Descendants of Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France was the first Bourbon king of France. Formerly known as Henri of Navarre, he succeeded to the French throne with the extinction of House of Valois, at the death of Henry III of France.
His descendants are varied and numerous. Some of his descendants are Juan Carlos of Spain, Franz, Duke of Bavaria, Diana, Princess of Wales, actress Brooke Shields and singer and actress Jane Birkin. He had six children with his wife Marie de' Medici and also had many illegitimate children with his many mistresses. This article deals with each of his children and their respective descendants.
Life, background and pedigree
Life and claim to the French Throne
Henri de Bourbon was born in Pau, the capital of the French province of Béarn.[1] Although baptised as a Roman Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother Jeanne d’Albret. On 9 June 1572, upon Jeanne's death, he became King Henry III of Navarre.[2]
When Henry was a boy, it seemed highly unlikely that he would ever inherit the throne of France, since Henry II had produced four surviving sons. However, his male-line pedigree gave him a special place of honour in the French nobility, since all sons of the Bourbon line were acknowledged as the princes of the blood. As the senior male representative of that line, Henry was officially the First Prince of the Blood.
Henry of Navarre became the legal heir to the French throne upon the death in 1584 of François, Duke of Alençon, brother and heir presumptive of the Catholic King Henry III. Because of Henry's status as the Prince du Sang, Henry III had no choice but to recognise him as the legitimate successor. The Salic law disinherited the king's sisters and all others who could claim descent by the distaff line. He was then the closest relative of the king in the legitimate male line, and as such the next senior-most representative of the House of Capet after the king himself.Catherine de Medici, the King's mother, had attempted to unite Valois and Bourbon interests. In 1572, by which time only two of her sons remained alive, she brokered a marriage between her daughter Marguerite of Valois and Henry.
On the death of Henry III on 2 August 1589, Henri of Navarre nominally became the King of France. But the powerful Catholic League, strengthened by support from Spain, forced him to the south and he had to set about winning his kingdom by military conquest, aided by money and troops bestowed by Protestant England. This set off the War of the Three Henries phase of the French Wars of Religion. The League proclaimed Henry's Catholic uncle Charles, the Cardinal de Bourbon, king as Charles X, but the Cardinal himself was Henry's prisoner. Henry was victorious at Ivry and Arques, but failed to take Paris.
With the encouragement of the great love of his life, Gabrielle d'Estrées, on 25 July 1593 Henry declared that Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a mass") and permanently renounced Protestantism, thus earning him the allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects and the resentment of his former allies. He was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594. In 1598, he declared the Edict of Nantes, which gave circumscribed toleration to the Huguenots. However, this action angered fanatical Catholics, who wanted Protestantism rooted out for good, and could see that Henry had no intention to do so. Therefore, in 1610, Henry was assassinated by a fanatical Catholic, François Ravaillac.[3]
Pedigree
Maternal ancestry
Paternal ancestry
Legitimate issue by Marie de' Medici
Children
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Death | Marriages and issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis XIII, King of France |  | 27 September 1601 | 14 May 1643 | Married Anne of Austria in 1615 Had issue |
| Elizabeth, Queen of Spain |  | 22 November 1602 | 6 October 1644 | Married Philip IV, King of Spain in 1615 Had issue |
| Christine Marie, Duchess of Savoy |  | 10 February 1606 | 27 December 1663 | Married Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy in 1619 Had issue |
| Henrietta Maria, Queen of England |  | 25 November 1609 | 10 September 1669 | Married Charles I, King of England in 1625 Had issue |
| Gaston d'Orléans |  | 25 April 1608 | 2 February 1660 | Married (1) Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier in 1626 Married (2) Margaret of Lorraine in 1632 Had issue |
Descendants of Louis XIII of France
Senior agnatic descendants Louis XIV of France
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Senior agnatic descendants of Philippe I, Duke of Orleans
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Descendants of Elisabeth of France
Descendants of Christine of France
Descendants of Henrietta Maria of France
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Descendants of Gaston d'Orléans
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See also
- House of Bourbon
- Marie de' Medici
- House of Medici
- House of Stuart
- Descendants of Louis XIV of France
- Descendants of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
- Descendants of Philip V of Spain
- Descendants of Charles III of Spain
References
- ↑ de La Croix, 175.
- ↑ Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson and David L. Bongard, The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, (Castle Books, 1995), 326.
- ↑ Baird, Henry M., The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre, Vol. 2, (Charles Scribner's Sons:New York, 1886), 486.
- ↑ See genealogical table in Baumgartner, France in the Sixteenth Century.
- 1 2 3 4 "thePeerage.com – Person Page 10136". Retrieved 2007-10-25.
- ↑ "Stuart, James Francis Edward, Duke of Cornwall". Directory of Royal Genealogical Data:University of Hull. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- ↑ "Stuart, Charles Edward Louis Casimer, Prince of Wales". Directory of Royal Genealogical Data: University of Hull. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- ↑ "Stuart, Henry Benedict Thomas Maria, Duke of York". Directory of Royal Genealogical Data:University of Hull. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
External links
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- Rubens cycle of paintings apotheosizing Marie de Medici Definitive statements of Baroque art.
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- Drawing by Claes Cornelisz. Moeyaert the entrance of Maria de Medici in Amsterdam
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