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. In 1584, Prince François, the youngest brother and heir presumptive of King Henry III, died. Following Salic law, Henry became the heir presumptive to the French throne, as the First Prince of the Blood (Prince du Sang in French). 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. When Henry III died in 1589 without children, Henry succeeded him as king.
His descendants are varied and numerous. Some of his descendants are Juan Carlos of Spain, Franz, Duke of Bavaria, actress Brooke Shields, singer and actress Jane Birkin. He had six children with his wife Marie de' Medici and also had many illegitimate children through his many mistresses. This article deals with each of his children and their respective descendants.
Famous quotes containing the words descendants, marie and/or medici:
“And what if my descendants lose the flower
Through natural declension of the soul,
Through too much business with the passing hour,
Through too much play, or marriage with a fool?”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“It was not sufficient for the disquiet of our minds that we disputed at the end of seventeen hundred years upon the articles of our own religion, but we must likewise introduce into our quarrels those of the Chinese. This dispute, however, was not productive of any great disturbances, but it served more than any other to characterize that busy, contentious, and jarring spirit which prevails in our climates.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)
“I should like to have seen a gallery of coronation beauties, at Westminster Abbey, confronted for a moment by this band of Island girls; their stiffness, formality, and affectation contrasted with the artless vivacity and unconcealed natural graces of these savage maidens. It would be the Venus de’ Medici placed beside a milliner’s doll.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)