Francis II, Henry's ill 15-year-old son, took over as heir to the throne. Baby Henry of Navarre was baptised as a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother Jeanne. About the same time, he began his military education. Henry's succession in 1589 proved far from straightforward. The Protestants were surprised and defeated near Jarnac on March 13, 1569, by the Duke dAnjou, the future Henry III, and Cond was killed. But the younger brother Francis was discontented with his lot. [citation needed]. Henry of Navarre, on the other hand, could claim only an agnatic relationship to Henry III in the twenty-second degree. Meanwhile, upon his mothers death in June 1572, Prince Henry became king of Navarre and sovereign lord of Barn. The brother of Antoine of Bourbon (and Henry of Navarre's uncle), he was the last surviving Catholic prince of the blood. [13] At the time of his succession, Henry IV was under a papal excommunication, imposed by Pope Sixtus V on 21 September 1585 so the papacy considered it legitimate for Henry's subjects to oppose his rule, both as King of Navarre and, after 1589, as King of France. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). By then, deep divisions in the League had become apparent. With the bride and groom staying at the Palais du Louvre, both Protestants Huguenots and Catholics had descended on Paris to be present at the marriage. On the eve of his departure to the join the Wars of succession in Germany, Henri IV finally had crowned Marie de Medici as his wife, so that she could act as regent in his absence. While Henri IV was relatively popular, he was still under serious threat. Most of the country was ruled by warlords, and everywhere the nobles robbed the bourgeois and harried the peasants, while the countryside swarmed with bandits. Meanwhile, Owain Glyn Dr encouraged domestic resistance to Henrys rule by allying with the powerful Percy familyHenry Percy, earl of Northumberland, and his son Sir Henry Percy, called Hotspur. (King of France (1589-1610)) Henry IV of France, who ruled from 1589 till his death in 1610, was the first Bourbon monarch to sit on the throne of France. While his former mother-in-law Catherine de Medeci may not have been Henri IVs biggest fan, he was not as opposed to her. He gained the crown by usurpation and successfully consolidated his power in the face of repeated uprisings of powerful nobles. [20] Finally, on 12 July 1595, Pope Clement VIII agreed to lift Henry's excommunication; and he pronounced the absolution on 17 September. He regularized finances, promoted agriculture, drained swamps, and encouraged education. His Catholicism remained a question all of his life, and there were at least 12 assassination attempts on his life. Eventually, Spanish interference with French succession prompted Henry III to join forces with Henry of Navarre to take control of Paris and the French countryside. Her middle daughter Claude tried to get their mother to warn her youngest daughter Margaret not to go, but that Catherine insisted she couldnt be told as it it would tip off Henri and the Huguenots. Edward VIII became king of the United Kingdom following the death of his father, George V, but ruled for less than a year. Within hours after Henry IVs assassination, Queen Marie de Medici was confirmed as Regent by the Parliament of Paris on behalf of their son and new King, eight-year-old Louis XIII. As a consequence, tension between Henry and the prince was high when Henry became totally incapacitated late in 1412. But the marriage was not a happy one. A quickly suppressed insurrection, led by Northumberland in 1408, was the last armed challenge to Henrys authority. However, that conclusion was cast into doubt a few years later, when DNA tests revealed the head had no royal genetic match. It was to be further demonstrated when Antoine of Bourbon's last surviving brother, Cardinal Charles (d. 1590), was chosen by the Catholic nobles as King of France in the face of Henry IV's Protestantism. By 1572, only two of her sons remained alive, she brokered a marriage between her daughter Margaret and Henry, who that year became King Henry III of Navarre after the death of his mother, Jeanne d'Albret while she was buying clothes for the wedding in Paris. Bourbon was elevated into a duchy for Robert's son Louis, who became the first Duke of Bourbon. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Henry IV was now king of France, but it would take him nine years of struggle against the Holy League to secure his kingdom. Although the worst of Henrys political troubles were over, he then began to suffer from an affliction that his contemporaries believed to be leprosyit may have been congenital syphilis. At the age of 36, Henri of Navarre was now King Henri IV of France. Despite converting to Catholicism after becoming king of France in 1589, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes to foster religious tolerance. The marriage between Henri of Navarre and Margaret de Valois went ahead anyway on 18 August 1572 atNotre Dame Cathedral in Paris. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Updates? Not everyone was happy that protestant Henri IV was King of France, especially in Catholic Paris. George VI served as king of the United Kingdom during World War II and was an important symbolic leader. He became king in 1399, after deposing his cousin Richard II. Louis XII had succeeded Charles VIII as his second cousin once removed in the male line. He was stabbed to death by a Catholic fanatic on May 14, 1610, and subsequently buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. 1366, Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, Englanddied March 20, 1413, London), king of England from 1399 to 1413, the first of three 15th-century monarchs from the house of Lancaster. Henris father Antoine was a member of the French royal Bourbon family, but not very close to the throne. As a prince of the Royal House of Bourbon, and married to the sister of the King, the French throne was now bequeathed to Henri of Navarre and Catherines daughter Margaret in 1589. Henry IV inherited the throne after the assassination of Henry III, the last Valois king, who died without children. This was part of the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598). That proved fatal to their opposition to Henry's rule. In order to shore up support and attempt to take the French capital, Henri IV attempts to lay Siege to Paris in 1590. Henry IV inherited the throne after the assassination of Henry III, the last Valois king, who died without children. In 1572 Protestant Henry married his Catholic cousin Margaret of Valois to help solidify a peace between Catholic and Protestants during the French Wars of Religion. His legitimization proceeded in stages. Ironically, this would strengthen the bond between his 1st wife Margaret (who had Medici blood as well) and Marie. [citation needed], At the death of Charles IV, Duke of Alenon in 1525, all cadet branches of the House of Valois had become extinct, with the only remaining Valois being the royal family itself. Hotspurs brief uprising, the most serious challenge faced by Henry during his reign, ended when the kings forces killed the rebel in battle near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in July 1403. The archbishop of Bourges raised his excommunication, though without papal authority, during the abjuration ceremony. The city and large parts of France, mostly in the north, were in the hands of the Catholic League, an alliance of leading Catholic nobles and prelates who opposed the Protestant Henry of Navarre as heir to the throne. Before this he was King of Navarre, in South West France. In addition, his mother Jeanne was the niece of former French King Franois I, making Henri a royal on both sides of his family. https://www.biography.com/royalty/henry-iv. He and his wife Margaret separated. He began renovating the Palais du Louvre as well as the Tuileries, with the intention of connecting the two. Who Was Henry IV? In order to calm the tensions, Catherine de Medici arranged for her youngest daughter Margaret to marry the young Henri of Navarre. Upon their marriage, Jeanne and her husband became joint rulers of Navarre, as women were not allowed to rule by themselves at the time. Henri of Navarre would survive the St. Bartholomews day massacre, but only because he was a royal prince and the husband of the Margaret. Henry IV used his descent from King Henry III (ruled 121672) to justify his usurpation of the throne. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France. During his lifetime, Catholicsconsidered him a usurper, whileProtestantsaccused him of treason since he changed his religion at least 6 times. While Henri IV was fighting for the French crown, his Catholic wife Margaret chose to side with the Catholic League against her own husband. Francis I. Rebels and would-be assassins felt justified by what they saw as Henry's manifest failure to comply with the terms of his absolution. One of the most elite public schools in France, it was founded in the early 1796 after the French revolution, and was named Henri IV in 1815. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. His common senseone of his outstanding traits, except in love affairsmanifested itself when civil war broke out anew at the end of 1576. Regional flags of France: 7 facts and history, History of Normandy: 19 Key points in timeline, Champs Elyses: Guide to the most beautiful street in Paris, Making Friends in France: 10 tips and guide. They married on the 17th of December 1600. Pope Clement reversed Henry's excommunication and Henry brokered the Peace of Vervins between France and Spain on May 2, 1598. He rebelled against his Catholic family and joined the Protestant side. Francis married Mary, Queen of Scots, at the age of sixteen, after meeting her at the age of five as his childhood friend and fiance. While Henri IV was fighting for the French crown, his Catholic wife Margaret chose to side with the Catholic League against her own husband. Mousnier, 108. In a macabre postscript, the head of Henry IV's embalmed body was reportedly lost after revolutionaries ransacked the Basilica in 1793. Good King Henry as he became known, would step in to become one of the most celebrated Kings of France. [citation needed], When Henry was a boy, it seemed highly unlikely that he would ever inherit the throne of France since Henry II had produced four surviving sons. Gabrielle was not only his lover, but also one of his closest advisors. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The item A speech of King Henry, IV of France to his parliament : wherein he rebukes them for opposing the Jesuits, and shews his disbelief of their plots and attempts against his person, after the attempts of Chastel and Barriers had miscarried, and those traitors executed, and some time before that of Ravilliac took effect : with other passages on that occasion, communicated in a letter to . Antoine de Bourbon temporarily allied himself with the Protestants but changed sides and was mortally wounded in battle against them. His pragmatism earned him the nicknameHenri le Grand, meaning Henry the great. [17] The Estates replied that "our laws and customs prevent us from calling forward as king any prince not of our nation". 2022 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. [10] Hotman had asserted the right of the Estates-General to perform this function. The title of the heir apparent of the First Empire was King of Rome . Throughout those years the king had to combat border incursions by the Scots and ward off conflict with the French, who aided the Welsh rebels in 140506. He and King Henry III were moving to besiege Paris at the time of the latter's death. Henry of Navarre was born in Pau, France, on December 13, 1553. Finally, Mayenne was at odds with many Parisian leaders, particularly with the Sixteen, a group of city representatives who pursued their own libertarian agenda and often worked with the Spanish behind Mayenne's back. Clement's absolution was contingent on a set of demanding conditions. Maria de Medici was also the granddaughter ofHoly Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, thus reinforcing royal descent for any of their heirs, since Henri IV own royal heritage was not clearcut. Eight months later the Welsh landowner Owain Glyn Dr raised a rebellion against oppressive English rule in Wales. Henry IV is considered one of the greatest kings of France and was instrumental in ending the French Wars Of Religion. As Henrys health deteriorated, a power struggle developed within his administration between his favourite, Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, and a faction headed by Henrys Beaufort half brothers and Prince Henry. Henry had just turned 13 when his mother brought him back to Barn. Nevertheless, that claim did not convince those magnates who aspired to assert their authority at the crowns expense. 1600. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Henry IV, also called (1377-97) earl of Derby or (1397-99) duke of Hereford, byname Henry Bolingbroke or Henry of Lancaster, (born April? He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty.He was assassinated in 1610 by Franois Ravaillac, a fanatical Catholic, and was . Henry of Navarre acted boldly, defeating the army of Henry III in the crucial Battle of Coutras on Oct 20, 1587. As a result, Henry IV was forced to fight a civil war to assert his position as king, followed by a war against Spain, who continued to question his legitimacy. Bolingbroke then went on Crusade into Lithuania (1390) and Prussia (1392). (He would revert back as soon as he was free to.). Omissions? Childhood And Early Life Henrywas born in Pau in the Kingdom of Navarre, which is in modern-day France. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. When Gaunt departed for an expedition to Spain in 1386, Henry entered politics as an opponent of the crown. Henri still kept numerous mistresses, and Marie was displeased at having to deal with them at court. He decided to take a drastic step. Some Catholics still languished in the Paris gaols while their persecutors went scot free". [25], After 1594, Henry's recognition doomed further armed opposition to his rule within France. henry iv, also called (until 1572) prince de barn, byname henry of navarre, or henry of bourbon, french henri de navarre, or henry de bourbon, (born dec. 13, 1553, pau, barn, navarre [france]died may 14, 1610, paris, france), king of navarre (as henry iii, 1572-89) and first bourbon king of france (1589-1610), who, at the end of the wars of Henry IV became heir to the French throne through his marriage to Margaret of Valois but was challenged during a time of religious strife. The siege would last a month and be unsuccessful, as Frances catholic allies from Netherlands and Italy chose to intervene against Henri IVs siege. Antoine's son, Prince Henry of Navarre, inherited this title on his death from an arquebus wound at the siege of Rouen in 1562. Suspicion fell on the Catholic Marie de Medici, since she was related to the Holy Roman Emperor, although nothing was ever proven. [citation needed], The Catholic League's candidate for the crown of France in 1589 was Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon. Reims, the traditional seat where royals were crowned, and the iconic Notre Dame de Paris were still in Catholic hands. The massacre spread all across Paris, lasting several weeks and spreading outward to the countryside and other urban centres. He had fallen in love in 1590 with a young woman named Gabrielle dEstres. On the very next day, the 14th of May 1610, Henri IV was assassinated at the age of 56. Unfortunately before the marriage could occur, Gabrielle died from pregnancy complications at the age of 26 while carrying the couples 4th child. However, the spread of civil war made him reflect on its disastrous effect on France. Having united the kingdom and attained peace at home and abroad, Henry IV proceeded to bring prosperity back to France. [citation needed], According to Henry's murderer, Franois Ravaillac, "he made no attempt to convert these Protestants and was said to be on the point of waging war against the Pope so as to transfer the Holy See to Paris". Henry the Navigator, a 15th century Portuguese prince, helped usher in both the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade. Henry IV before Amiens. