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How did Pippin III become king of the Franks?

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Painting by Albrecht Durer of Charlemagne in ornate coronation robes and crown, holding a sword and orb, with gold embroidery and regal symbols behind him. — Charlemagne Charlemagne, oil on limewood by Albrecht Dürer, 1512; in the collection of the German National Museum, Nürnberg, Germany.

Pippin III, a member of the Carolingian dynasty, ascended to the throne by transitioning from his role as a mayor of the palace to the monarch of the Franks.12

For years, the Merovingian kings had lost effective control to their mayors of the palace. Following the death of his father, Charles Martel, in 741, Pippin and his brother Carloman initially maintained the fiction of Merovingian rule by placing Childeric III on the throne in 743. After Carloman entered monastic life in 747, Pippin became the sole de facto ruler.13

Seeking to formalize his authority, Pippin sent envoys to Pope Zacharias to ask if it was wise for kings to hold no actual power. The pope responded that it was better to have a king who could govern and authorized Pippin’s coronation. Consequently, Childeric III was deposed and confined to a monastery, and in 751, Pippin was anointed as king at Soissons by St. Boniface and other prelates.143