View source for Henry III of France

{{Short description|King of France from 1574 to 1589}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Henry III
| image        = Quesnel Henry III of France in Polish hat.jpg
| caption      = Portrait by [[Étienne Dumonstier]], {{Circa|1580-86}}
| alt          = Portrait of Henry wearing a black beret
| succession   = [[King of France]]
| moretext     = ([[Style of the French sovereign|more...]])
| reign        = 30 May 1574 – 2 August 1589
| coronation   = 13 February 1575<br/>[[Reims Cathedral]]
| cor-type     = france
| predecessor  = [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]]
| successor    = [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]]
| succession1  = [[King of Poland]]<br/>[[Grand Duke of Lithuania]]
| reign1       = 16 May 1573 – 12 May 1575
| coronation1  = 22 February 1574, [[Wawel Cathedral|Wawel]]
| cor-type1    = [[Coronations in Poland|Coronation]]
| predecessor1 = [[Sigismund II Augustus]]
| successor1   = [[Anna Jagiellon|Anna]] and [[Stephen Báthory|Stephen]]
| reg-type1    = [[Interrex (Poland)|Interrex]]
| regent1      = [[Jakub Uchański]]
| birth_name   = Alexandre Édouard, duc de Angoulême
| birth_date   = 19 September 1551
| birth_place  = [[Château de Fontainebleau]], France
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1589|8|2|1551|9|19|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Château de Saint-Cloud]], France
| death_cause  = [[Henry III of France#Death|Assassination]]
| burial_date  = 
| burial_place = [[Basilica of St Denis]], France
| spouse       = {{Marriage|[[Louise of Lorraine, Queen of France|Louise of Lorraine]]|1575}}
| house        = [[House of Valois-Angoulême|Valois-Angoulême]]
| father       = [[Henry II of France]]
| mother       = [[Catherine de' Medici]]
| religion     = [[Catholicism]]
| signature    = Signature of Henry III of France.svg
}}
'''Henry III''' ({{Langx|fr|Henri III, [[né]] Alexandre Édouard}}; {{Langx|pl|Henryk [[House of Valois|Walezy]]}}; {{Langx|lt|Henrikas Valua}}; 19 September 1551&nbsp;– 2 August 1589) was [[King of France]] from 1574 until his assassination in 1589 and, as '''Henry of Valois''', [[King of Poland]] and [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]] from 1573 to 1575.

As the fourth son of King [[Henry II of France]] and Queen [[Catherine de' Medici]], he was not expected to inherit the [[Kingdom of France|French]] throne and thus was a good candidate for the vacant throne of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], where he was elected [[List of Polish rulers#Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1569–1795|monarch]] in 1573. During his brief rule, he refused to sign the [[Henrician Articles]] into law, which would recognise the [[szlachta]]'s right to [[Royal elections in Poland|freely elect]] their monarch. The Henrician Articles became, nonetheless, deeply rooted in Poland's politics as all his successors accepted them. Aged 22, Henry abandoned Poland–Lithuania upon inheriting the French throne when his brother, [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]], died without issue.

France was at the time plagued by the [[French Wars of Religion|Wars of Religion]], and Henry's authority was undermined by violent political factions funded by foreign powers: the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]] (supported by [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] and the [[Pope]]), the [[Protestant]] [[Huguenots]] (supported by [[Kingdom of England|England]] and the [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]]) and the [[Malcontents (France)|Malcontents]] (led by Henry's own brother [[Francis, Duke of Anjou|Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon]], a party of [[Catholic]] and Protestant [[French nobility|aristocrats]] who jointly opposed the [[Absolute monarchy in France|absolutist]] ambitions of the king). Henry III was himself a {{Lang|fr|[[politique]]}}, arguing that only a [[unitary state|strong and centralised]] yet [[religious toleration|religiously tolerant]] monarchy would save France from collapse.

After the death of Henry's younger brother [[Francis, Duke of Anjou]], and when it became apparent that Henry would not father an heir, the Wars of Religion developed into a dynastic war known as the [[War of the Three Henrys]]. Under [[Salic Law]], Henry III's [[heir apparent]] was his distant cousin, King [[Henry III of Navarre]], a Protestant. The Catholic League, led by [[Henry I, Duke of Guise]], demanded the exclusion of all Protestant heirs from the line of succession. They instead championed the Catholic [[Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (born 1523)|Charles, Cardinal of Bourbon]], as Henry III's [[heir presumptive]].

Henry had the Duke of Guise murdered in 1588 and was in turn assassinated by [[Jacques Clément]], a Catholic League fanatic, in 1589. He was succeeded by the King of Navarre who, as [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], assumed the throne of France as the first king of the [[House of Bourbon]] and eventually converted to Catholicism.

==Early life==

===Childhood===
Henry was born at the royal [[Chateau Fontainebleau|Château de Fontainebleau]], as Alexandre Édouard, duc de Angoulême, the fourth son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. He was a grandson of [[Francis I of France]] and [[Claude of France]]. His older brothers were [[Francis II of France]], [[Charles IX of France]], and [[Louis of Valois (1549-1550)|Louis of Valois]]. He was made [[Duke of Angoulême]] and [[Duke of Orléans]] in 1560, then [[Duke of Anjou]] in 1566.

