Henri III (1551–1589)

The last king of the Valois dynasty of France was born in the chateau of Fontainebleau, the son of King Henri II and Catherine de Médicis, and the grandson of Francis I. At the age of nine he was named as the duke of Angouleme and Orléans, and six years later became the Duke of Anjou. A dedicated Catholic, Henri led the French army against the kingdom's Protestants (known as Huguenots) and scored important victories at the battles of Jarnac and Moncontou. He presided over the bloody event known as the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, when Catholics murdered Protestants throughout the kingdom by the thousands. He ascended to the throne in 1575; in the same year he married Louise de Lorraine, who doomed the Valois dynasty by failing to produce an heir. When in 1576 Henri signed the Edict of Beaulieu that temporarily resolved the religious conflict in France, he made an enemy of Duke Henry of Guise, who formed the Catholic League to oppose the agreement. Unwilling to lead the kingdom into all-out civil war, Henri rescinded the Edict of Beaulieu in the face of the duke's challenge.

The death of Henri's younger brother Francis (Francois) left the succession to the throne of France to Henri of Navarre, a Protestant. The king issued an edict banning Protestantism and denying Henri of Navarre's rights. The Duke of Guise invaded Paris in 1588, driving Henri from the city. Determined to rid himself of Guise, Henri invited the duke to a council at the chateau of Blois. The duke was seized and murdered by three of Henri's guards, after which the duke's son was thrown in prison. The murder caused an uproar in France. Citizens mobbed the streets while the king was charged with crimes by the Parlement, which forced him to again flee Paris. While in camp with his army at Saint-Cloud, Henry was stabbed by a Dominican friar, who had entered the camp claiming to have a secret message for the king. Henri soon died of his wounds. He was succeeded by Henri of Navarre, who reigned as Henri IV, the first ruler of the Bourbon dynasty.

See Also: Médicis, Catherine de; Henri IV