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. His parents, who became king and queen of Navarre shortly after Henry was born, were of different faiths and exemplified the strife in France between the Huguenots (Protestants) and Catholics. Estimates, the number of dead across France vary from 10,000 to 30,000 people at the end of the St. Bartholomews day massacre. [3], In a kingdom that the Salic Law excluded women from succession to the throne,[4] Catherine had overcome prejudice against government by a woman and been elected governor (gouvernante) of France with sweeping powers. It was only revoked nearly a century later by Henris grandson Sun Louis XIV. [21] For the first time, he gave Henry the title of "most Christian King of France and Navarre". Henris mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici had already begun building the new Palais de Tuileries during her lifetime, and Henri would continue to expand on this. [18], While the delegates of the Estates-General dithered in Paris, Henry IV dealt a well-timed blow to their deliberations by announcing his wish to be converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, a move that effectively cut the ground from under the Catholic League's feet. At age 14, Prince Henry began his military service in an expedition against rebellious Roman Catholics in Navarre, which ended in a victory for the Huguenots. By this time, Henri had already changed religions several times, leaving the Protestant Huguenots not particularly happy either. Not everyone was happy that protestant Henri IV was King of France, especially in Catholic Paris. [1] Among other promises, Henry swore to establish a single religion in France, to recompense all Catholic clergy who had lost land or property to the Huguenots and to apply the decrees of the Council of Trent in France. It would not get off to a good start however. Henri, pragmatic as ever, wanted to live and let live. Mayenne opened the assembly with a symbolically empty chair beside him. Along with draining swamps and improving water flows, Henri began big architectural works. Peace was concluded in August 1570, and a very liberal edict was granted the Protestants. His mother was Queen Joan III and Antoine de Bourbon the Duke of Vendome. The country had been divided by decades of religious and civil wars, and there was no clear heir to the French monarchy. [27] The constant threat of assassination was related to questions of his legitimacy as King of France. [21] At the same time, Clement feared that in the words of historian J. H. Elliott, "a Spanish victory in France could mean the end of papal independence". [12] Mayenne had also quarrelled with his nephew, Charles, Duke of Guise, whom some wanted to elect king. King Henry IV, Part 1 (Cliffs Notes) - Paperback By Lowers, James K - ACCEPTABLE. H.H. Instead of waging costly new wars, Henri IV adopted policies and undertook projects to improve the lives of all subjects, which made him one of the countrys more popular rulers. [citation needed], Mayenne was opposed to the idea of summoning the Estates-General to elect a king, but in 1592, he finally caved in to Spanish pressure to do so. [14] The influence of Spain on the assembly soon proved problematic. The legend of the good King Henry was formed. On Henry III's death, Henry IV assumed responsibility for his captive rival. Allons-y! Henry IV was an energetic soldier who spent long periods at war. In the autumn of 1567, he served as nominal head of a punitive expedition launched against the rebellious Roman Catholic gentry of lower Navarre, which ended in an easy victory. He was killed on May 14, 1610, in Paris, France. Henry of Navarre always emphasised the significance of his blood, rather than religion, when he challenged the Guise-led Catholic League. This practice had been made law in 1328. Protestant King Henry IV uttered this famous quote about Paris: Paris vaut bien une messe, meaning Paris is worth a mass as he was converted to Catholicism. Henry became King Henry IV, but it would take a nine-year siege of Paris to secure his crown from the influence of the Holy League and Spanish interference. Navarre was a tiny independent kingdom on the edge of the Pyrenees mountains between what is now France and Spain. If you enjoyed that article, you may like to read more about other French royals here. Henry IV of France's succession to the throne in 1589 was followed by a four-year[according to whom?] [14], Henry's