He was his mother's favourite; she called him ''chers yeux'' ("precious eyes") and lavished fondness and affection upon him for most of his life.{{Sfn|Mariéjol|1920|p=204}} His elder brother, Charles, grew to detest him, partially because he resented his better health.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}

The royal children were raised under the supervision of [[Diane de Poitiers]], his father's mistress.{{Sfn|Wellman|2013|p=209}}

===Youth===
[[File:Anjou 1570louvre.jpg|thumb|150px|Portrait of Henry when he was [[Duke of Anjou]] by [[Jean de Court]] (1570)<ref name="smithsonian" />]]
Although he was skilled and fond of fencing, he preferred to indulge his tastes for the arts and reading. These predilections were attributed to his Italian mother. Henry's favourite interests were hunting and riding.{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|p=2}}

At one point in his youth Henry showed a tendency towards Protestantism as a means of rebelling. At the age of nine, he called himself "a little Huguenot",{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|p=11}} attended [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] only to please his mother,{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|pp=11–12}} sang Protestant [[psalm]]s to his sister [[Margaret of Valois|Margaret]] (exhorting her all the while to change her religion and cast her [[Book of Hours]] into the fire),{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|p=12}} and even bit the nose off a statue of [[St. Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]]. His mother firmly cautioned him against such behaviour, and he would never again show any Protestant tendencies. Instead, he became staunchly Catholic.{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|p=12}}

In the factional dispute that engulfed France in the wake of Henry II's death in 1559, Henry was solicited by Henry, son of [[Francis, Duke of Guise]], at the behest of [[Jacques, Duke of Nemours]], to run away from court to be a figurehead for the ultra-Catholics.{{Sfn|Carroll|2009|p=186}} However, the plot was uncovered before any action could be taken.{{Sfn|Carroll|2009|p=186}}

Henry was known as a [[Flâneur|flaneur]], who relished leisurely strolls through Paris and partook in the sociability in the busiest of neighbourhoods. He revelled in fairs, music, [[bilboquet]] and [[court masques]]. His extravagance in court entertainments cut him off from the common people. He was also a devout Catholic who introduced pious reforms into the city and he encouraged the French church to follow the edicts of the [[Council of Trent]].{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=143–145}}

===Sexuality===
[[File:Henri III Versailles.jpg|thumb|150px|Henry III (c. 1575)]]
Reports that Henry engaged in [[homosexuality|same-sex relations]] with his court favourites, known as the ''[[Les Mignons|mignons]],'' date back to his own time.<ref name="smithsonian">{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/portrait-miniature-henry-iii-royal-history-france-180976840/ |title=Petite portrait of Henry III, King who challenged sexual norms in 16th-century France, discovered |last=McGreevy |first=Nora |date=January 27, 2021 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=June 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201213402/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/portrait-miniature-henry-iii-royal-history-france-180976840/ |archive-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref> He was known to have enjoyed intense relationships with them.{{Sfn|MacCulloch|2004|p=?}} The scholar Louis Crompton maintains that all of the contemporary rumours about Henry were true.{{sfn|Crompton|2003|p=328-330}} However, some modern historians have disputed this: Jean-Francois Solnon,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Solnon |first=Jean-Francois |title=La Cour de France |publisher=Fayard |date=1987 |location=Paris}}</ref> Nicolas Le Roux,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Le Roux |first=Nicolas |title=Un régicide au nom de Dieu, l'assassinat d'Henri III |publisher=Gallimard |date=2006 |isbn=2-0707-3529-X |location=Paris |language=fr}}</ref> and Jacqueline Boucher<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boucher |first=Jacqueline |title=La cour de Henri III |publisher=Ouest-France |date=1986 |isbn=2-7373-0019-3 |location=Rennes |language=fr}}</ref> have noted that Henry had many famous mistresses, that he was well known for his taste in beautiful women, and that no male sex partners have been identified. They concluded that the idea he was [[homosexual]] was promoted by his political opponents (both Protestant and Catholic) who used his dislike of war to depict him as effeminate and undermine his reputation with the French people.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau |url=https://archive.org/stream/erotikabiblion00mirauoft#page/n5/mode/1up |title=Erotika Biblion |date=1783|publisher=Bruxelles, Chez tous les libraires }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2023}} The portrait of a self-indulgent homosexual incapable of fathering an heir to the throne proved useful in efforts by the Catholic League to secure the succession for [[Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (born 1523)|Cardinal Charles de Bourbon]] after 1585.{{Sfn|MacCulloch|2004|p=?}} [[Robert Knecht]] maintained that the ''mignons'' themselves were "not homosexuals"<ref name="Knecht">{{cite book |last=Knecht |first=Robert |date=2007 |title=The Valois: Kings of France 1328-1589 |location=London |publisher=Hambledon Continuum |page=219 |isbn=1-85285-522-3}}</ref> either, "as is often assumed. Far from being effeminate, they were skilful swordsmen, who risked their lives in duels."<ref name="Knecht"/>

