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:
“The descendants of Holy Roman Empire monarchies became feeble-minded in the twentieth century, and after World War I had been done in by the democracies; some were kept on to entertain the tourists, like the one they have in England.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
““Last night there was four Maries,
The night there’ll be but three;
There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beton,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.””
—Unknown. Mary Hamilton (l. 69–72)
“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)