abjuration of the Protestant faith on 25 July 1593 at the abbey of Saint-Denis proved decisive in winning over many of his opponents. Prior to that, he was known as Henry III of Navarre and ruled over the state from 1572 to 1610. Hover to zoom. Siege of Amiens 1597 showing the English positions (left) & French positions. A Calvinist, he converted to Catholicism to satisfy the wishes of 90% or more of the population of France. The situation brought about the War of the Three Henrys, pitting Henry against King Henry III of France and the staunchly Catholic Henry, Duke of Guise. He was the first French king from the House of Bourbon. Instead, they recognized Henry's uncle, Charles of Bourbon, as the heir, and on Henry III's assassination, they declared Charles king. Many persons, including Catherine de Mdicis, hoped the civil war had come to an end. Henri of Navarres father was killed during this period, having died fighting for the Catholics at the age of 44. Before becoming king, he was known as Henry Bolingbroke, and he received from his cousin Richard II the titles earl of Derby (1377) and duke of Hereford (1397). Those who continued to believe that Henry was a heretic regarded him as a tyrant who had usurped the throne of France under false pretenses. With Free Shipping within the U.S. and E.U. Corrections? The real power lay with his mother, the Dowager Queen Catherine de Medici. On 25 July 1593, with the encouragement of his mistress, Gabrielle dEstres, Henry permanently renounced Protestantism and converted to Catholicism. (Divorce by a Catholic King was not allowed, hence the Protestant English church of Henry VIII of England.) Henri may not have been great at maintaining relations with his wife, but he proved much better at managing the country. Mayenne surrendered in 1596 after the Peace of Follembray, and in 1598, the surrender of the last League commander, Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercur, who had hoped to restore Brittany to independence under his own rule, was followed by the Edict of Nantes in the same year. At that time, Charles de Bourbon was Duke of Vendme. In 1585, she abandoned any pretence by siding with the Catholics and was forced to live inAuvergnein an exile which lasted twenty years. Richard had just regained the upper hand when Gaunt returned to reconcile the king to his enemies. [19] After the ceremony, he demonstrated his sacred powers by touching people for scrofula, the king's evil. [12], It was widely believed among Catholics that the pope's blessing was essential to the legitimacy of a king of France because of the Protestant faith of Henry. His aim was to restore Paris as a great city, after all its suffering during the religious wars. After military campaigns, he rewarded himself with bouts of idle pleasure, hunting during the day, gambling in the evening, and womanising at night. She was also a staunch advocate for women's rights. It also helped that the Henri IV owed the banking House of Medicis a colossal amount of money for financing his wars until now. [11], The meeting of the Estates General that opened on 26 January 1593 proved far from representative. He had to withdraw from the outskirts of Paris, which remained the League's principal stronghold. When King Henri IV came to the throne of France in 1589, France was at a low point. It was given a representative assembly by Catherine and John's son, Henry II of Navarre. In addition, Henri kept putting off crowning Marie as Queen of France. Henry III was stabbed on August 1, 1589, and died the next day after declaring Henry of Navarre his successor. EXTRA 15% OFF 3+ ITEMS See all eligible items and terms. His brief also stated that the Salic Law "was a pure invention as the most learned and discerning of their lawyers recognise". Henry IV's ascendancy to the throne of France was mired with controversy. The League's leader, Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, had repeatedly disputed the strategy of the Duke of Parma, the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, whom Philip II sent into northern France to reinforce the League. On the death of King Henry III of France, who had no son, the crown passed to Henry IV, in application of Salic law, because Henry was the descendant of the eldest surviving male line of the Capetian dynasty. He lowered taxes on French citizens, made peace with the Ottoman Empire and opened up trade routes to East Asia. For several years he moved around Europe, courting Elizabeth I of England and attempting several military adventures to gain power. He had the Pont Neuf bridge on Ile de la Cit built over the river Seine to connect the Right and Left Banks of the city. His parents were Jeanne III of Navarre and her husband, Antoine de Bourbon, duc de Vendme. While in the service of Spain, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European voyage of discovery to circumnavigate the globe. Once free, he displayed his sharp intellect and political acumen in his role as protector of the Protestant churches. A few months after Gabrielle died, Henri IV finally managed to get Margaret to agree to an annulment, which was granted by the Pope. With the aid of such ministers as the Duke de Sully, he brought