However, [[French Renaissance]] scholar [[Gary Ferguson (literature scholar)|Gary Ferguson]] considers such interpretations to be unconvincing: "It is difficult to reconcile the king whose use of favourites is so logically strategic with the man who goes to pieces when one of them dies."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KY7SDpSFTSYC&pg=PA183 |title=Queer (Re)Readings in the French Renaissance: Homosexuality, Gender, Culture |publisher=Ashgate |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-7546-6377-5 |location=Aldershot/Burlington}}</ref> Katherine Crawford, by contrast, emphasizes the problems Henry's reputation encountered because of his failure to produce an heir and the presence of his powerful mother at court, combined with his enemies' insistence on conflating patronage with favouritism and luxury with decadence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=[[Katherine B. Crawford]] |date=2003 |title=Love, Sodomy, and Scandal: Controlling the Sexual Reputation of Henry III |journal=Journal of the History of Sexuality |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=513–542|doi=10.1353/sex.2004.0024 }}</ref>

===Elizabeth===
In 1570, discussions commenced arranging for Henry to court Queen [[Elizabeth I of England]].{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|pp=41–42}} Elizabeth, almost 37, was expected by many parties in her country to marry and produce an heir. However, nothing came of these discussions. In initiating them, Elizabeth is viewed by historians as having intended only to arouse the concern of Spain, rather than contemplate marriage seriously. Henry's mother felt the chance of marriage despite differing religious views (Henry was Catholic, Elizabeth Protestant) simply required personal sacrifice.{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|p=42}} Henry tactlessly referred to Elizabeth as a {{Lang|fr|putain publique}} ("public [[whore]]") and made ridiculous remarks about their difference in age (he was 18 years younger at a time when such large age differences between spouses were not at all uncommon).{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|p=42}}

===Wars of Religion===
[[File:Le Siege de La Rochelle par le Duc d Anjou en 1573.jpg|thumb|The [[Siege of La Rochelle (1572–1573)|Siege of La Rochelle]] by the Duke of Anjou in 1573 ("History of Henry III" tapestry, completed in 1623)]]

In November 1567, upon the death of [[Anne de Montmorency]], Henry assumed the role of [[Lieutenant-General (France)|Lieutenant-General]] of France, placing him in nominal control of France's military.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Holt |first=Mack |title=The French Wars of Religion 1562–1628 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-5213-5873-6 |page=66}}</ref>{{Sfn|Sutherland|1973|page=54}} Henry served as a leader of the royal army, taking part in the victories over the [[Huguenots]] at the [[Battle of Jarnac]] (March 1569){{Sfn|Knecht|1989|p=41}} and at the [[Battle of Moncontour]] (October 1569).{{Sfn|Knecht|1998|p=130}} At this time he was a rallying point for the ultra-Catholics at court, who saw him as an opposition figure to the tolerant line being taken by the King, with [[Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine]] guiding his council.<ref name=":1"/> Lorraine offered him 200,000 Francs of Church revenue to become a protector of Catholicism, and tried to arrange his marriage to [[Mary, Queen of Scots]]; however neither project took off.{{Sfn|Sutherland|1973|page=69}}

While still Duke of Anjou, he helped plot the [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]] of 1572. Though Henry did not participate directly, historian [[:fr:Thierry Wanegffelen|Thierry Wanegffelen]] sees him as the royal most responsible for the massacre, which involved the targeted killing of many Huguenot leaders. Henry III's reign as King of France, like those of his elder brothers Francis and Charles, would see France in constant turmoil over religion.

Henry continued to take an active role in the Wars of Religion, and in 1572/1573 led the [[Siege of La Rochelle (1572–1573)|siege of La Rochelle]], a massive military assault on the Huguenot-held city.{{Sfn|Knecht|1989|p=54}} At the end of May 1573, Henry learned that the [[Royal elections in Poland|Polish ''szlachta'']] had elected him King of Poland (a country with a large Protestant minority at the time) and political considerations forced him to negotiate an end to the siege. Negotiators reached an agreement on 24 June 1573, and Catholic troops ended the siege on 6 July 1573.

==King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1574–1575)==
Following the death of the Polish ruler [[Sigismund II Augustus]] on 7 July 1572, [[Jean de Monluc]] was sent as the French envoy to Poland to negotiate the election of Henry to the Polish throne in exchange for military support against Russia, diplomatic assistance in dealing with the [[Ottoman Empire]], and financial subsidies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Manetsch |first=Scott M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH9Rkw4Yl8EC&pg=PA80 |title=''Theodore Beza and the quest for peace in France, 1572–1598'' |publisher=BRILL |date=2000 |isbn=9-0041-1101-8 |page=80}}</ref> [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]] allowed Henry's envoys to give up to 50,000 [[écu]]s to important people in Poland-Lithuania as a bribe, but this would increase to 100,000 each.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Roşu |first=Felicia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/990854634 |title=Elective monarchy in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1569-1587 |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-878937-6 |edition= |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |oclc=990854634}}</ref>

[[File:Henri on the throne in front of the Polish Diet.jpg|thumb|right|Henry III on the Polish throne, in front of the [[Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] and [[Szlachta|aristocracy]] surrounded by [[halberdiers]], 1574]]

On 16 May 1573, Polish nobles chose Henry as the first elected monarch of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. The Lithuanian nobles boycotted this election, however, and it was left to the Lithuanian ducal council to confirm his election.{{Sfn|Stone|2001|page=118}} The commonwealth elected Henry, rather than [[Habsburg]] candidates, partly in order to be more agreeable to the [[Ottoman Empire]] (a traditional ally of France through the [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]]) and strengthen a [[Polish-Ottoman alliance]] that was in effect.{{Sfn|Davies|2007|p=10}}  In addition to this, Henry was not a powerful ruler in his own right, as he was only a Prince, nor did France border the Commonwealth, so he wouldn't have the capacity to strip the Polish Nobility of their [[Nobility privileges in Poland|historic rights]].<ref name=":0" />

