M4 L5: Catherine and Her Daughter – Marguerite of Valois (Part 1)

 

Marguerite of Valois was the seventh child and youngest daughter of Catherine de Medici and Henry II.

 

Her brother before her was Henry III of France, and just after her came the youngest, Francis Duke of Anjou and Alencon (often referred to as Monsieur).

 

When she was eighteen years old, she was married off to Henry III of Navarre as part of the arrangements to end the Wars of Religion. France was brought to bankruptcy in the War of Religion which ended in 1570. 

 

Jeanne D’Albret negotiated a peace settlement which included freedom for the Protestants to practice their own religion, and Henry’s marriage to Marguerite.

 

They were married in France in 1572, triggering the St. Bartholomew Day’s massacre of Huguenots gathered in Paris to celebrate their king’s wedding. 

 

This lesson tells of the first few years of her marriage to Henry III of Navarre.