Henry III of France

Henry as Duke of Anjou (1570)
Henry as Duke of Anjou (1570)
Henry III.
French Monarchy-
Capetian Dynasty
(Valois-Angoulême branch)

Francis I
Children
   Francis
   Henry II
   Madeleine of Valois
   Charles of Valois
   Margaret of Valois
Henry II
Children
   Francis II
   Elizabeth of Valois
   Claude of Valois
   Louis of Valois
   Charles IX
   Henry III
   Marguerite of Valois
   François, Duke of Anjou
   Joan of Volois
   Victoria of Volois
Francis II
Charles IX
Henry III

Henry III (French: Henri III; September 19, 1551August 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 (1574) and is known to Polish historians as Henryk III Walezy ("Henri III of Valois").

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.

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 because of Henri's Catholicism and also quite possibly because of Henri's sexuality. He was bisexual and was also a transvestite.

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 Jarnac and 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.

The first Polish pacta conventa, acceded to by Henri de Valois, 1573.
The first Polish pacta conventa, acceded to by Henri de Valois, 1573.

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.

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.

Henri III.  Drawing by Jan Matejko.
Henri III. Drawing by Jan Matejko.

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.

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.

Monarchical Styles of
King Henry III
Par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France
Reference style His Most Christian Majesty
Spoken style Your Most Christian Majesty
Alternative style Monsieur Le Roi

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.

Additional viewing

Preceded by:
Zygmunt II August
King of Poland
February 21, 1574-June 19, 1574
Succeeded by:
Anna and Stefan Batory
Preceded by:
Charles IX
King of France
May 30, 1574August 2, 1589
Succeeded by:
Henri IV
Monarchs of Poland
Piast: Siemowit | Lestko | Siemomysł | Mieszko I | Bolesław I the Brave | Mieszko II Lambert | Bezprym | Mieszko II Lambert | Casimir I the Restorer | Bolesław II the Bold | Władysław I Herman | Zbigniew of Poland | Bolesław III Wrymouth | Władysław II the Exile | Bolesław IV the Curly | Mieszko III the Old | Casimir II the Just | Leszek I the White | Władysław III Spindleshanks | Mieszko IV Tanglefoot | Konrad I of Masovia | Henryk I the Bearded | Henryk II the Pious | Konrad I of Masovia | Bolesław V the Chaste | Leszek II the Black | Henryk IV Probus | Przemysł II
Přemyslid: Václav II | Václav III
Piast: Władysław I the Elbow-high | Casimir III the Great
Angevin: Ludwik the Hungarian | Jadwiga Angevin
Jagiellon: Władysław II Jagiełło | Władysław III of Varna | Casimir IV Jagiellon | John I Albert | Alexander Jagiellon | Sigismund I the Old | Sigismund II Augustus
Elected: Henryk III Walezy | Anna Jagiellon | Stefan Batory | Sigismund III Vasa | Władysław IV Vasa | John II Casimir | Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki | Jan III Sobieski | August II the Strong | Stanisław Leszczyński | August II the Strong | Stanisław Leszczyński | August III the Saxon | Stanisław August Poniatowski

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