A Polish delegation went to La Rochelle to meet with Henry, who was leading the Siege of La Rochelle. Henry left the siege following their visit.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greengrass |first=Mark |title=''Governing passions: peace and reform in the French kingdom, 1576–1585'' Mark Greengrass |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1992-1490-7 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4aTeF5p6FYAC&pg=PA17 17]}}</ref> In Paris, on 10 September, the Polish delegation asked Henry to take an oath, at [[Notre Dame de Paris|Notre Dame Cathedral]], to "respect traditional Polish liberties and the law on religious freedom that had been passed during the [[Interrex (Poland)|interregnum]]".{{Sfn|Stone|2001|page=119}} As a condition of his election, he was compelled to sign the ''[[Pacta conventa (Poland)|pacta conventa]]'' and the [[Henrician Articles]], pledging [[religious tolerance]] in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.<ref name="jasienica">{{Cite book |last=Paweł Jasienica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltseAAAAMAAJ&q=Rzeczpospolita+Obojga+Narod%C3%B3w+Jasienica |title=Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (The Commonwealth of the Both Nations) |date=1982 |isbn=8-3060-0788-3 |location=Warsaw |language=pl}}</ref> Henry chafed at the restrictions on monarchic power under the Polish-Lithuanian [[political system]] of "[[Golden Liberty]]".<ref name=jasienica/> The [[General sejm|Polish-Lithuanian parliament]] had been urged by [[Anna Jagiellon]], the sister of the recently deceased king Sigismund II Augustus, to elect him based on the understanding that Henry would wed Anna afterward.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zbigniew Satała |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBI1AAAAIAAJ&q=anna+jagiellonka |title=Poczet polskich królowych, księżnych i metres |date=1990 |isbn=8-3700-7257-7 |location=Warsaw |language=pl}}</ref>

At a ceremony before the [[Parlement#The Parlement of Paris|Parlement of Paris]] on 13 September, the Polish delegation handed over the "certificate of election to the throne of Poland-Lithuania".{{Sfn|Stone|2001|page=119}} Henry also gave up any claims to succession and he "recognized the principle of free election" under the Henrician Articles and the ''[[Pacta conventa (Poland)|pacta conventa]]''.{{Sfn|Stone|2001|page=119}}

[[File:Grottger Escape of Henry of Valois.jpg|thumb|left|''Escape of Henry III from Poland'', by [[Artur Grottger]], 1860]]

[[File:Emanuel van Meteren Historie ppn 051504510 MG 8760 henrick de III.tif|thumb|Engraving of Henry III]]

It was not until January 1574 that Henry was to reach the borders of Poland. On 21 February, Henry's coronation was held in [[Kraków]].{{Sfn|Stone|2001|pp=120–121}} In mid-June 1574, upon learning of the death of his brother Charles IX, Henry left Poland and headed back to France.{{Sfn|Stone|2001|pp=120–121}} Henry's absence provoked a constitutional crisis that the Parliament attempted to resolve by notifying Henry that his throne would be lost if he did not return from France by 12 May 1575.{{Sfn|Stone|2001|pp=120–121}} His failure to return caused Parliament to declare his throne vacant.{{Sfn|Stone|2001|pp=120–121}}

The short reign of Henry at [[Wawel Castle]] in Poland was marked by a clash of cultures between the Polish and the French. The young king and his followers were astonished by several Polish practices and disappointed by the rural poverty and harsh climate of the country.<ref name=jasienica/> The Poles, on the other hand, wondered if all Frenchmen were as concerned with their appearance as their new king appeared to be.<ref name=jasienica/>

In many aspects, Polish culture had a positive influence on France. At Wawel, the French were introduced to new technologies of septic facilities, in which litter (excrement) was taken outside the castle walls.<ref name="placet">{{Cite web |last=Krzysztof Prendecki |date=30 October 2006 |title=Kuracja wiedzą |url=http://placet.pl/?mod=Artykuly&id=85 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320004843/http://placet.pl/?mod=Artykuly&id=85 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |access-date=5 January 2009 |website=placet.pl |language=pl}}</ref> On returning to France, Henry wanted to order the construction of such facilities at the [[Louvre]] and other palaces.<ref name="placet"/> Other inventions introduced to the French by the Polish included a bath with regulated hot and cold water as well as dining forks.<!-- {{Fact}} because Willy (2007) does not mention Poland. ''Henri III (1551–1589) [...] he is widely credited for having introduced the fork into France.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Willy, Lawrence R. Schehr |title=The third sex |publisher=University of Illinois Press |date=2007 |isbn=0-2520-3216-0 |page=110}}</ref>-->

In 1578, Henry created the [[Order of the Holy Spirit]] to commemorate his becoming first King of Poland and later King of France on the Feast of [[Pentecost]] and gave it precedence over the earlier [[Order of St. Michael]], which had lost much of its original prestige by being awarded too frequently and too readily. The Order would retain its prestige as the premier [[chivalric order]] of France until the end of the French monarchy.