new prosperity to France. Henry de Bourbon-Navarre was the son of Antoine de Bourbon, Duke de Vendme, and Jeanne dAlbret, queen of Navarre from 1555. By the time of Henry III of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France), the monarch of Navarre could call to arms 300 gentlemen and 6,000 footsoldiers from the kingdom. Henry was the eldest surviving son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, by his first wife, Blanche. Spain sought the election of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, the daughter of Philip II of Spain and Henry III's niece and would-be-heiress under male-preference primogeniture. The marriage was intended to unite the interests of the house of Valois with the house of Bourbon. Henry IV of France (1553-1609) here wears a laurel wreath, which, since the days of ancient Greece, has signaled a victor. He became king after Henry III was assassinated in 1589, but was forced to fight the Holy League for nine years to secure his kingdom. He and Thomas Mowbray (later 1st duke of Norfolk) became the younger members of the group of five opposition leadersknown as the lords appellantswho in 138789 outlawed Richards closest associates and forced the king to submit to their domination. With common sense and clear-sightedness, along with a good dose of of diplomacy, he managed to get to secure power through alliances and get the country to accept him as King. He announced his intention to marry Gabrielle and have her crowned the next Queen of France, while legitimizing their 3 children that were born out of wedlock. Henry distinguished himself and the experience forged a soldierly spirit within him. It is said that Catherine knew the massacre was going to occur and saw it as an opportunity to get rid of her enemies. [16] The Estates-General of the Catholic League insisted that if Clara Isabella Eugenia were to be chosen, she should marry a French prince. This would prove to be useful (along with a fortuitous marriage), as illness and death claimed those above him in the line of succession to propel him to the throne. [2] When Henry had become the heir presumptive to the throne in 1584, on the death of Francis, Duke of Anjou, polemicist Jean Boucher had been among those who protested that such a distance in blood meant Henry's claim to the throne had effectively lapsed and that therefore the French States-General had the right to elect a new king. Henry IV's head was reportedly taken from his burial site at the Basilica of Saint Denis and wound up in the possession of private collectors. Political stability, external peace, and economic recovery during the last decade of his reign contrasted sharply with the previous forty . King Henri IV of France was the first French king of the House of Bourbon. The scientific tests . It was pulled down during the French revolution, but rebuilt a few years later. Catherine was Catholic, and deeply opposed to the Protestants and Huguenots. After nine months of tests, researchers in France have identified the head of France's King Henry IV, who was assassinated in 1610 aged 57. [24] Thus, the pope papered over the technical anomaly of the archbishop's abrogation of papal powers. John was chased out of Spanish Navarre by Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1512[7] and retreated to Navarre north of the Pyrenees, and the Navarrese Cortes (parliament) accepted annexation to Castile. Henry was already King of Navarre, as the successor of his mother, Jeanne d'Albret, but he . An arranged marriage to Margaret of Valois, daughter of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici, brought Parisian Catholics and visiting Huguenots together in an uneasy standoff. Mayenne, who nursed ambitions to be king himself, saw his grand alliance of Catholic nobles, French towns and Spain crumbling from a growing disunity of purpose and the absence of an obvious claimant to the throne. But he had a dramatic personal life, with warring parents, deadly in-laws, and many assassination attempts on his life. It seemed clear to Henry's Catholic opponents that he had recanted his Protestantism merely for political reasons to secure the French throne. [5], The pull of such propaganda remained so potent that even after 25 years of civil war, An English agent reported that after that and similar declarations by Henry, "many good Catholics flooded to his standard". He converted to Catholicism, and after winning several key battles, Paris finally capitulated on March 22, 1594. Updates? Though Hotman was a Protestant, his argument also influenced Catholic jurists searching for a means to replace the Cardinal of Bourbon at the beginning of the 1590s and the decision to summon the Estates-General to elect a new "king". I intend to oppose it with all my heart, and to this end to rally around me all true Frenchmen without regard to religion, since this time it is a question of the defence of the state against the usurpation of foreigners. One of France's most popular leaders, Henry united the country after the Wars of Religion in the late 1500s and helped bring peace between Catholics and Protestants in France. He abdicated the throne in order to marry his lover, Wallis Simpson, thereafter taking the title Duke of Windsor. Last edited on 27 November 2022, at 19:20, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Succession_of_Henry_IV_of_France&oldid=1124184947, Continued Catholic resistance with Spanish support leads Henry IV to declare, This page was last edited on 27 November 2022, at 19:20. Get to know Henri IV of France and Navarre, a man who became known as Good King Henry. Ordered by his brother-in-law Charles IX to abjure his Protestant faith, Henry yielded. 