Henry IV of France

Henry IV (French: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (le Bon Roi Henri) or Henry the Great (Henri le Grand), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. He pragmatically balanced the interests of the Catholic and Protestant parties in France, as well as among the European states. He was assassinated in Paris in 1610 by a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII.

Henry was baptised a Catholic but raised as a Huguenot in the Protestant faith by his mother, Queen Jeanne III of Navarre. He inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on his mother's death. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. He later led Protestant forces against the French royal army. Henry inherited the throne of France in 1589 upon the death of Henry III. Henry IV initially kept the Protestant faith (the only French king to do so) and had to fight against the Catholic League, which refused to accept a Protestant monarch. After four years of military stalemate, Henry converted to Catholicism, reportedly saying that "Paris is well worth a Mass". As a pragmatic politician (politique), he promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598), which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, thereby effectively ending the French Wars of Religion.

An active ruler, Henry worked to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, and encourage education. He began the first successful French colonization of the Americas. He promoted trade and industry, and prioritized the construction of roads, bridges, and canals to facilitate communication within France and strengthen the country's cohesion. These efforts stimulated economic growth and improved living standards.

While the Edict of Nantes brought religious peace to France, some hardline Catholics and Huguenots remained dissatisfied, leading to occasional outbreaks of violence and conspiracies. Henry IV also faced resistance from certain noble factions who opposed his centralization policies, leading to political instability. His main foreign policy success was the Peace of Vervins in 1598, which made peace in the long-running conflict with Spain. He formed a strategic alliance with England. He also forged alliances with Protestant states, such as the Dutch Republic and several German states, to counter the Catholic powers. His policies contributed to the stability and prominence of France in European affairs.

Henry was born on the night of 12-to-13 December 1553 at Pau, the capital of the joint Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign Principality of Béarn, in his maternal grandfather King Henry II of Navarre's estate, the Château de Pau. He was the son of Jeanne III of Navarre (Jeanne d'Albret) and her husband, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme. As the heir to the throne of Navarre, Henry received the title of Prince of Viana (Prince de Viane). He was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church a few weeks after his birth, on 6 March 1554, at the chapel of the Château de Pau, by Cardinal Georges d'Armagnac. His godfathers were kings Henry II of France and Henry II of Navarre, and his godmothers the Queen of France Catherine de' Medici and Isabella of Navarre, Viscountess of Rohan. During the ceremony, King Henry II of France was represented by the Cardinal de Vendôme.

Henry spent part of his early childhood in the countryside of Béarn at the Château de Coarraze. He frequented the peasants during his hunting trips, and acquired the nickname of "miller of Barbaste" (meunier de Barbaste). Faithful to the spirit of Calvinism, Henry's mother Jeanne d'Albret raised him in its strict morality, according to the precepts of the Reformation. On the accession of Charles IX of France in 1561, Henry was brought to live at the French court in Paris by his father Antoine de Bourbon. Henry's parents disagreed on the choice of his religion, with his mother seeking to educate him in Calvinism, and his father in Catholicism.

During the First French War of Religion (1562–1563), Henry was moved to Montargis for his safety, where he was placed under the protection of Renée of France. After his father's death and the end of the war, he was kept at the French court as a guarantor of the agreement between the monarchy and the Queen of Navarre. Jeanne d'Albret obtained control of his education from Catherine de' Medici and his appointment as governor of Guyenne in 1563. Between 1564 and 1566, Henry accompanied the French royal family in its grand tour of France, and on this occasion reencountered his mother, whom he had not seen for two years. In 1567, Jeanne d'Albret brought him back to live with her in Béarn.

In 1568, Henry took part as an observer in his first military campaign in Navarre, and continued his military instruction during the Third War of Religion (1568–1570). Under the tutelage of Huguenot leader Gaspard II de Coligny, he witnessed the battles of Jarnac, La Roche-l'Abeille, and Moncontour. He saw combat for the first time in 1570, at the Battle of Arnay-le-Duc [fr].