Henri was Catherine de Medici’s favourite son. At the age of twenty, Henri fell in love with Marie de Cleves. Catherine did not consider Marie worthy of her favourite son and married her off. Always conscious of placing her children in positions of power, she pushed Henri to accept the offer of the Polish nobles to become their king. His older brother Charles was King and only 23 years old, so Henri’s prospects in France were not bright.
In Nancy on his way to Poland Henri met Louise of Lorraine, a lovely young noblewoman. Six months after arriving in Poland, Henri learnt his brother Charles had died, making him King of France. He immediately fled from Poland without any explanation and returned to France. He was determined to annul Marie’s marriage and was devastated when she died shortly after his return. He remembered Louise of Lorraine and married her the day after his coronation.
Henri III is the person who introduced a new court etiquette which reached its zenith later under Louis XIV at Versailles. Henri III was usually surrounded by his friends, referred to disparagingly as “the mignons” (little darlings). The emphasis on fashion, make up and earrings left the impression that Henri and his friends were effeminate. In fact, along with the perfume and posing, they were a group of young men who were as interested in fighting and bedding females as fashion.
Henri had been married for fourteen years when he was himself the victim of an assassination when a monk stabbed him in the lower stomach—it’s a risk you take when you grant an audience while sitting on the toilet.