1366, Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, Englanddied March 20, 1413, London), king of England from 1399 to 1413, the first of three 15th-century monarchs from the house of Lancaster. Careful to restrain his impatience, he hid his forceful personality from his detainers. Among the other great cathedrals around France, the nearby historic town of Chartres was chosen. Click to enlarge. War loomed with Spain, Germany, and the Holy Roman Empire opposing his rule. With Catherine in charge, France was in full out civil and religious war, as Catholics in Paris and Protestant Huguenots in the south of France fought each other. Catherine de' Medici had ensured her regency of the nine-year-old King Charles IX in 1560 only by making a deal with Antoine of Bourbon, who many considered had the right, as First Prince of the Blood, to be the regent. Louis XVII was recognized by royalists as the King of France from 1793, when he was 8, until his death in 1795. Even so, many of Henry's Catholic subjects were sceptical about his recantation. During the opening years of the reign of King Richard II (ruled 137799), Henry remained in the background while his father ran the government. Today it remains one of the two best high schools in the French education system (along with Louis le Grand, named after Henri IVs grandson Sun King Louis XIV). The wreath and the king's relaxed smile suggest that he is both a great military leader and a compassionate father figure-the perfect "good king." Two other portraits of him are nearby. Although the French monarchy was hereditary, the League's lawyers searched the early history of France for precedents to legitimise the election of a king. Go behind closed doors for fun anecdotes and the unvarnished truth on those intriguing French habits ;). His mother Jeanne agreed and so when he was 19 years old, Protestant Henry of Navarre married Catholic Princess Margaret de Valois. After the death of Henry IV Sully published, in the deceased king's name, his 'Grand Design', a plan to stop the religious wars. Please select which sections you would like to print: Alternate titles: Henri de Bourbon, prince de Barn, Henri de Navarre, Henry III of Navarre, Henry de Bourbon, Henry of Bourbon, Henry of Navarre, Henry the Great, Henry, prince de Barn, Gaspard II de Coligny, seigneur de Chtillon, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-IV-king-of-France, Web Gallery of Art - Biography of Henry IV, World History Encyclopedia - Henry IV of France & the Edict of Nantes, Gaston-Jean-Baptiste, duc dOrlans, duc dAnjou. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Henri decided to marry another member of the powerful House of Medici, Marie de Medici. Around that time, Henry also issued the Edict of Nantes, which confirmed Roman Catholicism as the state religion but granted religious freedom to Protestants. Henry IV was held up as an ideal that future kingswere urged to emulate. Many of the Roman Catholic gentry who had remained loyal to Henry III deserted him, and his army was growing exhausted. His mother was the reigning Queen Jeanne dAlbret of Navarre, and his father Antoine, the Duke of Vendme. So lets explore the history of Henri IV with a few facts about his life, his family, and more, shall we? war of succession to establish his legitimacy, which was part of the French Wars of Religion (15621598). The persistence of rebellion and civil war in the early years of Henry's reign owed much to the papacy's refusal to accept anyone but a Catholic on the French throne. Robert, Count of Clermont (d. 1317), the sixth and youngest son of Louis IX but the only son besides Philip III to produce a surviving line, had married Beatrix of Bourbon and assumed the title of sire de Bourbon. June 6, 2022 by Linda. In an attempt to reduce Catholic and Protestant tensions, Henri signed the Edict of Nantes in 1598 which granted the Protestants of France (Huguenots) substantial rights in France to live and practise their religion. He was one of the most capable military leaders of all time, even though he wasn't considered a genius among strategists. Even after his abjuration of the Protestant faith in 1593, doubts remained about the sincerity of Henry's conversion. At the age of 36, Henri of Navarre was now King Henri IV of France. Henry IV inherited the throne after the assassination of Henry III, the last Valois king, who died without children. Henry IV was born in 1367, the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Blanche of Lancaster. Who Was King Of France After Henry Ii? In 1568 his mother put him into the charge of her brother-in-law Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Cond, who was the leader of the Protestant forces. The Spanish urged the Estates-General to