Frankfurt lost its status as a free imperial city in 1806 with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.

The city was granted to the former archbishop of Mainz, Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, and became the Principality of Frankfurt.

According to the constitution of the grand duchy, upon Dalberg's death, the state would be inherited by Napoleon's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais.

Dalberg abdicated in favour of Eugène on 26 October 1813, following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig.

While Frankfurt itself once again became a free city, most of the territory of the grand duchy was ultimately annexed by the Kingdom of Bavaria.