==French reign (1574–1589)==
Henry was crowned king of France on 13 February 1575 at [[Reims Cathedral]]. Although he was expected to produce an heir after he married the 21-year-old [[Louise of Lorraine, Queen of France|Louise of Lorraine]]{{Sfn|George|1875|p=table XXX}} on 14 February 1575,{{Sfn|Kosior|2019|p=32}} no issue resulted from their union.{{sfn|Spangler|2021|p=45}}

In 1574, Henry renewed letters that gave Portuguese [[New Christian]]s the right of settling in France.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Historical Atlas of the Jewish People |publisher=Hutchinson |year=1992 |isbn=0-09-177593-0 |editor-last=Barnavi |editor-first=Eli |pages=138 |chapter=The Return to Western Europe}}</ref>

In 1576, Henry signed the [[Edict of Beaulieu]], which granted many concessions to the Huguenots. His action resulted in [[Henry I, Duke of Guise]], forming the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]]. After much posturing and negotiations, Henry was forced to rescind most of the concessions that had been made to the Protestants in the edict.

[[File:Henri III 1577.jpg|thumb|left|Coin of Henry III, 1577]]

After 1582, Henry became convinced of the need for fiscal reform to break the cycle of expedients upon which he had relied.{{sfn|Jouanna|2021|p=568}} To this end he summoned an [[1583 Assembly of Notables|Assembly of Notables]] which met from November 1583 to February 1584.{{sfn|Carpi|2012|p=367}} While he failed to convince them of his most radical tax plans, the notables forwarded a series of proposals to him which would be embodied in his legislation during 1584.{{sfn|Carpi|2012|p=369}}{{sfn|Chevallier|1985|pp=518-519}} As a result of these policies the royal budget was almost balanced in 1585, before it was subject to political shock.{{sfn|Chevallier|1985|p=520}}

In 1584, the king's youngest brother and [[heir presumptive]], [[Francis, Duke of Anjou]], died. Under [[Salic Law]], the next heir to the throne was Protestant [[Henry of Navarre]], a descendant of [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]] (Saint Louis). The possibility of a Protestant on the throne led to the [[War of the Three Henrys]]. Under pressure from the duke of Guise, Henry III issued an edict suppressing Protestantism and annulling Henry of Navarre's right to the throne.

Henry III, stung by the open disobedience of Guise, attempted a coup in May 1588 and sent royal Swiss troops into several neighbourhoods. This had the unintended effect of rallying the people against him and in favor of the more popular Guise during the [[Day of the Barricades]]. Henry III fled the city; he later sought support from the Parlement of Paris and propped up an anti-League establishment throughout France.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=147–148}}

Following the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]] that summer, the king's fear of Spanish support for the Catholic League apparently waned. Accordingly, on 23 December 1588, at the [[Château of Blois]], he invited Guise to the council chamber where the duke's brother [[Louis II, Cardinal of Guise]], already waited. The duke was told that the king wished to see him in the private room adjoining the royal bedroom. There, royal guardsmen murdered the duke, then the cardinal.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=147–148}} To make certain that no contender for the French throne was free to act against him, the king had the [[Charles, Duke of Guise|duke's son]] imprisoned. The duke of Guise had been very popular in France, and the citizenry turned against Henry for the murders.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=147–148}} The Parlement instituted criminal charges against the king, and he was compelled to join forces with his heir, the Protestant Henry of Navarre, by setting up the [[Parliament of Tours]].

By 1589 Henry's popularity hit a new low. Preachers were calling for his assassination and labelling him a tyrant. The people of Paris disdained him for his court extravagances, allowing corruption to grow rife, high taxes and having relied extensively on Italian financiers. But what most Parisians hated most about him was his alleged sexuality.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=143–145}}
[[File:The arrival of Henry III of France at the Lido in Venice in 1574 MET DP848943.jpg|thumb|The arrival of Henry III of France in Venice, 1574]]

===Overseas relations===
Under Henry, France named [[Guillaume Bérard]] as the first [[France–Morocco relations|Consul of France in Morocco]]. The request came from the Moroccan prince [[Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi|Abd al-Malik]], who had been saved by Bérard, a doctor by profession, during an epidemic in [[History of Istanbul#Imperial capital|Constantinople]] and wished to retain Bérard in his service.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garcés, María Antonia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h97ivaPeOx8C&pg=PA277 |title=Cervantes in Algiers: a captive's tale |publisher=Vanderbilt University Press |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-8265-1470-7 |page=277 note 39}}</ref>

Henry III encouraged the exploration and development of [[New World]] territories. In 1588, he granted Jacques Noël, the nephew of [[Jacques Cartier]], privileges over fishing, fur trading, and mining in [[New France]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=King of France from 1574 to 1589 |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/Senate/Monarchy/SenMonarchy_16-e.htm# |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525074741/http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/Senate/Monarchy/SenMonarchy_16-e.htm |archive-date=25 May 2011 |access-date=14 December 2012 |publisher=Parliament of Canada}}</ref>
[[File:Henri III à Saint-Cloud, commencement du siège de Paris (1589) Arnold Cheffer (1839-1873).jpg|thumb|Henry III in preparation to besiege Paris in 1589]]

