The maison militaire du roi de France (French pronunciation: [mɛzɔ̃ militɛʁ dy ʁwa də fʁɑ̃s], military household of the king of France) were the military branch of the Maison du Roi, the royal household of the French monarchy. Officially part of the French Royal Army, like the rest of the Maison du Roi the maison militaire was under the authority of the Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi. However, the formation depended on the ordinaire des guerres, controlled by the Secretary of State for War, for their budget. Under Louis XIV, these two officers of state were given joint command of the maison militaire.

The household was akin to the British Household Division in that it comprised a number of both cavalry and infantry units, serving as the sovereign's personal guard as well as elite troops during war. Recruitment to some of its units was limited to gentlemen, like the gardes du corps and Mousquetaires de la Garde. The rank and file of other regiments, such as the French Guards, comprised commoners. However, commoners couldn't rise to officer rank in units of the military household. On the field of battle, the "Maison du Roi" fought around the king and the "porte-cornette blanche" (the king's white standard), although the corps also fought in the king's absence. Until the 17th century's second half, the "Maison du Roi" had — along with the "Cavalerie d'ordonnance", the six "Vieux" and the six "Petits-Vieux" — made up the permanent army of the Kingdom of France.

Over the years, the Maison du Roi included the following corps:

Far from being simply a ceremonial corps, the "Maison du Roi" participated in all the major military campaigns of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The oldest of the regiments of the Maison du Roi was the Garde Écossaise, formed in 1440, and traced its ultimate origins to the Scots forces brought to France in 1419 by John Stewart, Earl of Buchan to fight against the English in the Hundred Years' War.

Buchan's original company was divided in two, one part becoming the 1st (or Scottish) Company of the Life Guards (Gardes du Corps), the other becoming the senior company of Gendarmes. A second and third, both French, companies of Life Guards were formed by Louis XI in 1474 and 1479 respectively. Finally, the fourth company, again French, was raised by Francis I in 1516. These companies existed until the French Revolution when they were disbanded.

In 1567, during the Surprise of Meaux, the royal family escaped capture by Prince de Condé's Protestant troops through the intervention of the Cent-Suisses.

During the final period of the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV wished to provide guards for christening of the Dauphin Louis (the future Louis XIII). Therefore, he created a new company of 200 men-at-arms, which formed half of the Dauphin's guards. In 1611, this company became the Gendarmes de la Garde. This company was paired with another company of heavy cavalry. These chevau-légers (light cavalry) were only light compared to the Gendarmes, who wore more armour. This company dated to 1570 and became part of the Dauphin's guard and then of the Maison du Roi.