CHARLES IX OF FRANCE

'Charles IX, King of France' (June 27, 1550 – May 30, 1574) born 'Charles-Maximilien of France', was a member of the House of Valois, ruling from 1560 until his death. His complicity in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre has been disputed.

Contents

Biography

Ancestors

See also

References

Biography

He was born in the royal chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, third son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, grandson of François I and Claude de France, and brother of François II and Henri III.
He was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter on Sunday May 14 1564 at St George's, Windsor, along with Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford and Sir Henry Sidney. That year, Charles IX issued the Edict of Roussillon fixing January 1 as the first day of the year.
After the death of his elder brother, François II, in 1560, he inherited the throne and was crowned King of France in 1560 in the cathedral at Reims. The politics of that era was greatly influenced by the power of the ambitious Catherine de' Medici, who was the regent for the ten-year-old Charles and the ultra-Catholic faction of the House of Guise.
During his reign a new product was introduced, said to cure ulcers and heal wounds along with other such benefits. Tobacco soon gained wide acceptance.
On November 26, 1570 he married Elisabeth of Austria. They had one daughter, Marie-Elisabeth (October 27, 1572 – April 9, 1578). Charles IX also had an illegitimate son, the duc d'Angoulême, with his mistress, Marie Touchet.
In 1572, Charles IX witnessed the massacre of thousands of Huguenots (Protestants) in and around Paris in what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
Charles IX did not long survive the Massacre. He had always been fragile, both emotionally and physically: Emotionally, his moods now swung from coarse boasting about the extremity of the Massacre, to claims that the screams of the murdered Huguenots kept ringing in his ears. Frantically he blamed his mother: "Who but you is the cause of all of this? God's blood, you are the cause of it all!" The Queen-mother responded by declaring she had a lunatic for a son.^[1]

Physically, Charles had never been strong, tending towards tuberculosis. The strain following the Massacres weakened his body to the point where, by spring of 1574, the hoarse coughing turned bloody and the hemorrhages grew more violent. He became bedridden and delusional,

"What blood shed! What murders!" he cried to his nurse. "What evil council I have followed! O my God, forgive me...I am lost! I am lost!"^[2]

On his last day, 30 May 1574, at the Château de Vincennes, Val-de-Marne, Charles called for Henry of Navarre, embraced him, and said, "Brother, you are losing a good friend. Had I believed all that I was told, you would not be alive. But I always loved you...I trust you alone to look after my wife and daughter. Pray God for me. Farewell."^[3]
Charles was not yet twenty-four years old. The crown of France now passed to his brother, Henri III.

Ancestors

'Charles IX's ancestors in three generations'

'Charles IX of France'	'Father:' Henry II of France	'Paternal Grandfather:' Francis I of France	'Paternal Great-grandfather:' Charles, Count of Angoulême
			'Paternal Great-grandmother:' Louise of Savoy
		'Paternal Grandmother:' Claude of France	'Paternal Great-grandfather:' Louis XII of France
			'Paternal Great-grandmother:' Anne of Brittany
	'Mother:' Catherine de' Medici	'Maternal Grandfather:' Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino	'Maternal Great-grandfather:' Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici
			'Maternal Great-grandmother:' Alfonsina Orsini
		'Maternal Grandmother:' Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne	'Maternal Great-grandfather:' John III, Count of Auvergne
			'Maternal Great-grandmother:' Jeanne de Bourbon-Vendome

See also

★ French Wars of Religion

★ St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

References

1. Will Durant, ''The Story of Civilization'', Vol. VII, Chpt. XIII, p.355
2. ''Ibid.#1''
3. F.Guizot, ''The History of France'', (London, 1887) Vol.III, 415.

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