==Death==
[[File:Jacques Clément.jpg|thumb|Jacques Clément assassinating Henry III|left]]
On 1 August 1589, Henry III lodged with his army at [[Saint-Cloud]], and was preparing to attack Paris, when a young fanatical [[Dominican friar]], [[Jacques Clément]], carrying false papers, was granted access to deliver important documents to the king.{{sfn|Knecht|2016|p=300-301}} The friar 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.{{sfn|Knecht|2016|p=300-301}} Clément was then killed on the spot by the guards.{{sfn|Knecht|2016|p=301}}

At first, the king's wound did not appear fatal,{{sfn|Knecht|2016|p=301}} but he enjoined all the officers around him, in case he did not survive, to be loyal to Henry of Navarre as their new king. The following morning, on the day that he was to have launched his assault to retake Paris, Henry 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 Henry III's death was near delirium; some hailed the assassination as an [[act of God]].{{Sfn|Knecht|2016|p=306-307}}

===Burial===
Henry III was interred at the [[Saint Denis Basilica]]. Childless, he was the longest-living of Henry II's sons to have become king and also the last of the Valois kings. Henry III of Navarre succeeded him as [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], the first of the kings of the [[House of Bourbon]].

== Arms ==
<gallery>
File:Henri Ier de Pologne.png|Coat of arms of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] during Henry’s reign.
File:Coat of Arms of Henry III of France.svg|Henry's [[coat of arms]], showing his dual status as [[King of France]] and lifelong [[King of Poland]].
File:Coat of Arms of Kingdom of France.svg|Personal coat of arms
</gallery>

== Ancestors ==
{{Ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Henry III of France and I of Poland'''
| 2 = 2. [[Henry II of France]]
| 3 = 3. [[Catherine de' Medici]]
| 4 = 4. [[Francis I of France]]{{Sfn|Anselme|1726|pp=131–132}}
| 5 = 5. [[Claude of France|Claude, Duchess of Brittany]]{{Sfn|Anselme|1726|pp=131–132}}
| 6 = 6. [[Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino]]<ref name="Whale43">Whale, p. 43</ref>
| 7 = 7. [[Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne]]<ref name="Whale43"/>
| 8 = 8. [[Charles, Count of Angoulême]]{{Sfn|Anselme|1726|pp=210–211}}
| 9 = 9. [[Louise of Savoy]]{{Sfn|Anselme|1726|pp=210–211}}
|10 = 10. [[Louis XII]] of France{{Sfn|Anselme|1726|pp=126–128}}
|11 = 11. [[Anne of Brittany|Anne, Duchess of Brittany]]{{Sfn|Anselme|1726|pp=126–128}}
|12 = 12. [[Piero the Unfortunate|Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici]]<ref name="Tomas7">Tomas, p. 7</ref>
|13 = 13. [[Alfonsina Orsini]]<ref name="Tomas7"/>
|14 = 14. [[John III, Count of Auvergne]]<ref name="Whale43"/>
|15 = 15. [[Jeanne de Bourbon, Duchess of Bourbon|Jeanne of Bourbon]]<ref name="Whale43"/>
}}

==In popular culture==
[[File:Wax miniature of Henry of Valois.jpg|thumb|Wax miniature by [[Antonio Abondio]], c. 1590]]

===Poetry===
* [[Jan Kochanowski]], ''Gallo crocitanti'' (1576)
* [[Pierre Matthieu]], ''La Guisiade'' (1589)

===Theatre===
* [[George Chapman]], ''[[Bussy D'Ambois|The Tragedy of Bussy D'Ambois]]'' (1607) and ''[[The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois]]'' (1613)
* [[John Dryden]] and [[Nathaniel Lee]], ''The Duke of Guise'' (1683)
* [[Alexandre Dumas, père]]'s ''[[Henry III and His Court]]'' (1829)
* [[Christopher Marlowe]], ''[[The Massacre at Paris]]'' (1593)

===Novel===
* [[Alexandre Dumas]]'s novels: ''[[La Reine Margot (novel)|La Reine Margot]]'' (1845), ''[[La Dame de Monsoreau]]'' (1846) and ''Les quarante-cinq'' (1847) as well as  ''Les deux Diane'' (1846) 
* [[Stanley J. Weyman|Stanley Weyman]], ''A Gentleman of France'' (1893), involves the events of Henry's reconciliation with the Huguenots and struggle against the Catholic League, leading to his assassination.
* [[Robert Merle]] ''Paris ma bonne ville'' (1980)
* Robert Merle ''Le prince que voilà'' (1982)
* Robert Merle ''La violente amour'' (1983)
* [[Jean Plaidy]] ''[[Queen Jezebel (novel)|Queen Jezebel]]'' (1953)
* [[Michel Zevaco]] ''Les Pardaillan'' (1900)
* [[S.J. Parris]] ''Conspiracy'' (2015)

