Henry IV of France was the first Bourbon king of France. Formerly known as Henri of Navarre, he succeeded to the French throne with the extinction of House of Valois, at the death of Henry III of France.
His descendants are varied and numerous. Some of his descendants are Juan Carlos of Spain, Franz, Duke of Bavaria, Diana, Princess of Wales, actress Brooke Shields and singer and actress Jane Birkin. He had six children with his wife Marie de' Medici and also had at least eleven illegitimate children with his many mistresses. This article deals with each of his legitimate children and their respective descendants.
Life, background and pedigree
Life and claim to the French Throne
Henri de Bourbon was born in Pau, the capital of the French province of Béarn.de La Croix, 175. Although baptised as a Roman Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother Jeanne d’Albret. On 9 June 1572, upon Jeanne's death, he became King Henry III of Navarre.Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson and David L. Bongard, The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, (Castle Books, 1995), 326.
When Henry was a boy, it seemed highly unlikely that he would ever inherit the throne of France, since Henry II had produced four surviving sons. However, his male-line pedigree gave him a special place of honour in the French nobility, since all sons of the Bourbon line were acknowledged as the princes of the blood. As the senior male representative of that line, Henry was officially the First Prince of the Blood.
Henry of Navarre became the legal heir to the French throne upon the death in 1584 of François, Duke of Alençon, brother and heir presumptive of the Catholic King Henry III. Because of Henry's status as the Prince du Sang, Henry III had no choice but to recognise him as the legitimate successor. The Salic law disinherited the king's sisters and all others who could claim descent by the distaff line. He was then the closest relative of the king in the legitimate male line, and as such the next senior-most representative of the House of Capet after the king himself. Catherine de Medici, the King's mother, had attempted to unite Valois and Bourbon interests. In 1572, by which time only two of her sons remained alive, she brokered a marriage between her daughter Marguerite of Valois and Henry.
On the death of Henry III on 2 August 1589, Henri of Navarre nominally became the King of France. But the powerful Catholic League, strengthened by support from Spain, forced him to the south and he had to set about winning his kingdom by military conquest, aided by money and troops bestowed by Protestant England. This set off the War of the Three Henries phase of the French Wars of Religion. The League proclaimed Henry's Catholic uncle Charles, the Cardinal de Bourbon, king as Charles X, but the Cardinal himself was Henry's prisoner. Henry was victorious at Ivry and Arques, but failed to take Paris.
With the encouragement of the great love of his life, Gabrielle d'Estrées, on 25 July 1593 Henry declared that Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a mass") and permanently renounced Protestantism, thus earning him the allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects and the resentment of his former allies. He was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594. In 1598, he declared the Edict of Nantes, which gave circumscribed toleration to the Huguenots. However, this action angered fanatical Catholics, who wanted Protestantism rooted out for good, and could see that Henry had no intention to do so. Therefore, in 1610, Henry was assassinated by a fanatical Catholic, François Ravaillac.Baird, Henry M., The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre, Vol. 2, (Charles Scribner's Sons:New York, 1886), 486.
Pedigree
Maternal ancestry
Paternal ancestry
King Louis IX (Saint Louis) (1214/1215 – 1270) Robert, Count of Clermont (1256–1317), brother of King Philip III Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (1279–1342), 1st cousin of King Philip IV James I, Count of La Marche (1315–1362), 2nd cousin of kings Louis X, Philip V, Charles IV, and Philip VI John I, Count of La Marche (1344–1393), 3rd cousin of kings John I Posthumus and John II Louis, Count of Vendôme (1376–1446), 4th cousin of King Charles V François, Count of Vendôme (1470–1495), 6th cousin of King Charles VII Charles IV, Duke of Bourbon (1489–1537), 7th cousin of kings Louis XI and Louis XII Antoine de Bourbon (1518–1562), 8th cousin of kings Charles VIII and Francis I Henry IV was the 9th cousin of King Henry II, and the 9th cousin once removed of kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III
Legitimate issue by Marie de' Medici
Children Name Portrait Birth Death Marriages and issueLouis XIII, King of France27 September 160114 May 1643Married Anne of Austria in 1615Had issueElizabeth, Queen of Spain22 November 16026 October 1644Married Philip IV, King of Spain in 1615Had issueChristine Marie, Duchess of Savoy10 February 160627 December 1663Married Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy in 1619Had issueHenrietta Maria, Queen of England25 November 160910 September 1669Married Charles I, King of England in 1625Had issueGaston d'Orléans25 April 16082 February 1660Married (1) Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier in 1626Married (2) Margaret of Lorraine in 1632Had issue
Descendants of Louis XIII of France
Senior agnatic descendants Louis XIV of France
