different sources), the king suddenly fell ill
and passed away. He was 25 years old.
Thanh Thai (1889-1907)
After the passing of king Dong Khanh, the French, under the direction of Mr.
Rheinard, crowned Buu Lan, King. Buu Lan was the ten years old son of King Duc
Duc, who was at the time imprisoned with his mother in Hue. Although, he was a
young man, the king was very independent. He was born out of a patriotic mold and
throughout his reign demonstrated his displeasure of the French. His resistance
to control, finally caused him to be exiled to Africa.
Duy Tan (1907-1916)
After the exile of Thanh Thai, the French brought yet another child to the throne. They made prince Vinh San king when he was only 8 years old. As he grew he became just as patriotic as his father. To the French, he became just as stubborn as his father, so in 1916, king Duy Tan was sent to Reunion island on the coast of Africa.
Khai Dinh (1916-1925)
The French made the son of King Dong Khanh king after Duy Tan's exile. By this time, King Khai Dinh was effectively a puppet to the French government. He was on the throne for a total of 9 years and passed away on November 6, 1925.
Bao Dai (1926-1945)
Prince Vinh Thuy was crowned in 1926 when he was only 9 years old. He became the thirteenth king in the Nguyen Dynasty and the last emperor of Vietnam. In 1945, after the French lost control of Indochina to Japan, and Japan's subsequent defeat in World War II, control of Vietnam returned to the Vietnamese people. King Bao Dai abdicated the throne on August 19, 1945 effectively ending the monarchy. Today, the king lives with his family in France.