===Film===
* The French short film ''[[The Assassination of the Duke of Guise]]'' (1908) shows the Duke's assassination but not the Cardinal's. The co-director, Charles Le Bargy, plays the Duke.
* {{IMDb title|id=|1089705|title=Last Days of Henry III, King of France}}
* The American silent film ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]]'' (1916) depicts Henry as effeminate but not explicitly homosexual. He is portrayed by the British-born American actor Maxfield Stanley.
* The French movies ''[[La Reine Margot (1954 film)|La Reine Margot]]'' (1954) and ''[[La Reine Margot (1994 film)|La Reine Margot]]'' (1994), both based on Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same title, are fictional depictions of the lives of Henry III's family, his sister Margot, and her Protestant husband Henry around the time of the [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]. In the 1994 film, Henry 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 in his sister. His brother dies by being accidentally poisoned by his mother, who had intended to kill Henry of Navarre instead.
* As the Duke of Anjou, the future Henry III plays a significant role in the French film ''[[The Princess of Montpensier]]'', based on the novel of the same title by [[Madame de La Fayette]].
* The film ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'', released in 1998, depicts a fictional courtship between Elizabeth I of England and Henry III while he was still Duke of Anjou. In reality, the two never met and the Queen of England was actually courted nearly ten years later by his younger brother [[François, Duke of Anjou]], when Elizabeth was 46. 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 the French actor [[Vincent Cassel]].
* In the film ''[[Dangerous Beauty]]'', he has an assignation with the main character, the Venetian courtesan [[Veronica Franco]]. Visiting a Venice eager for military aid, the "French king" chooses her from among the famous courtesans of that city because he notices her reluctance; placing a blade at her neck, he tells Veronica that the "rumours" about him are true (that "the king is a pervert"), and the implication is made that Veronica pleases him enormously by first correctly guessing at and then indulging his fetish for BDSM domination.  (When the king emerges from Franco's house in the morning, the assembled Venetian nobility awaiting, he smiles broadly while carefully settling his presumably sore posterior on a pillow, and then declares that the French navy shall assist the Venetians against the Ottoman Empire in defense of their rule of Cyprus.) He is played by the British actor [[Jake Weber]].

===Television===
* 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 a very old man who acts nervous and jumpy, and for no apparent reason speaks with an [[English accent]].
* He is also featured in a few episodes in the first and fourth seasons of [[the CW]] show ''[[Reign (TV series)|Reign]]''. In the show's fourth season, Henry is played by [[Nick Slater (actor)|Nick Slater]]. With his brother showing little interest in the job, Spain wants Henry to become France's king.
* ''[[The Serpent Queen]]''

