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Henry II of Navarre

Henry II of Navarre (18 April 1503-25 May 1555) was King of Navarre from 12 February 1517 to 25 May 1555, succeeding Catherine of Navarre and preceding Jeanne d'Albret.

Biography[]

Henry was born in Sanguesa, Navarre on 18 April 1503, the son of King John III of Navarre and Catherine of Navarre. He inherited the throne in 1517, but he inherited a reduced Navarre, the southern half of which had been conquered by Spain in 1512. In 1521, France and Navarre made a failed attempt to reconquer these lost lands from Spain, and Henry was captured while fighting at the Battle of Pavia in 1525. His wife Marguerite de Navarre would succeed in negotiating the release of both Henry and her brother, King Francis I of France, from Imperial captivity after the war ended. In 1530, after Emperor Charles V evacuated northern Navarre, Henry was able to reconquer it, forming the modern border between France and Spain. He died in Hagetmau in 1555 at the age of 52.

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