John III of Navarre (1469-14 June 1516) was the jure uxoris King of Navarre from 1484 to 14 June 1516 as the husband of Catherine of Navarre.
Biography[]
John was the son of Alain I of Albret and Frances of Chatillon-Limoges, and he was the brother of Charlotte of Albret. In 1484, he became King of Navarre and Count of Foix after marrying Queen Catherine of Navarre, and he was crowned in Lerin in 1494. Then known as "Jean de Foix", John commanded French troops under King Louis XII of France during the Italian War of 1499-1504, commanding Cesare Borgia's Gascon mercenaries in Milan. He befriended Cesare, his brother-in-law, and Cesare used John's assistance in preventing Vitellozzo Vitelli from provoking a war with the Republic of Florence. In 1507, John invited Cesare Borgia to become a general of Navarre, and Borgia was slain at the Siege of Viana while fighting against Spain. In 1512, Spain once more invaded Navarre, and the family was forced to take refuge in the Viscounty of Bearn. In 1516, the Navarrese forces failed to reconquer the kingdom from Spain, and a depressed John died in Monein, Bearn in 1516.
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