Henry III of France (French: Henri III, Polish: Henryk) (September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589), born Alexandre-Édouard de Valois-Angoulême, was King of France from 1574 to 1589, and as Henry of Valois, first elected King of Poland from 1573 to 1574.
Life
Early years
Henri was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, third 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 duc d'Angoulême and duc d'Orléans in 1560, and duc d'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.
Siblings
- Francis II, King of France (January 19, 1544 – December 5, 1560).
- Élisabeth, Queen consort of Spain (April 2, 1545 – October 3, 1568).
- Claude, Duchess consort of Lorraine (November 12, 1547 – February 21, 1575).
- Louis, Duke of Orleans (3 February 1549 – 24 October 1549).
- Charles IX, King of France (June 27, 1550 – May 30, 1574).
- Marguerite, Queen consort of France and Navarre (May 14, 1553 – March 27, 1615).
- François, Duke of Anjou (March 18, 1555 – June 19, 1584).
- Victoria (June 24, 1556 – June 24, 1556).
- Twin of Joan. Died in womb
- Joan (June 24, 1556 – August 1556).
- Twin of Victoria. Died shortly after birth
Youth
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]
After his death, and for a long time, Henry was assumed to have been homosexual or at least bisexual[2], though this was disputed[3]. Some modern historians, like P. Erlanger, J.F. Solnon, J. Boucher, found that, not only Henry was not homosexual (maybe bisexual), he had many famous mistresses (while no one could ever name one man he would have had an affair with) and was well-known at the time for his taste for beautiful women. The legend of his homosexuality, based on his dislike of war and hunting being interpreted as effeminate, was created by political opponents (both protestants and ultra-catholics) to turn the french people against him. Other modern historians counter that Erlanger, Solnon, etc. picked and chose their sources solely with respect to an ultra-conservative, anti-homosexual ideology; if Henry was a good king, in their minds, he cannot have been homosexual, and sources to the contrary must therefore be unreliable and can be ignored as if they do not exist.
Marriage?
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").[1]
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 was involved in the plot for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (but did not participate), in which thousands of Huguenots were killed ; his reign as King, like the ones of his elder brothers Francis II and Charles IX, would see France in constant turmoil over religion.
Reign
In 1573, Henri was elected King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As conditions for his free election, he was compelled to sign 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 on February 13, 1575, at Rheims Cathedral.
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 |
Marriage
Although he married Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont (February 14, 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, duc d'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 duc de Guise entered Paris, Henri III fled the city.
On December 23, 1588, at the Château de Blois, the duc de 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.
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 King's wound did not appear fatal, but he 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, joy at the news of Henri III's death was near delirium; some hailed the assassination as an act of God.[4]
Burial
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.
Additional viewing
- The French movies, La Reine Margot (1954) and La Reine Margot (1994), both based on Alexandre Dumas, père's 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. In the 1994 film 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. His brother dies by being accidentally poisoned by his mother, who had intended to kill Henri of Navarre instead.
- The film Elizabeth, released in 1998, depicts a fictional courtship between Elizabeth I of England and Henry III whilst still Duke of Anjou. In reality, the two never met and the Queen of England was actually courted by his younger brother François, Duke of Anjou. 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 the film Dangerous Beauty he has a short affair with the main character, venetian courtesan Veronica Franco. He appears masculine, although he declared to Veronica that the "rumors" about him were true. He is played by British actor Jake Weber.
- 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.
- Chabrier's opéra-comique Le roi malgré lui (1887) deals with the unhappy Polish episode, with Henri as the reluctant King of Poland. In Cracow he conspires with Polish nobles to depose himself. His friend Nangis changes places with him but in the end the plot fails and the curtain falls on Henri being crowned.
Polish Influence
The short reign of Henri Valois at Wawel Castle in Poland was a clash of civilization between the Polish and the French. The young king and his followers were amazed by several Polish practices, as well as disappointed by the rural poverty and harsh climate of the country. The Polish, on the other hand, wondered if all Frenchmen were as concerned with their appearance as their new King appeared to be.
In many aspects, Polish culture positively influenced France through this mixing of cultures. At Wawel, the French were introduced to new methods of toilet facilities, in which litter was taken outside the castle walls. After returning to France, Henry ordered the construction of such facilities in the Louvre and other palaces. Other inventions which were new to the French included a bath with regulated hot and cold water, and use of the fork.
Ancestors
See also
References
External links
Titles
|