===Opera===
* [[Chabrier]]'s [[opéra-comique]] ''[[Le roi malgré lui]]'' (1887) deals with the unhappy Polish episode, with Henri as the reluctant King of Poland. In Kraków, 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.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|LGBTQ}}
* [[Chicot]]
* [[History of Poland (1569–1795)]]
* [[Les Mignons]]
* [[Louis Duret]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Anselme de Sainte-Marie |first=Père |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k76026j/f16.image |title=Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France |date=1726 |publisher=La compagnie des libraires |edition=3rd |volume=1 |location=Paris |language=fr |trans-title=Genealogical and chronological history of the royal house of France |ref={{Harvid|Anselme|1726}}}}
* {{cite book |title=Les Guerres de Religion (1559-1598): Un Conflit Franco-Français |last=Carpi |first=Olivia |publisher=Ellipses |year=2012}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carroll |first=Stuart |title=Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1995-9679-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Chevallier |first=Pierre |title=Henri III: Roi Shakespearien |publisher=Fayard |year=1985}}
* Crawford, Katherine B., "Love, Sodomy, and Scandal: Controlling the Sexual Reputation of Henry III", ''Journal of the History of Sexuality'', vol. 12 (2003), 513–542
* {{Cite book |last=Crompton |first=Louis |title=Homosexuality and Civilization |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2003 |isbn=0-6740-1197-X |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/homosexualityciv00crom/page/328 328–330] |chapter=Henry III and the Mignons |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/homosexualityciv00crom/page/328 |chapter-url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Brian L. |title=Warfare, state and society on the Black Sea steppe, 1500–1700 |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{Cite book |last=George |first=Hereford Brooke |title=Genealogical Tables Illustrative of Modern History |date=1875 |publisher=Oxford at the Clarendon Press}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Colin |title=Paris: A Briography of a City |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin}}
* {{cite book |last=Jouanna |first=Arlette |title=La France du XVIe Siècle 1483–1598 |publisher=Presses Universitaires de France |year=2021}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Knecht |first=R. J. |title=The French Wars of Religion, 1559–1598 |date=1989 |publisher=Longman}}
* {{Cite book |last=Knecht |first=R. J. |title=Catherine de' Medici |date=1998 |publisher=Pearson Education Limited}}
* {{Cite book |last=Knecht |first=Robert J. |title=Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574–89 |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kosior |first=Katarzyna |title=Becoming a Queen in Early Modern Europe: East and West |date=2019 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan}}
* {{Cite book |last=MacCulloch |first=Diarmuid |title=Reformation: Europe's House Divided |date=2004 |publisher=Penguin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mariéjol |first=Jean-Hippolyte |title=Catherine de Médicis: 1519–1589 |date=1920 |publisher=Librairie Hachette}}
* {{cite book |last=Spangler |first=Jonathan |title=Monsieur. Second Sons in the Monarchy of France, 1550–1800 |publisher=Routledge |year=2021 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Stone |first=Daniel |title=The Polish-Lithuanian state, 1386–1795 |series=A History of East Central Europe |volume=IV |publisher=University of Washington Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-2959-8093-1 |location=Seattle}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sutherland |first=Nicola |title=The Massacre of St Bartholomew and the European Conflict 1559–1572 |publisher=Macmillan |date=1973 |isbn=0-0649-6620-8 |ol=5461343M}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wellman |first=Kathleen |title=Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France |date=2013 |publisher=Yale University Press}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Bordonove |first=Georges |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i3_gBAAAQBAJ |title=Henri III: Roi de France et de Pologne |date=1988 |publisher=Pygmalion |isbn=978-2-7564-1139-2 |location=Paris |language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OH8mNm_OR00C |title=Henri III mécène: des arts, des sciences et des lettres |date=2006 |publisher=Presses Paris Sorbonne |isbn=978-2-8405-0431-3 |editor-last=Conihout, Isabelle de |location=Paris |language=fr |editor-last2=Maillard, Jean-François |editor-last3=Poirier, Guy}}
* {{Cite book |last=Freer |first=Martha Walker |url=https://archive.org/details/henryiiikingoffr01freeuoft |title=Henry III, King of France and Poland: his court and times |date=1888 |publisher=Dodd, Mead |location=New York |author-link=Martha Walker Freer}}
* {{Cite book |last=Grzybowski |first=Stanisław |title=Henryk Walezy |date=1985 |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |isbn=8-3040-0118-7 |location=Warsaw}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jasienica |first=Paweł |title=Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów |date=1982 |publisher=Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy |isbn=8-3060-0788-3 |location=Warsaw |language=pl |trans-title=The Commonwealth of the Both Nations}}
* {{Cite book |last=L'Estoile |first=Pierre De |title=Régistre-Journal du règne de Henri III |date=1992 |publisher=Droz |isbn=2-6000-0609-5 |editor-last=Lazard |editor-first=M. |location=Genève |language=fr |editor-last2=Schrenck |editor-first2=G. |name-list-style=amp}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gfEF3Rj0woIC |title=Henri III et son temps: actes du colloque international du Centre de la Renaissance de Tours, octobre 1989 |date=1992 |publisher=Vrin |isbn=978-2-7116-1065-5 |editor-last=Sauzet, Robert |location=Paris |language=fr |editor-last2=Boucher, Jacqueline}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tomas |first=Natalie R. |title=The Medici Women: Gender and Power in Renaissance Florence |date=2003 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=0-7546-0777-1 |location=Aldershot, UK}}
* {{Cite book |last=Whale |first=Winifred Stephens |url=https://archive.org/stream/latrmoillefami00whalrich#page/n65 |title=The La Trémoille family |date=1914 |publisher=Boston: Houghton Mifflin |page=43}}
* {{Cite book |last=Satała |first=Zbigniew |title=Poczet polskich królowych, księżnych i metres |date=1990 |publisher=Glob |isbn=8-3700-7257-7 |location=Warsaw |language=pl}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Henry III of Poland and France}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071022201219/http://derniersvalois.canalblog.com/archives/henri_iii/p0-0.html Portraits of Henri III] {{In lang|fr}}
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209074933/http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=211730 |date=9 February 2010 |title=history}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Valois-Angoulême|House of Valois, Angoulême branch]]|19 September|1551|2 August|1589|[[Capetian dynasty]]}}
{{S-reg|}}
|-
{{S-vac|last=[[Sigismund II Augustus|Sigismund II]]|reason=[[Interrex (Poland)|Interrex]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]]<br/>[[List of Lithuanian rulers|Grand Duke of Lithuania]]|years=16 May 1573 – 12 May 1575|start=1573|end=1575}}
{{S-vac|next=[[Anna of Poland|Anna]] and [[Stefan Batory|Stephen]]|reason=[[Interrex (Poland)|Interrex]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|rows=1|before=[[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of French Monarchs|King of France]]|years=30 May 1574 – 2 August 1589|start=1574|end=1589}}
{{S-aft|rows=1|after=[[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]]}}
|-
{{S-roy|fr}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans|Charles]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Counts and dukes of Angoulême|Duke of Angoulême]]|years=1551 – 30 May 1574}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Diane de France|Diane]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Charles IX of France|Charles III]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Duke of Orléans]]|years=1560 – 30 May 1574}}
{{S-non|reason=Merged with the Crown}}
|-
{{S-vac|last=[[Louise of Savoy|Louise]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Counts and Dukes of Anjou|Duke of Anjou]]|years=1566 – 30 May 1574}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Francis, Duke of Anjou|Francis]]}}
|-
{{S-end}}
{{Dukes of Anjou}}
{{Dukes of Orléans}}
{{Monarchs of Poland}}
{{Monarchs of Lithuania}}
{{Monarchs of France}}
{{Catherine de' Medici}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 03 Of France}}
[[Category:Henry III of France| ]]
[[Category:1550s in France]]
[[Category:1551 births]]
[[Category:1589 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century kings of France]]
[[Category:16th-century Polish monarchs]]
[[Category:16th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:16th-century peers of France]]
[[Category:16th-century dukes of Orléans]]
[[Category:Ancien Régime]]
[[Category:Assassinated French people]]
[[Category:Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis]]
[[Category:Deaths by stabbing in France]]
[[Category:Kings of Poland]]
[[Category:Grand dukes of Lithuania]]
[[Category:Dukes of Angoulême]]
[[Category:Dukes of Anjou]]
[[Category:French people of the French Wars of Religion]]
[[Category:Heirs presumptive to the French throne]]
[[Category:House of Valois-Angoulême]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Nostradamus]]
[[Category:People from Fontainebleau]]
[[Category:People murdered in France]]
[[Category:People murdered in 1589]]
[[Category:Polish people of French descent]]