Royals: Historian savages 'fluffy' Harry & Meghan Netflix doc

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Born Henry de Bourbon, King Henry IV of France was the son of Queen Joan III of Navarre (Jeanne d’Albret) and her husband, Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre. He was the first king of the Bourbon family in his country, reigning as King of France from 1589 to 1610. He had become the King of Navarre 17 years earlier at the age of 19 following his mother’s death. That same year, he married Margaret Valois, the sister of Charles IX. While Henry was baptised in a Catholic ceremony, he was raised as a Protestant by his mother. When he became heir to the French throne in 1984, most people in the country were Catholic and many of them did not want a Protestant King. 

In the years before that, there had been a series of wars in France which were primarily fought between Catholics and Protestants. And when Henry became the legitimate successor to the throne, there was further conflict. The War of the Three Henrys saw strife unfold between Henry of Navarre, the existing Catholic king Henry III and Catholic League leader Henry, Duke of Guise.

Though both Henry III and the Duke of Guise were Catholics, they did not see eye to eye. In 1588, Henry of Guise was murdered and Henry III was killed the following year. After the death of Henry III, Henry of Navarre could be crowned King of France. However, he still faced opposition from the Catholic League and, strengthened by support from outside of the country, it was able to prevent a universal recognition of his new title. 

Henry set about winning his kingdom through military conquest but after four years of fighting, he decided to renounce his Protestantism and convert to Catholicism. He allegedly said: “Paris is well worth a Mass.” 

His acceptance of Catholicism secured the allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects and opposition against Henry died down. However, his decision was not universally accepted; some Catholics called him a liar, while some Protestants deemed him a traitor. 

In 1598, Henry made the Edict of Nantes, a law that allowed people in France to be Protestant, despite the country’s majority Catholic population. This was an unusual policy in Europe at the time as most countries forced people to be either Catholic or Protestant. 

The unprecedented policy brought to a close over 30 years of fighting between French Protestants and Catholics. However, in spite of the Edict, Protestants were not yet seen as equal. 

During his reign, Henry built the Grande Galerie onto the Louvre and two Parisian landmarks were started during his reign: the Pont Neuf and the Place des Vosges.

Henry’s childless marriage to Margaret of Valois was annulled in 1599. His subsequent marriage to Marie de’ Medici on December 17, 1600, produced six children, one of which was Louis XIII — his eldest son and successor. Their youngest child, Henrietta Maria of France, married Charles I and became the Queen of England. 

Henry was murdered by François Ravaillac, a Catholic zealot, on a street in Paris in May 1610. And according to Catherine Delors, a French author, this was not the first attempt on the King’s life. 

Writing on her blog, Ms Delors said: “Henri faced over twenty assassination attempts during his reign, all unsuccessful until the 14th of May 1610. That day Henri is riding in an open carriage in the streets of Paris, but suddenly two carts block the passage. Guards leave the carriage for a moment to make way for the King.  

“This is the moment a drifter by the name of François Ravaillac seizes to strike. He approaches the carriage and stabs Henri twice, severing the aorta. Then a group of armed men appear out of nowhere to kill the assassin on the spot, but one of the King’s attendants, the Baron de Courtomer, has enough presence of mind to disperse the men by telling them Henri is safe.”

She continued: “Ravaillac can then be arrested and questioned. The man is clearly unbalanced. He sought to take orders, first with the Feuillants, then with the Jesuits, but had been rejected by both on account of his hallucinations, which he believed to be religious visions.

“…The investigation is suspiciously hasty: only 13 days between the crime and the execution of the assassin! Ravaillac’s prior connections and activities are left unexplored, people who have spoken in advance of the King’s untimely death as a sure thing are arrested, but not questioned. Ravaillac himself insists under torture that he has no accomplices, but when he is drawn and quartered on the 27th of May, he exclaims ‘I was deceived when they persuaded me that my deed would be well received by the people.’”

It was only after his death that he became known as Good King Henry (in French, le bon Roy Henri) and was recognised as one of France’s most popular monarchs. During the French Revolution (1789 to 1799), Henry IV was lauded as an example of what a king should be, and again years later during the Bourbon Restoration (1814 to 1830). 

He is remembered for ending the French Wars of Religion and his unprecedented policy of allowing more than one church in his country.

“Henri had, through his exceptional qualities as a military leader and politician, put an end to the religious wars that had torn France apart for decades,” Ms Delors explained. “A Protestant, he had converted to Catholicism to unite his subjects. He had shown compassion to many, in particular the poorest, and presided over a time of national recovery and reconciliation.” 

When the Revolution radicalised and came to reject monarchy altogether, Henry IV’s statue — which was built on the Pont Neuf in 1614 — was torn down along with other royal monuments. It was nevertheless the first to be rebuilt, in 1818, and it still stands on the landmark today. 

Ms Delors referenced memoirs of the Revolution in which Henry was mentioned. Almost 200 years after his death, he was apparently described as “the only king whose memory the people of France have treasured”. 

She wrote: “When the royal tombs at the Abbey of Saint-Denis were destroyed in 1793, an eyewitness reports that the embalmed body of Henri, perfectly preserved, was displayed in state in the Basilica, and that for days people filed in silence to pay their respects. And this at the height of the Revolution.” 

In 2010, scientists found part of his embalmed head and used forensic tests to prove it was his. Forensic pathologist Philippe Charlier announced the discovery in the British Medical Journal; he said features consistent with those of the King’s face were found including “a dark mushroom-like lesion” near the right nostril, a healed facial stab wound and a pierced right earlobe. His head had been stolen from the tombs of the French kings and queens in Saint Denis in 1793 at the time of the Revolution.

Ms Delors wrote: “A king whose memory has been treasured indeed…” 

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