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Henry of Navarre

Type Figure Region France Time 1553–1610 Also known as Henry IV

Of Bourbon birth in 1553 to King Henry II of Navarre and Jeanne d'Albret, he later became the Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion.…

Timeline

  1. 1553–1571Pau · PyreneesBorn in Pau, son of King Henry II of Navarre and Jeanne d'Albret, he grew up in a Huguenot environment from childhood. After his father's death in 1562 and during his mother's regency, he received a Protestant education and was drawn into the gathering religious wars.
  2. 1572–1576Paris · Île-de-FranceIn August 1572 he married Margaret, sister of Charles IX, in Paris. The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre broke out during the wedding festivities; under coercion he briefly converted to Catholicism, then fled back to Navarre, openly resumed the Protestant faith, and became a core figure of the Huguenot armed forces.
  3. 1576–1580Bordeaux · AquitaineAfter 1576 he repeatedly led Huguenot forces, contending with the Catholic League in the southwest while seeking religious toleration and his rights of succession. During this period he consolidated the Bourbon faction's military and political foundations, paving the way for his later bid for the French crown.

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