Name of descendant Portrait Birth Marriages and issue Death Miscellaneous Bourbons of FranceLouis XIV 1643—17155 September 1638, son of Louis XIII and Anne of AustriaMaria Theresa of Spain6 childrenFrançoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenonno children1 September 1715 (aged 76)Louis, Dauphin of France1 November 1661, son of Maria Theresa of Spain and Louis XIV Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria3 children 14 April 1711 (aged 49)Louis, Duke of Burgundy 16 August 1682, son of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Anna of Bavaria Marie Adélaïde of Savoy3 children 18 February 1712 (aged 30)Louis XV1715—1774 15 February 1710, son of Louis, Duke of Burgundy and Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy Marie Leszczyńska10 children 10 May 1774 (aged 64)Louis, Dauphin of France 4 September 1729, son of Louis XV and Marie Leszczyńska Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain1 childMaria Josepha of Saxony8 children 20 December 1765 (aged 36)Louis XVI1774—1793 23 August 1754, son of Louis, Dauphin of France and Marie-Josèphe of Saxony Marie Antoinette4 children 21 January 1793(aged 38) Louis XVII1793–1795 27 March 1785Palace of Versaillesson of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette never married 8 June 1795Paris Temple(aged 10) Louis XVIII1795–1824 17 November 1755Palace of Versaillesson of Louis, Dauphin of France and Marie-Josèphe of Saxony Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy14 May 1771No children 16 September 1824Paris(aged 68)Charles X of France1824–1836 9 October 1757, son of Louis, Dauphin of France and Marie-Josèphe of Saxony Marie Thérèse of Savoy3 children 6 November 1836(aged 79)Artois branch Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême1836–1844 6 August 1775Palace of Versaillesson of Charles X of France and Marie Thérèse of Savoy Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of FranceJune 1799No children 3 June 1844Gorizia(aged 68) Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry 24 January 1778Palace of Versaillesson of Charles X of France and Marie Thérèse of Savoy Princess Caroline of Naples18164 children 14 February 1820Paris(aged 42) Henri, Count of Chambord1844–1883 29 September 1820Tuileries Palaceson of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry and Caroline Ferdinande Louise of Two Sicilies Marie Thérèse of Austria-EsteNovember 1846No children 24 August 1883Gorizia(aged 63)Bourbons of SpainPhilip V of Spain 19 December 1683, son of Louis, le Grand Dauphin and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria Maria Luisa of SavoyElisabeth Farnese9 children 9 July 1746 (aged 62)Charles III of Spain 20 January 1716, son of Philip V and Elizabeth of ParmaMaria Amalia of Saxony13 children14 December 1788 (aged 72)Charles IV of Spain11 November 1748, son of Charles III of Spain and Maria Amalia of SaxonyMaria Luisa of Parma12 children20 January 1819 (aged 70)Ferdinand VII of Spain14 October 1784, son of Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of ParmaMaria Antonia of Naples, Maria Isabel of Portugal, Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony and Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies 2 children 29 September 1833 (aged 48)Molina branch Infante Carlos, Count of Molina 29 March 1788Madridson of Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma Maria Francisca of Portugal1816Teresa, Princess of Beira18382 children 10 March 1855aged 66 Juan, Count of Montizón1883–1887 15 May 1822Royal Palace of Aranjuezson of Infante Carlos of Spain and Infanta Maria Francisca of PortugalMaria Beatrix of Austria-Este6 February 18472 children 21 November 1887Hoveaged 65 Carlos, Duke of Madrid1887–1909 30 March 1848Ljubljanason of Juan, Count of Montizón and Maria Beatrix of Austria-EsteMargherita of Parma4 February 18675 children 18 July 1909Vareseaged 61 Jaime, Duke of Madrid1909–1931 27 June 1870Veveyson of Carlos, Duke of Madrid and Margherita of Parmanever married 2 October 1931Parísaged 61 Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime1931–1936 12 September 1849Londonson of Juan, Count of Montizón and Maria Beatrix of Austria-EsteMaria das Neves of Portugal26 April 18711 child 29 September 1936Viennaaged 87Cádiz branch Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain10 March 1794Aranjuezson of Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma Princess Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily12 June 181911 children 13 August 1865Madridaged 71 Francis, Duke of Cádiz13 May 1822Aranjuezson of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain and Princess Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily Isabella II of Spain10 October 184612 children 17 April 1902Épinay-sur-Seine, Franceaged 79 Alfonso XII of Spain 28 November 1857Madridson of Isabella II of Spain and Francis, Duke of CádizMercedes of Orléans23 January 1878No childrenMaria Christina of Austria29 November 18793 children 25 November 1885El Pardoaged 27 Alfonso XIII of Spain1936–1941 17 May 1886Madridson of Alfonso XII and Maria Christina of AustriaVictoria Eugenie of Battenberg31 May 19067 children 28 February 1941Romeaged 54 Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia1941–1975 23 June 1908Segoviason of Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenie of BattenbergEmmanuelle de Dampierre4 March 1935Rome2 children 20 March 1975St. Gallenaged 67 Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz1975–1989 20 April 1936Romeson of Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia and Emmanuelle de DampierreMaría del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco8 March 1972Royal Palace of El Pardo2 children 30 January 1989Beaver Creekaged 53 Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou1989–present 25 April 1974Madridson of Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz and María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y FrancoMaria Margarita, Duchess of Anjou5 November 2004Caracas3 children
Senior agnatic descendants of Philippe I, Duke of Orleans