Charles IX of France

Charles IX married Elisabeth of Austria on November 26, 1570. The couple had a daughter, Marie Elisabeth of Valois. He died without any legitimate male heir. However, he had an illegitimate son, Charles, Duke of Angoulême, from his mistress, Marie Touchet.

Charles had written a book on hunting named ‘La Chasse Royale.’ It was published in 1625, long after his death.

Charles IX or Charles Maximilian was born on June 27, 1550, at the royal ‘Chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye’ (around 19 kilometers from Paris), to King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. The third son and the fifth child of the royal couple, he was designated as the duke of Angoulême since birth. After the death of the king’s second son and his elder brother, Louis, in October 1550, he became the duke of Orléans. On May 14, 1564, he was presented the ‘Order of the Garter’ by Henry Carey.

King Henry II died in 1559 and Charles’s elder brother ascended to the throne as King Francis II. However, he died in December 1560. On December 5, 1560, Charles, who was 10 years old then, was proclaimed as the king. His mother, Catherine de' Medici, was appointed as the regent, as her son was too young to rule. Later, she acted as the governor of France.

Charles IX was consecrated at the cathedral in Reims on May 15, 1561. Antoine of Bourbon was appointed as the lieutenant general of France. He was the husband of Queen Joan III of Navarre and was also in the line of succession to the French throne.

Humanist Jacques Amyot was appointed to supervise Charles’s education. The king studied literature under his guidance. He developed a liking for writing poetry and was interested in hunting. He was a patron of a literary group of French writers named ‘La Pléiade.’

His reign witnessed a severe enmity between two sections of religion in France. The Huguenots were Protestants and followers of Calvinism, while the ‘Catholic League’ was led by the ‘House of Guise.’ The regent of France, Queen Catherine, was Catholic, but in order to maintain peace, she initially tried to keep a balance between the two factions.

The trouble between these two groups had begun even before Charles IX had become the king. To gain power over France, some Huguenots at Amboise conspired to abduct young King Francis II. They also planned to arrest Catholic nobleman Francis, Duke of Guise, and his brother, Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine. The ‘Amboise Conspiracy’ was foiled and the ‘House of Guise’ executed hundreds of Huguenots.

Then there were incidents of Protestant iconoclasm, followed by Catholic counter-attacks. In 1561, the regent arranged a religious conference at Poissy, in an attempt to reconcile the two factions. This came to be known as the ‘Colloquy of Poissy.’ However, it did not work. Thus, in January 1562, she propagated a declaration of tolerance and made concessions to Protestants in the ‘Edict of Saint-Germain.’

The Catholics detested these concessions made to the Protestants. They wanted to avenge the ‘Amboise Conspiracy.’ ‘The Duke of Guise,’ along with his forces, attacked and killed a number of Huguenots in Wassy on March 1, 1562. This came to be known as the ‘Massacre of Wassy’ and was the beginning of the French wars of religion.

There was retaliation from the Huguenots, resulting in battles at Loire Valley, Rouen, Dreux, and Orléans. During these battles, the leaders from both the sides were killed or captured. Francis, the duke of Guise, was killed in February 1563, during the siege of Orléans. On March 19, 1563, Queen Catherine signed the ‘Edict of Pacification’ (or the ‘Edict of Amboise’) to bring about a truce. That was the end of the first phase of the French wars of religion.