Editing Henry III of France (section)

==French reign (1574–1589)==
Henry was crowned king of France on 13 February 1575 at [[Reims Cathedral]]. Although he was expected to produce an heir after he married the 21-year-old [[Louise of Lorraine]]{{Sfn|George|1875|p=table XXX}} on 14 February 1575,{{Sfn|Kosior|2019|p=32}} no issue resulted from their union.

In 1574, Henry renewed letters that gave Portuguese [[New Christian]]s the right of settling in France.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Historical Atlas of the Jewish People |publisher=Hutchinson |year=1992 |isbn=0-09-177593-0 |editor-last=Barnavi |editor-first=Eli |pages=138 |chapter=The Return to Western Europe}}</ref>

In 1576, Henry signed the [[Edict of Beaulieu]], which granted many concessions to the Huguenots. His action resulted in [[Henry I, Duke of Guise]], forming the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]]. After much posturing and negotiations, Henry was forced to rescind most of the concessions that had been made to the Protestants in the edict.

[[File:Henri III 1577.jpg|thumb|left|Coin of Henry III, 1577]]

After 1582, Henry became convinced of the need for fiscal reform to break the cycle of expedients upon which he had relied.{{sfn|Jouanna|2021|p=568}} To this end he summoned an [[1583 Assembly of Notables|Assembly of Notables]] which met from November 1583 to February 1584.{{sfn|Carpi|2012|p=367}} While he failed to convince them of his most radical tax plans, the notables forwarded a series of proposals to him which would be embodied in his legislation during 1584.{{sfn|Carpi|2012|p=369}}{{sfn|Chevallier|1985|pp=518-519}} As a result of these policies the royal budget was almost balanced in 1585, before it was subject to political shock.{{sfn|Chevallier|1985|p=520}}

In 1584, the king's youngest brother and [[heir presumptive]], [[Francis, Duke of Anjou]], died. Under [[Salic Law]], the next heir to the throne was Protestant [[Henry of Navarre]], a descendant of [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]] (Saint Louis). The possibility of a Protestant on the throne led to the [[War of the Three Henrys]]. Under pressure from the duke of Guise, Henry III issued an edict suppressing Protestantism and annulling Henry of Navarre's right to the throne.

Henry III, stung by the open disobedience of Guise, attempted a coup in May 1588 and sent royal Swiss troops into several neighbourhoods. This had the unintended effect of rallying the people against him and in favor of the more popular Guise during the [[Day of the Barricades]]. Henry III fled the city; he later sought support from the Parlement of Paris and propped up an anti-League establishment throughout France.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=147–148}}

Following the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]] that summer, the king's fear of Spanish support for the Catholic League apparently waned. Accordingly, on 23 December 1588, at the [[Château of Blois]], he invited Guise to the council chamber where the duke's brother [[Louis II, Cardinal of Guise]], already waited. The duke was told that the king wished to see him in the private room adjoining the royal bedroom. There, royal guardsmen murdered the duke, then the cardinal.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=147–148}} To make certain that no contender for the French throne was free to act against him, the king had the [[Charles, Duke of Guise|duke's son]] imprisoned. The duke of Guise had been very popular in France, and the citizenry turned against Henry for the murders.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=147–148}} The Parlement instituted criminal charges against the king, and he was compelled to join forces with his heir, the Protestant Henry of Navarre, by setting up the [[Parliament of Tours]].

By 1589 Henry's popularity hit a new low. Preachers were calling for his assassination and labelling him a tyrant. The people of Paris disdained him for his court extravagances, allowing corruption to grow rife, high taxes and having relied extensively on Italian financiers. But what most Parisians hated most about him was his alleged sexuality.{{Sfn|Jones|2006|pages=143–145}}
[[File:The arrival of Henry III of France at the Lido in Venice in 1574 MET DP848943.jpg|thumb|The arrival of Henry III of France in Venice, 1574]]

===Overseas relations===
Under Henry, France named [[Guillaume Bérard]] as the first [[France–Morocco relations|Consul of France in Morocco]]. The request came from the Moroccan prince [[Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi|Abd al-Malik]], who had been saved by Bérard, a doctor by profession, during an epidemic in [[History of Istanbul#Imperial capital|Constantinople]] and wished to retain Bérard in his service.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garcés, María Antonia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h97ivaPeOx8C&pg=PA277 |title=Cervantes in Algiers: a captive's tale |publisher=Vanderbilt University Press |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-8265-1470-7 |page=277 note 39}}</ref>

Henry III encouraged the exploration and development of [[New World]] territories. In 1588, he granted Jacques Noël, the nephew of [[Jacques Cartier]], privileges over fishing, fur trading, and mining in [[New France]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=King of France from 1574 to 1589 |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/Senate/Monarchy/SenMonarchy_16-e.htm# |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525074741/http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/Senate/Monarchy/SenMonarchy_16-e.htm |archive-date=25 May 2011 |access-date=14 December 2012 |publisher=Parliament of Canada}}</ref>
[[File:Henri III à Saint-Cloud, commencement du siège de Paris (1589) Arnold Cheffer (1839-1873).jpg|thumb|Henry III in preparation to besiege Paris in 1589]]