Constable of France The Constable of France ( , from Latin " comes stabuli " for ' count of the stables ' ) , as the First Officer of the Crown , was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France ( along with seneschal , chamberlain , butler , and chancellor ) and Commander in Chief of the army . He , theoretically , as Lieutenant - general of the King , outranked all the nobles and was second - in - command only to the King . The " Connétable de France " was also responsible for military justice and served to regulate the Chivalry . His jurisdiction was called the " connestablie " . The office was established by King Philip I in 1060 with Alberic becoming the first Constable . The office was abolished in 1627 in accordance with the Edict of January 1627 by Cardinal Richelieu , upon the death of François de Bonne , duc de Lesdiguières , after his conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism in 1622 . The position was replaced by the Dean of Marshals ( " Doyen des maréchaux " ) , in reality the most senior Marshal of France in a strictly ceremonial role . A few constables died in battle or were executed for treason , mostly for political intrigue . Badge of Office . The badge of office was a highly elaborate sword called the ' Royal Sword ' ( Fr . ' de Charlemagne ' ) surnamed ' Joyous ' . This sword dated from the 14th century and was contained in a blue scabbard embellished with fleur - de - lis in column from hilt to point . Traditionally , the constable was presented with the sword on taking his office . Authority . After the abolition of the office of Sénéchal in 1191 , the Connétable became the most important officer in the army , and as First Officer of the Crown , he ranked in precedence immediately after the peers . He had the position of Lieutenant - General of the King , both within and without the kingdom . The constable had under his command all military officers , including the marechaux ; he was also responsible for the financing of the army , administering military justice within the host ( the name of the jurisdiction was the connétablie ) , which he exercised with the assistance of the maréchaux ( marshals ) of France . This paralleled the Court of the Lord Constable , later called " curia militaris " of Court of Chivalry , which existed in England at that time . Constables of France . Note that there are gaps in the dates as the position was not always filled following the demise of its occupant . Constables of the Kings of France . The Capétien Dynasty The Valois Dynasty The Valois Angoulême Dynasty The Bourbons First Empire . During the Consulate , the Bourbon family , through the Comte d ' Artois , allegedly offered Napoleon Bonaparte , as First Consul , the title of Constable of France if he would restore the Bourbons as kings of France . However , in 1808 , Napoleon also appointed the Grand Dignitaries of the French Empire ( " Grands dignitaires de l ' Empire Français " ) . In doing this he appointed as Constable his younger brother Louis Bonaparte , King of Holland , and as Vice - Constable , Marshal of the Empire Louis Alexandre Berthier , the French Army Chief of staff and Prince of Neuchâtel . Both titles were strictly honorific . Movies . " If I Were King " , 1938 , with François Villon ( played by Ronald Colman ) , who was appointed by Louis XI , King of France ( played by Basil Rathbone ) to be Constable of France for one week . Various versions of Shakespeare ' s play " Henry V " depict Constable Charles d ' Albret , Comte de Dreux , who was appointed by Charles VI of France and was killed in the Battle of Agincourt ( 1415 ) . He is played by Leo Genn in the 1944 film , by Richard Easton in the 1989 film , and by Maxime Lefrancois in the 2012 film . In the 1944 film he dies in personal combat with King Henry . In the 1989 film he is depicted as falling from his horse into the mud ( historical tradition holds he was drowned in the mud due to the weight of his armour , disabled by having his horse fall on him ) . In the 2012 film he is shot by a longbowman after stabbing the Duke of York in the back in woodland away from the main battle .