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Henry IV (French: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty.
- Overview
- Prince of Béarn.
- King of Navarre.
Henry IV (born Dec. 13, 1553, Pau, Béarn, 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 Religion, abjured Protestantism and converted to Roman Catholicism (1593) in order to win Paris and reunify France. With the aid of such min...
Henry de Bourbon-Navarre was the son of Antoine de Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme, and Jeanne d’Albret, queen of Navarre from 1555. Henry, through his father, was in the sole legitimate line of descent from the Capetian kings of France. It was scarcely to be expected, however, that he would one day succeed to the throne of France, since Catherine de Médicis had already borne three sons to the reigning king, Henry II, and would soon bear him a fourth. Prince Henry spent most of his early childhood in Béarn. From 1561 to 1567 he lived with his second cousins, the children of the king of France, among whom was his future wife Margaret.
The religious crisis between Roman Catholic and Protestant (Huguenot) forces was then coming to a head, leading to a long period of civil war. Antoine de Bourbon temporarily allied himself with the Protestants but changed sides and was mortally wounded in battle against them. Henry’s mother, Jeanne d’Albret, held firm and announced her Calvinism in 1560. Henry had just turned 13 when his mother brought him back to Béarn. At a crucial age in his intellectual development, he was brought up in the strict principles of Protestantism. About the same time, he began his military education. 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.
In 1568 his mother put him into the charge of her brother-in-law Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, who was the leader of the Protestant forces. The Protestants were surprised and defeated near Jarnac on March 13, 1569, by the Duke d’Anjou, the future Henry III, and Condé was killed. Jeanne d’Albret took Henry to the new leader of the Protestant forces, Gaspard de Coligny, who gave the young prince his military education. Henry distinguished himself at the Battle of Arnay-le-Duc on June 26, 1570, when he led the first charge of the Huguenot cavalry. The long campaign through the ravaged provinces, extending from Poitou to the heart of Burgundy, forged in him the soldierly spirit that he would retain throughout his life and made him reflect on the disaster that had befallen the kingdom.
Britannica Quiz
Peace was concluded in August 1570, and a very liberal edict was granted the Protestants. Many persons, including Catherine de Médicis, hoped the civil war had come to an end. In order to strengthen the peace, a marriage was arranged between Prince Henry and Margaret of Valois of the French royal house. Meanwhile, upon his mother’s death in June 15...
Nov 21, 2023 · Death and Mystery. Quick Facts. FULL NAME: Henry of Navarre. BORN: December 13, 1553. DEATH: May 14, 1610. BIRTHPLACE: Pau, France. Who Was Henry IV? Henry IV became heir to the French...
Jul 11, 2022 · Henry of Navarre became the nominal ruler of France after the assassination of Henry III of France (r. 1574-1589), whose marriage to Louise de Lorraine produced no heir. After years of attempts to deny the throne to Navarre, his enemies realized they could not defeat him militarily.
May 14, 2020 · Henri IV (December 13, 1553 – May 14, 1610), also known by the epithet Good King Henri or Henri the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henri III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty.
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. He was the first French king from the House of Bourbon. Henry's succession in 1589 proved far from straightforward.
Henry’s government eliminated the formidable national debt and realized a reserve of 18 million livres. To revive the economy he undertook projects to develop agriculture, planting colonies of Dutch and Flemish settlers to drain the marshes of Saintonge.