repeal the Salic Law, which prevented the rule of a queen regnant, but in so doing, they failed to grasp a fundamental principle of the French royal succession. Louis XVI was the last king of France (177492) in the line of Bourbon monarchs preceding the French Revolution of 1789. On August 18, 1572, he and Margaret were married in Paris, but on August 24 came the St. Bartholomews Day Massacre, in which thousands of French Protestants were massacred by royal forces. The couple had no children, with the fault falling on Margaret, as Henri had managed to produce several children out of wedlock with his mistresses. There was also a belief in some quarters that the original papal blessing of Charlemagne was conferred automatically on his descendants, including Henry. Contrary to what Shakespeare and Netflix's The King would have you believe, King Henry V of England wasn't a wayward youth reluctant to lead, and he didn't go to war with France over a bunch of tennis balls.. Nearly two centuries after Henry V's death, William Shakespeare launched the medieval king's name into pop culture stardom with his historical fiction plays Henry IV: Part I, Henry IV . It was King Henry IV, the study concluded, "positively identified according to the most rigorous arguments of any forensic examination." After the examination, according to Sciolino, the. The couple managed to produce 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. In their view, Henry remained a heretic and thus a usurper on the throne of France.[29]. [according to whom?] [citation needed], During the period between the succession of Henry IV and the death of the Cardinal of Bourbon, the city of Paris had achieved a degree of independence. Henry was already King of Navarre, as the successor of his mother, Jeanne d'Albret, but he owed his succession to the throne of France to the line of his father, Antoine of Bourbon, an agnatic descendant of Louis IX. An important figure in France's history after the ruinous Wars of Religion in the 16th century, Henry IV was a first Bourbon king and brought peace and prosperity to the country. King Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2: Cliffs Notes - paperback, Lowers PhD. Ravaillac stated that "he had felt obliged to take this step because, from rumours he had heard, he felt the King had seemed reluctant to punish the Huguenots for trying to murder all the Catholics last Christmas Day. Wikipedia. Margaret often helped plan events at court with Marie and became involved with their children. As a Catholic king, it was argued, Henry should have closed Huguenot churches and banned Protestant worship; instead, he made concessions to his former co-religionists in the Edict of Nantes and tolerated the existence of what was seen as a "state within a state", whole towns and regions of France where the Huguenots' right to worship, bear arms and govern their own affairs was protected by the crown. [28], Henry continued to promote Huguenots to office in France and to form alliances with Protestant princes abroad. The League proclaimed as king However, Charles was a young and weak King and often sick. [22], When Pope Clement VIII absolved Henry, he, like Henry, was motivated by political pragmatism. To finance these military activities, Henry was forced to rely on parliamentary grants. In similar cases, the throne had earlier passed to successors with a much closer blood link to the throne. In order to strengthen the peace, a marriage was arranged between Prince Henry and Margaret of Valois of the French royal house. Considered a usurper by Catholics and a traitor by Protestants, his charm and genuine care for the people's needs could not mollify his enemies. Both of Catherine de Medicis remaining sons, King Charles IX and Henri III would die without heirs, along with Catherine herself. Henrys mother, Jeanne dAlbret, held firm and announced her Calvinism in 1560. The latter group ousted Arundel from the chancellorship early in 1410, but they, in turn, fell from power in 1411. At a crucial age in his intellectual development, he was brought up in the strict principles of Protestantism. A couple of months before his marriage, Henris mother died, making 19-year-old Henri was now the King of Navarre. French philosopher Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brde et de Montesquieu, was a highly influential political thinker during the Age of Enlightenment. Henry IV, also called (until 1572) Prince de Barn, byname Henry of Navarre, or Henry of Bourbon, French Henri de Navarre, or Henry de Bourbon, (born Dec. 13, 1553, Pau, Barn, Navarre [France]died May 14, 1610, Paris, France), king of Navarre (as Henry III, 157289) and first Bourbon king of France (15891610), who, at the end of the Wars of Religion, abjured Protestantism and converted to Roman Catholicism (1593) in order to win Paris and reunify France. After living in Paris over 10 years, I can tell you all about it! Despite converting to Catholicism. One by one, the leaders of the Catholic League made peace with him. Despite his accomplishments, Henry IV endured multiple assassination attempts. It is located on Rue Clovis, a street named after the 1st King of the Franks. 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