Henry III of France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Henry III | |
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| King of France, Count of Provence (more...) | |
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| Henry III Image in the Louvre. | |
| 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) Dauphin of Viennois: as King of France (30 May 1574 – 2 August 1589) |
| Born | 19 September 1551 |
| Château de Fontainebleau, France | |
| Died | 2 August 1589 (aged 37) |
| 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 (French: Henri III, Polish: Henryk) (September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589), born Alexandre-Édouard, was King of France from 1574 to 1589, and as Henry of Valois, King of Poland from 1573 to 1574.
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[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 his mother's favorite; she called him chers yeux ("Precious Eyes") and lavished her fondness and affection upon him for most of his life. His elder brother Charles grew to detest him, resenting Henry's greater health and activity.
In his youth, he was considered the best of the sons of Catherine de' Medici and Henry II. 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 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 nine, calling himself un petit Huguenot, 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. His mother firmly cautioned her children against such behaviour, and he would never again show any Protestant tendencies - instead becoming nominally Catholic.[1]
His artistic tastes were a source of concern to the court. Unlike 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.[2] 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 at least formally a 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").[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 instigated 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 many concessions to the Huguenots. His action resulted in the Catholic activist, 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 III 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 III of Navarre's right to the throne.
Henri began a great friendship with the Feuillant reformer Jean de la Barrière and built a monastery for him and his followers to commemorate their friendship in 1587.
On May 12, 1588, when the Duke of Guise entered Paris, Henri III fled the city.
On December 23, 1588, at the Château de Blois, the Duke of Guise arrived in the council chamber where his brother Louis II, Cardinal of Guise, 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 III of Navarre.
[edit] Assassination
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 hailed the assassination as an act of God.[4]
Henri III was interred at the Saint Denis Basilica. Childless, he was the last of the Valois kings. Henri III of Navarre succeeded him as Henri IV, the first of the Bourbon kings.
[edit] Additional viewing
- The French movies, La Reine Margot (1954) and La Reine Margot (1994), both based on Alexandre Dumas' novel of the same title, are fictional depictions 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 Greggory. In Dumas' novel, Henri was not portrayed as homosexual, whereas, in the 1954 film, he was shown as an effeminate, comical queen. In the 1994 film, he was portrayed as a more sinister character, bisexual and showing sexual interest for his sister.
- The film Elizabeth, released in 1998, depicts the historical courtship between Elizabeth I of England and François, Duke of Anjou, Henry III's youngest brother. The film borrows some of the aspects of Henry III's life and features Anjou as a comical foolish transvestite. The role is portrayed by French actor Vincent Cassel.
- 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] Ancestors
| Henry III of France | Father: Henry II of France |
Paternal Grandfather: Francis I of France |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Charles, Count of Angoulême |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Louise of Savoy |
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| Paternal Grandmother: Claude of France |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Louis XII of France |
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| Paternal Great-grandmother: Anne, Duchess of Brittany |
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| Mother: Catherine de' Medici |
Maternal Grandfather: Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Alfonsina Orsini |
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| Maternal Grandmother: Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne |
Maternal Great-grandfather: John III, Count of Auvergne |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Jeanne de Bourbon-Vendôme |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Portraits of Henri III (in French).
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Henry III of France
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: September 19 1551 Died: August 2 1589 |
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| Preceded by Charles |
Duke of Angoulême 1551 – 30 May 1574 |
Succeeded by Diane de France |
| Preceded by Charles III, Duc d'Orléans (Charles IX of France) (full older brother) |
Duke of Orléans 1560 – 30 May 1574 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Henry |
| Preceded by Louise |
Duke of Anjou 1566 – 30 May 1574 |
Succeeded by Francis |
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sigismund II |
King of Poland 21 February 1573–19 June 1574 |
Succeeded by Anna and Stefan Batory |
| Grand Duke of Lithuania 21 February 1573–19 June 1574 |
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| Preceded by Charles IX of France (full older brother) |
King of France May 30, 1574–August 2, 1589 |
Succeeded by Henry IV of France |
| Count of Provence and Forcalquier as 'Henry II' May 30, 1574–August 2, 1589 |
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| Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois as 'Henry II of Viennois' May 30, 1574–August 2, 1589 |
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| Early Grand Dukes | Mindaugas (House) · Treniota · Vaišvilkas · Shvarn · Traidenis · Daumantas |
| Gediminids | Butigeidis · Butvydas · Vytenis · Gediminas (House) · Jaunutis · Algirdas · Jogaila · Kęstutis · Skirgaila · Vytautas · Švitrigaila · Sygismund Kestutian · Casimir Jagellon · Alexander · Sigismund I the Old · Sigismund II Augustus |
| Elected | Henry III of Valois · Stefan Batory · Sigismund III Vasa · Ladislaus IV Vasa · John II Casimir Vasa · Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki · John III Sobieski · Augustus II the Strong · Stanisław Leszczyński · August III the Saxon · Stanisław August Poniatowski |
