Henry IV of France

Henry IV (French: Henri IV) (December 13, 1553 – May 14, 1610), called the Great (French: le Grand), was the first of the Bourbon kings of France, reigning from 1589 until 1610. As a Protestant, he was involved in the Wars of Religion before acceding to the throne; to become King of France he converted to Catholicism and signed the Edict of Nantes, granting religious liberties to the Protestants and effectively ending the civil war. One of the most popular French kings (both during and after his reign), showing great care for the welfare of his subjects, as well as displaying an unusual religious tolerance for the time, he was murdered by a disturbed man, Ravaillac. In France, Henry IV was (and still is) informally nicknamed le bon roi Henri ("good king Henry").

Life

On 18 August 1572 Henry married Marguerite de Valois, sister of the then King Charles IX. In the same year he became King Henry III of Navarre, succeeding his mother Jeanne d'Albret, who had brought him up as a Huguenot. Jeanne herself was also a Protestant, and had declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. Henry's marriage was part of a plan to help quell the French Wars of Religion. As part of this plan, he was forced to convert to Roman Catholicism on 5 February 1576, and kept in confinement, but later that year he gained his freedom and resumed Protestantism.

Related Topics:
18 August - 1572 - Marguerite de Valois - Charles IX - Huguenot - Calvinism - French Wars of Religion - Roman Catholicism - 5 February - 1576

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He became the legal heir to the French throne upon the death in 1584 of François, Duke of Alençon, brother and heir to the Catholic King Henri III, who had succeeded Charles IX in 1574.

Related Topics:
1584 - King Henri III - Charles IX - 1574

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Since Henry of Navarre was a descendant of King Louis IX, King Henry III had no choice but to recognize him as the legitimate successor. Salic law disinherited the king's sisters and all others who could claim descent by the distaff line. In December 1588 King Henry III had the Duke of Guise murdered, along with the Duke's brother, Louis Cardinal de Guise. Henry III had to flee Paris, and joined forces with Henry of Navarre, but was assassinated shortly thereafter.

Related Topics:
Louis IX - Salic law - Duke of Guise

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On the death of the king in 1589, Henry of Navarre became nominally the king of France. But the Catholic League, strengthened by support from outside, especially from Spain, was strong enough to force him to the south, and he had to set about winning his kingdom by military conquest. The League proclaimed Henry's Catholic uncle, the Cardinal de Bourbon, King as Charles X, but the Cardinal himself was Henry's prisoner. Henry was victorious at the Ivry and Arques, but failed to take Paris.

Related Topics:
Catholic League - Cardinal de Bourbon - Ivry

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After the death of the old Cardinal in 1590, the League could not agree on a new candidate. While some supported various Guise candidates, the strongest candidate was probably Infanta Isabella, the daughter of Philip II of Spain, whose mother Elisabeth had been the eldest daughter of Henry II of France. The prominence of her candidacy hurt the League, which thus became suspect as agents of the foreign Spanish, but nevertheless Henry remained unable to take control of Paris.

Related Topics:
1590 - Infanta Isabella - Philip II of Spain - Henry II of France

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With the encouragement of the great love of his life, Gabrielle d'Estrée, on 25 July 1593 Henry declared that Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is worth a Mass") and permanently renounced Protestantism. His entrance into the Roman Catholic Church secured for him the allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects, and he was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February, 1594. In 1598, however, he declared the Edict of Nantes, which gave circumscribed toleration to the Huguenots.

Related Topics:
Gabrielle d'Estrée - 25 July - 1593 - Roman Catholic Church - Cathedral of Chartres - 27 February - 1594 - 1598 - Edict of Nantes - Huguenots

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