Editing Political history of France (section)

===Civil War and the reign of Henry IV===
{{see also|War of the Three Henrys|Succession of Henry IV of France}}

The first Bourbon [[king of France]] was [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]].<ref name="anselme"/> He was born on 13 December 1553 in the [[Kingdom of Navarre]]. [[Antoine de Bourbon]], his father, was a ninth-generation descendant of King [[Louis IX of France]].<ref name="anselme"/> [[Jeanne d'Albret]], his mother, was the Queen of Navarre and niece of King [[Francis I of France]]. He was baptized [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], but raised [[Calvinism|Calvinist]]. After his father was killed in 1562, he became [[Duke of Vendôme]] at the age of 10, with Admiral [[Gaspard II de Coligny|Gaspard de Coligny]] (1519–1572) as his regent. Seven years later, the young duke became the nominal leader of the [[Huguenots]] after the death of his uncle the [[Louis I, Prince of Condé|Prince de Condé]] in 1569.

In 1572, [[Catherine de' Medici]], mother of King [[Charles IX of France]], arranged for the marriage of her daughter, [[Margaret of Valois]], to Henry, ostensibly to advance peace between Catholics and Huguenots. Many Huguenots gathered in Paris for the wedding on 24 August, but were ambushed and slaughtered by Catholics in the [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]. Henry saved his own life by converting to Catholicism. He repudiated his conversion in 1576 and resumed his leadership of the Huguenots. The period from 1576 to 1584 was relatively calm in France, with the Huguenots consolidating control of much of the south with only occasional interference from the royal government.

A major civil war erupted in 1584, when [[François, Duke of Anjou]], younger brother of King [[Henry III of France]], died, leaving Navarre next in line for the throne. Thus began the [[War of the Three Henrys]], as Henry of Navarre, Henry III, and the ultra-Catholic leader, [[Henry I, Duke of Guise|Henry of Guise]], fought a confusing three-cornered struggle for dominance. After Henry III was assassinated on 31 July 1589, Navarre claimed the throne as the first Bourbon king of France, Henry IV.

Much of Catholic France, organized into the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]], refused to recognize a Protestant monarch and instead recognized Henry IV's uncle, [[Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (born 1523)|Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon]], as rightful king, and the civil war continued. Henry won a crucial victory at [[Battle of Ivry|Ivry]] on 14 March 1590 and, following the death of the Cardinal the same year, the forces of the League lacked an obvious Catholic candidate for the throne and divided into various factions. Nevertheless, as a Protestant, Henry IV was unable to take Paris, a Catholic stronghold, or to decisively defeat his enemies, now supported by the Spanish. He reconverted to Catholicism in 1593{{sfn|Holt|1995|p=147}} and was crowned king retroactively to 1589 at the [[Cathedral of Chartres]] on 27 February 1594.{{sfn|Knecht|2014|p=269}}