Team Sky cyclist Froome - who previously won the event in 2013 and 2015 - finished more than four minutes ahead of his nearest rivals, Frenchman Romain Bardet and Colombian Nairo Quintana.
Another Briton, Adam Yates of Orica-BikeExchange, was fourth overall and took the white jersey, awarded since 1975 to the Tour's best rider aged under 26.
Those prizes capped another superb three weeks overall for British cycling in a Tour which has featured no fewer than seven stage wins for Britons.
Meanwhile, the two other jersey winners were both from the Tinkoff team. Poland's Rafał Majka took the King of the Mountains award while Slovakian Peter Sagan won a fifth consecutive green jersey in the points competition.
Despite that fact, points jersey rival Mark Cavendish can still be pleased with his efforts over the last few weeks in France.
The Manx Missile won the opening stage to wear yellow himself for the first time ever, and further victories on stages three, six, and 14 took his overall career tally to 30. Only legendary Belgian Eddy Merckx, with 34, now has more.
At the second rest day on 19 July, Cavendish understandably withdrew from this gruelling challenge with a view of turning his focus to the Rio 2016 Olympics, now less than two weeks away.
And so, for now, Froome deservedly takes the limelight. Indeed, of his trio of triumphs, this was surely his most assured.
Froome, in customary style, first took control of this year's contest in the mountains with the pack taking on the Pyrenees from stage eight.
Immediately, Froome sensed a chance to gain an advantage and broke away himself from a breakaway group of 14 riders on the descent into Bagnères-de-Luchon.
His reward was a sixth career stage victory on the Tour - and the still more valuable prize of the yellow jersey and a nascent lead of 16 seconds.
That lead would grow heading out of the mountains on stage 11 between Carcassonne and Montpellier, and then it would increase again in unusual circumstances on what would become a fateful Bastille Day in France.
The course for the stage on 14 July had already been adjusted by Tour organisers with high winds preventing a full ascent to the summit of the notorious Mont Ventoux.
Instead, the 12th stage was shortened by 6 km though it still finished at a height of 1,435 metres (4,708 ft) at Chalet Reynard.
But, while the stage had been cut, the size of the big holiday crowd remained the same, and unfortunately they caused all manner of chaos as the climb reached its climax.
The problems arose when a motorbike in front of the three leading riders of the day - Froome, Richie Porte, and Bauke Mollema - could not get through the throng. On stopping suddenly, all three riders ploughed into the back of the bike and therefore crashed.
Mollema was able to get back in the saddle and quickly ride off, but Porte and Froome were both delayed, especially Froome whose bike was badly damaged.
In remarkable scenes, the defending champion then decided to run up Mont Ventoux, ultimately finishing the stage one minute and 40 seconds behind Mollema. Vitally, the result also meant he provisionally ceded the yellow jersey to Yates.
Unsurprisingly, Team Sky appealed - and, after the incident was reviewed, a jury granted both Froome and Porte the same time as Mollema, who had finished ahead of the main field despite the crash.
The judgement restored the yellow jersey again to Froome, and also gave him time on both Yates and Quintana. It was, no doubt, a moment of relief for the leader.
Overnight, however, came a moment of horror which put any controversy surrounding the timings on the Tour de France firmly into perspective.
In Nice, on the south coast, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds celebrating Bastille Day by an Islamic State terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel.
The attack, on the Promenade des Anglais in the city centre, killed 84 people and injured 303, and so became the latest in a series of tragedies to scar France.
Undaunted, the show went on - and, on stage 15, Froome made yet more time on his nearest competitors by finishing second in an individual time trial.
At the podium ceremony, however, there was no music played, no presentation of the sponsors, and all the jersey winners walked onto the stage together, in silence.
A few days on the flat allowed the likes of Cavendish and Sagan to take centre stage again briefly.
But, following the second rest day, Froome nailed home his advantage with time gains on stages 17, 18 and 19.
Stage 18, indeed, was a second victory of the race for Froome as he dominated a short mountainous time trial up to the summit of the Côte des Chozeaux.
The lead was up to nearly four minutes, and any chance of the competition reeling in Froome had basically disappeared.
Thereafter, all the 31-year-old had to do was stay upright on his bike heading into Paris - and, unsurprisingly, Froome found such a task to be a breeze.
Drinking beer as well as the traditional champagne as he headed for the Champs-Élysées, Froome was met at the finish line by his wife Michelle and seven-month first child, Kellan.
It was a touching moment - and it was followed by a highly emotional speech in which he thanked his team-mates and his family before paying tribute to the victims in Nice.
Froome may represent British success - but, having become the first man in over 20 years to defend his title legally, he has also now gained legendary status in France.
And, with the French public still impatiently waiting for a first home winner since 1985, that is no mean feat.
