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Dec 13, 1553
Henri IV is Born
Henri de Bourbon was born in Pau, the capital of the French province of Béarn. Although baptised as a Roman Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother Jeanne d'Albret; Jeanne declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. -
Jun 9, 1572
Henri becomes king of Navarre.
As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in the French Wars of Religion. On 9 June 1572, upon Jeanne's death, he became King Henry III of Navarre. -
Henry Becomes King of France.
On the death of Henry III on 2 August 1589, Henry of Navarre nominally became the king of France. But the Catholic League, strengthened by support from outside, especially from Spain, was strong enough to force him to the south, and he had to set about winning his kingdom by military conquest, aided by money and troops bestowed by Elizabeth I of England. -
Henry becomes Catholic.
With the encouragement of the great love of his life, Gabrielle d'Estrées, on 25 July 1593 Henry permanently renounced Protestantism, thus earning the resentment of the Huguenots and his former ally, Queen Elizabeth. He was said to have declared that Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a mass")[ -
Henry is accepted as king by the church.
Henry's entrance into the Roman Catholic Church secured for him the allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects, and he was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594 -
Henry issues the Edict of Nantes
Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes to grant the Calvinist Protestants of France (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. -
Henry's lover dies.
Henry himself favoured the idea of obtaining an annulment of his marriage to Marguerite, and taking as a bride Gabrielle d'Estrées, who had already borne him three children. Henry's councilors strongly opposed this idea, but the matter was resolved unexpectedly by Gabrielle's sudden death in the early hours of 10 April 1599, after she had given birth prematurely to a stillborn son. -
Henry Completes the Pont Neuf
The Pont Neuf, under construction since 1578, is finally completed under the reign of Henry IV in 1607 -
Henri IV's Death
King Henry IV was assassinated in Paris by a Catholic fanatic, François Ravaillac, who stabbed the king to death while he rode in his coach. Henry was buried at the Saint Denis Basilica. His widow, Marie de' Medici, served as Regent to their 9-year-old son, Louis XIII, until 1617. -
Henry IV is remembered.
The reign of Henry IV made a lasting impact on the French people for generations after. A statue of him was built in his honor at the Pont Neuf in 1614, only four years after his death. Although this statue - as well as those of all the other French kings - was torn down during the French Revolution, it was the first to be rebuilt, in 1818, and it still stands today on the Pont Neuf.
