Henry III of France
A French king whose turbulent reign was defined by religious civil wars, personal eccentricity, and a shocking assassination.
1551–1589 (age 38)·King of France from 1574 to 1589·Birthday: September 19
Biography
Henry III took the French throne in 1574 as the Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants tore the kingdom apart. He spent his reign fighting to preserve royal authority against the Catholic League and the Protestant Huguenots. The king patronized the arts and surrounded himself with a court of favorites called the 'mignons,' whose effeminate style drew criticism. His volatile political maneuvers culminated in the 1588 assassination of his chief Catholic rivals, the Duke and Cardinal of Guise. That act turned Paris and much of France against him. A Dominican friar stabbed Henry to death in 1589, making him the second French king murdered in under two decades and ending the Valois dynasty.
#1 When Henry Was Born
The biggest hits of 1551
Henry's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1551Born
1556Started school
1564Became a teenager
1567Could drive
1569Could vote
1572Turned 21
1581Turned 30
1589Died at 38
Key Achievements
- Founded the Order of the Holy Spirit, France's premier order of chivalry, in 1578.
- Issued the Edict of Beaulieu in 1576, granting substantial rights and freedoms to Huguenots.
- Served as the elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania for two years before fleeing to claim the French throne.
- Presided over the Estates-General at Blois in 1588, which culminated in the dramatic murders of the Duke and Cardinal of Guise.
Did You Know?
He was the first known King of France to wear earrings.
He was a dedicated patron of literature and helped establish the French Academy, later known as the Académie française.
His assassination left no Valois heir, leading to the succession of the Protestant Henry of Navarre, who converted to Catholicism to become Henry IV.
“Paris is worth a mass.”