DAY-BY-DAY
| Route | Dist | Winner | Yellow jersey | Lead | |||
| 01 | 02-Jul | Mont Saint-Michel to Utah Beach, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont | 188km | Cavendish | Cavendish | +4" | |
| 02 | 03-Jul | Saint-Lô to Cherbourg-Octeville | 183km | Sagan | Sagan | +8" | |
| 03 | 04-Jul | Granville to Angers | 223.5km | Cavendish | Sagan | +8" | |
| 04 | 05-Jul | Saumur to Limoges | 237.5km | Kittel | Sagan | +12" | |
| 05 | 06-Jul | Limoges to Le Lioran | 216km | Van Avermaet | Van Avermaet | +5'11" | |
| 06 | 07-Jul | Arpajon-sur-Cère to Montauban | 190.5km | Cavendish | Van Avermaet | +5'11" | |
| 07 | 08-Jul | L'Isle-Jourdain to Lac de Payolle | 162.5km | Cummings | Van Avermaet | +5'50" | |
| 08 | 09-Jul | Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon | 184km | Froome | Froome | +16" | |
| 09 | 10-Jul | Vielha Val d'Aran (ESP) to Andorra-Arcalis (AND) | 184.5km | Dumoulin | Froome | +16" | |
| Rest | 11-Jul | Andorra (rest day) | - | ||||
| 10 | 12-Jul | Escaldes-Engordany (AND) to Revel | 197km | Matthews | Froome | +16" | |
| 11 | 13-Jul | Carcassonne to Montpellier | 162.5km | Sagan | Froome | +28" | |
| 12 | 14-Jul | Montpellier to Chalet Reynard | 178km | De Gendt | Froome | +47" | |
| 13 | 15-Jul | Bourg-Saint-Andéol to La Caverne du Pont-d'Arc | 37.5km | Dumoulin | Froome | +1'47" | |
| 14 | 16-Jul | Montélimar to Villars-les-Dombes | 208.5km | Cavendish | Froome | +1'47" | |
| 15 | 17-Jul | Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz | 160km | Pantano | Froome | +1'47" | |
| 16 | 18-Jul | Moirans-en-Montagne to Bern (SUI) | 209km | Sagan | Froome | +1'47" | |
| Rest | 19-Jul | Bern (SUI) (rest day) | - | ||||
| 17 | 20-Jul | Bern (SUI) to Finhaut-Émosson (SUI) | 184.5km | Zakarin | Froome | +2'27" | |
| 18 | 21-Jul | Sallanches to Megève | 17km | Froome | Froome | +3'52" | |
| 19 | 22-Jul | Albertville to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains | 146km | Bardet | Froome | +4'11" | |
| 20 | 23-Jul | Megève to Morzine | 146.5km | Izagirre | Froome | +4'05" | |
| 21 | 24-Jul | Chantilly to Paris Champs-Élysées | 113km | Griepel | Froome | +4'05" |
FINAL STANDINGS
General classification Yellow jersey
| Pos | Team | Time | |
| (1) | Chris FROOME (GBR) | Team Sky | 89h 04'48" |
| (2) | Romain BARDET (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | +4'05" |
| (3) | Nairo QUINTANA (COL) | Movistar | +4'21" |
| (4) | Adam YATES (GBR) | Orica-BikeExchange | +4'42" |
| (5) | Richie PORTE (AUS) | BMC Racing Team | +5'17" |
Points classification Green jersey
| Pos | Team | Points | |
| (1) | Peter SAGAN (SVK) | Tinkoff | 470 |
| (2) | Marcel KITTEL (GER) | Etixx-Quick-Step | 228 |
| (3) | Michael MATTHEWS (AUS) | Orica-BikeExchange | 199 |
| (4) | André GREIPEL (GER) | Lotto-Soudal | 178 |
| (5) | Alexander KRISTOFF (NOR) | Team Katusha | 172 |
Mountains classification Red polka-dot jersey
| Pos | Team | Points | |
| (1) | Rafał MAJKA (POL) | Tinkoff | 209 |
| (2) | Thomas DE GENDT (BEL) | Lotto-Soudal | 130 |
| (3) | Jarlinson PANTANO (COL) | IAM Cycling | 121 |
| (4) | Ilnur ZAKARIN (RUS) | Team Katusha | 84 |
| (5) | Rui COSTA (POR) | Lampre-Merida | 76 |
Young riders classification White jersey
| Pos | Team | Time | |
| (1) | Adam YATES (GBR) | Orica-BikeExchange | 89h 09'30" |
| (2) | Louis MEINTJES (RSA) | Lampre-Merida | +2'16" |
| (3) | Emanuel BUCHMANN (GER) | Bora-Argon 18 | +42'58" |
| (4) | Warren BARGUIL (FRA) | Giant-Alpecin | +47'32" |
| (5) | Wilco KELDERMAN (NED) | LottoNL-Jumbo | +1h 19'56" |
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