Henry III of France (19 September 1551-2 August 1589) was King of Poland-Lithuania from 16 May 1573 to 12 May 1575, succeeding Sigismund II of Poland and preceding Anna Jagiellon, and King of France from 30 May 1574 to 2 August 1589, succeeding Charles IX of France and preceding Henry IV of France.
Biography[]
Henry was born on 19 September 1551, the fourth son of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici. He was the fourth-in-line to succeed to the throne of France, and he had little to no chance of ever becoming King; Poland-Lithuania decided to elect him as their monarch during a succession crisis in 1573. He established Poland as an elective monarchy, but he was forced to abdicate when the throne of France became vacant following the death of his two young and childless brothers.
King of France[]
Henry as Duke of Anjou
Henry had to deal with the rebellious Protestant Huguenots, the militant Catholic League of France, and the anti-absolutist Malcontents of Francis, Duke of Anjou, as France was embroiled in the French Wars of Religion. In 1589, he had his sister marry King Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France), giving the Protestant monarch of Navarre a claim on the throne of France. In 1589, Henry of Navarre slew Henry's general Anne de Joyeuse at the Battle of Coutras, and Henry of Navarre invaded the rest of France. Henry also fought against Henry I, Duke of Guise, who sought to seize power with the support of the anti-Navarrese Catholic League, and he had him murdered in 1588. On 2 August 1589, a fanatic Catholic priest loyal to Guise plunged a knife into King Henry's abdomen as he prepared to retake Paris from the Navarrese, killing him; Henry of Navarre became Henry IV.