Henry III of France
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| Henry III | ||
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| King of France | ||
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| Reign | 30 May 1574 – 2 August 1589 | |
| Coronation | 13 February 1575, Reims | |
| Full name | Alexandre-Édouard | |
| Titles | Duke of Orléans (1560 – 1574) Duke of Anjou (1566 – 1574) King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania (21 February – 19 June 1574) |
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| Born | 19 September 1551 | |
| Château de Fontainebleau, France | ||
| Died | 2 August 1589 | |
| Saint-Cloud, France | ||
| Buried | Saint Denis Basilica, France | |
| Predecessor | Charles IX | |
| Successor | Henry IV | |
| Consort | Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont | |
| Royal House | Valois Dynasty | |
| Father | Henry II (1519 – 1559) | |
| Mother | Catherine de' Medici (1519 – 1589) | |
Henry III of France (French: Henri III; September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589), born Alexandre-Édouard, was a member of the Valois Dynasty, King of France from May 30, 1574 until his death. He was also briefly King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1573-1574) and is known to Polish historians as Henryk Walezy ("Henri of Valois").
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years
Henri was born at the Royal Château of Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, fourth son of King Henri II and Catherine de Medici, grandson of François I and Claude de France, and brother of François II and Charles IX of France. He was made Duke of Angoulême and Duke of Orleans in 1560, and Duke of Anjou in 1566. In 1564 his name became Henri.
He was the favourite son of his mother, whom she named her chers yeux ("Precious Eyes"), and upon whom she lavished her fondness and affection for most of his life. His elder brother Charles grew to detest him, resenting Henry's greater health and activity; his younger brother, Francis-Hercules, resented him, and continually plotted against him; his sister, Margot, went from adoring him to fearing and despising him, even accusing him - posthumously, in her memoirs - of incestuous thoughts and behaviour towards her.
In his youth, he was considered the best of the sons of Catherine de' Medici and Henry II - as a lad, he was handsome and tall, well-proportioned in body and possessed of his mother's well shaped hands. Always delicate in health, he was nonetheless, in the Valois spirit, a keen practical joker, and did not lack courage. Unlike his father and elder brothers, he had little interest in the traditional Valois pastimes of hunting and physical exercise (although he was both fond of and elegantly skilled in fencing), preferring instead to indulge his tastes for the arts and reading – leanings which were attributed to his Italian mother.
He also, at one point in his youth, showed a tendency towards Protestantism as a means of rebelling - at the age of 9, calling himself un petit Hugenot, he refused to attend Mass, sang Protestant psalms to his sister Margot (exhorting her all the while to change her religion and cast her Book of Hours into the fire), and even bit the nose off a statue of Saint Paul. Such behaviour prompted his mother to firmly caution her children against such behaviour, and he would never again show any Protestant tendencies - instead becoming militantly Catholic.
His artistic tastes were a source of concern to the court. Unlike his the other men of his family, he showed a marked interest in clothes and fabrics, jewels, lapdogs and toys. He also had a keen eye for fashions and beauty which in his later years would become an obsession, and constantly appeared elegant and sophisticated, although not always appropriate – on festive occasions, he was known to dress more richly and fantastically than the ladies of the court, adorning himself with jewels and fantastic costumes, prompting the Spanish ambassador, Zuniga, to write to Philip II of Spain, "With all of this he shows who he really is". On another occasion, a ball given by Catherine de' Medici at Chenonceau in June 1577, the King whole-heartedly participated in the theme - transvestism - by wearing "diamonds, emeralds and pearls. His hair was tinted with violet powder and wearing a dress of superb brocade, he made a definite contrast to his wife", who had chosen not to dress in men's clothing.[1] Such appearances earned Henry blunt epithets such as "Prince of Sodom".
In 1570, discussions commenced to arrange for Henri to court Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth, almost 37, was in need of a husband and needed to produce an heir. However, nothing came of these discussions: Elizabeth, on her part, is viewed by historians as having intended only to concern Spain, rather than to have seriously intended marriage; and the chances of such a marriage were further blighted by their differing religious views (Henri was a zealous Catholic, Elizabeth a firm Protestant), and his opinion of Elizabeth (he tactlessly referred to her as a putain publique (a "public whore"), made stinging remarks about their difference in age, and upon hearing she limped because of a varicose vein, called her an "old creature with a sore leg").[2] Henri's sexual attraction to men may also have played a part. [3]
Prior to ascending the throne, he was a leader of the royal army in the French Wars of Religion against the Huguenots, and took part in the victories over them at Battle of Jarnac and Battle of Moncontour. While still Duke, he aided his mother in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, in which thousands of Huguenots were killed; his reign as King would see France in constant turmoil over religion.
