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Henry IV (French: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610.
Henry IV was the king of Navarre (as Henry III, 1572–89) and the first Bourbon king of France (1589–1610), who, at the end of the Wars of Religion, abjured Protestantism and converted to Roman Catholicism (1593) in order to win Paris and reunify France.
Henry IV granted religious freedom to Protestants by issuing the Edict of Nantes during his reign as king of France, from 1589 to 1610.
The first of the Bourbon kings of France, Henry IV brought unity and prosperity to the country after the ruinous 16th-century Wars of Religion. Though he was not a great strategist, his courage and gallantry made him a great military leader.
Religious and political leaders eventually rallied to Henry, which led to his coronation as King Henry IV of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594. There he pronounced the traditional oath to drive out from his lands all heretics denounced by the Church.
With the aid of his ministers, including the duke de Sully, Henry brought order and new prosperity to France. His earlier marriage was annulled, and in 1600 he married Marie de Médicis. In 1610 he was assassinated by a fanatical Roman Catholic.
Henry IV (1553-1610) was king of France from 1589 to 1610. The first Bourbon monarch, he faced internal discord caused by the Wars of Religion and the economic disasters of the late 16th century and external danger posed by the powerful Hapsburg monarchy of Spain.
With France's finances restored and the kingdom unified, Henry planned to challenge the power of the Habsburg dynasty, which dominated European politics. However, his plans were cut short by his assassination in 1610.
Henry IV, King of France and Navarre, son of Jeanne d’Albret and Antoine de Bourbon; b. December 14, 1553, in the castle of Pau; d. May 14, 1610. He began his military career under Admiral de Coligny and, from 1569, played a decisive part in the wars of religion as head of the Protestant party.
HENRY IV, KING OF FRANCE The French king who ended the religious wars and began the Bourbon dynasty; b. Pau (Basses Pyrénées), Dec. 14, 1553; d. Paris, May 14, 1610.