[edit] Reign
In 1573, Henri was elected King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As prerequisite to his free election, he was compelled to sign the Pacta conventa and the Henrician Articles, pledging religious tolerance in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Henri chafed at the restrictions on monarchic power under the Polish-Lithuanian political system of "Golden Liberty".
Three months after his coronation as King of Poland, upon the death of his brother Charles IX, Henri secretly left Poland and returned to France, where he was crowned King in 1575, at Rheims Cathedral.
Although he married Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont (February 13, 1575) and was expected to produce an heir, he did not.
In 1576, Henri signed the Edict of Beaulieu, granting minor concessions to the Huguenots. His action resulted in the Catholic extremist, Henry I, Duke of Guise, forming the Catholic League. After much posturing and negotiations, Henri was forced to rescind most of the concessions that had been made to the Protestants in the Edict of Beaulieu.
In 1584, the King's youngest brother and heir presumptive, François, Duke of Anjou, died. Under Salic Law, the next heir to the throne was Protestant Henri of Navarre, a descendant of St. Louis IX. Under pressure from the Duke of Guise, Henri III issued an edict suppressing Protestantism and annulling Henri of Navarre's right to the throne.
On May 12, 1588, when the Duke of Guise entered Paris, Henri III fled the city.
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On December 23, 1588, at the Château de Blois, the Duke of Guise arrived in the council chamber where his brother the Cardinal waited. The Duke was told that the King wished to see him in the private room adjoining the royal bedroom. There guardsmen murdered the Duke, then the Cardinal. To make sure that no contender for the French throne was free to act against him, the King had the Duke's son imprisoned. The Duke of Guise had been highly popular in France, and the citizenry turned against King Henri for the murders. The Parlement instituted criminal charges against the King, and he fled Paris to join forces with Henri of Navarre.
| Monarchical Styles of King Henry III Par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France |
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| Reference style | His Most Christian Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Most Christian Majesty |
| Alternative style | Monsieur Le Roi |
[edit] Assassin
On August 1, 1589, Henry III lodged with his army at Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine, prepared to attack Paris, when a young fanatical Dominican friar, Jacques Clément, carrying false papers, was granted access to deliver important documents to the King. The monk gave the King a bundle of papers and stated that he had a secret message to deliver. The King signaled for his attendants to step back for privacy, and Clément whispered in his ear while plunging a knife into his abdomen. Clément was killed on the spot by the guards.
At first the wound did not appear fatal, but the King enjoined all the officers around him, in the event that he did not survive, to be loyal to Henri of Navarre as their new king. The following morning — the day that he was to have launched his assault to retake Paris — Henri III died.
Chaos swept the attacking army, most of it quickly melting away; the proposed attack on Paris was postponed. Inside the city the joy on news of Henri III's death was almost delirium. "Some churches place the monk's picture on the alter; devotees hailed the assassination as the noblest act of God since the Incarnation of Jesus Christ."[4]
Henri III was interred at the Saint Denis Basilica. Childless, he was the last of the Valois kings. Henri of Navarre succeeded him as Henri IV, the first of the Bourbon kings.
[edit] Additional viewing
- The French movie, La Reine Margot is a bloody, fictional depiction of the lives of Henri III's family, his sister Margot, and her Protestant husband Henri around the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Henri is played by the actor Pascal Gregory.
- In an episode of Animaniacs, entitled The Three Muska-Warners, an Elmer Fudd-like Henri III is protected by Yakko, Wakko and Dot. In this version, Henri is portrayed by Jeff Bennett as nervous and jumpy, and for no apparent reason speaks with an English accent.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
| House of Valois (Valois-Angoulême Branch) Cadet Branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: September 19, 1551 Died: August 2, 1589 |
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| Preceded by Sigismund II |
King of Poland February 21, 1573–June 19, 1574 |
Succeeded by Anna and Stefan Batory |
| Grand Duke of Lithuania February 21, 1573–June 19, 1574 |
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| Preceded by Charles IX |
King of France May 30, 1574–August 2, 1589 |
Succeeded by Henry IV |
Categories: Kings of France | Polish monarchs | Lithuanian rulers | House of Valois | Monarchs of Canada | Dukes of Anjou | Dukes of Angouleme | Dukes of Orléans | Knights of the Garter | Assassinated monarchs | Assassinated French people | Natives of Ile-de-France | People of the French Wars of Religion | Nostradamus | 1551 births | 1589 deaths
