Charles, Duke of Angoulême 27 June 1550 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Died
30 May 1574(1574-05-30) (aged 23) Vincennes, France
Burial
13 July 1574
Basilica of St Denis, France
Spouse
Elisabeth of Austria
(m. 1570)
Issue
Marie Elisabeth of France Charles, Duke of Angoulême (illegitimate)
Names
Charles Maximilien
House
Valois-Angoulême
Father
Henry II of France
Mother
Catherine de' Medici
Religion
Catholicism
Signature
Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the House of Valois.
Charles' reign saw the culmination of decades of tension between Protestants and Catholics. Civil and religious war broke out between the two parties after the massacre of Vassy in 1562. In 1572, following several unsuccessful attempts at brokering peace, Charles arranged the marriage of his sister Margaret to Henry of Navarre, a major Protestant nobleman in the line of succession to the French throne, in a last desperate bid to reconcile his people. Facing popular hostility against this policy of appeasement and at the instigation of his mother Catherine de' Medici, Charles oversaw the massacre of numerous Huguenot leaders who gathered in Paris for the royal wedding, though his direct involvement is still debated. This event, known as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, was a significant blow to the Huguenot movement, and religious civil warfare soon began anew. Charles sought to take advantage of the disarray of the Huguenots by ordering the siege of La Rochelle, but was unable to take the Protestant stronghold.
Many of Charles' decisions were influenced by his mother, a fervent Roman Catholic who initially supported a policy of relative religious tolerance. After the events of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, he began to support the persecution of Huguenots. However, the incident haunted Charles for the rest of his life, and historians suspect that it caused his physical and mental health to deteriorate over the next two years. Charles died of tuberculosis in 1574 without legitimate male issue, and was succeeded by his brother Henry III, whose own death in 1589 without issue allowed for the ascension of Henry of Navarre to the French throne as Henry IV, establishing the House of Bourbon as the new French royal dynasty.
and 19 Related for: Charles IX of France information
CharlesIX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King ofFrance from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the...
Elisabeth ofFrance (27 October 1572 – 2 April 1578) was a French princess and member of the House of Valois. She was the only child of King CharlesIXof France...
1560 and 1574 for the Queen Regent ofFrance Catherine de Medici on behalf of her young son, CharlesIXofFrance; one of these was a gilded bass violin,...
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly revered as Saint Louis, was King ofFrance from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized...
Marie Touchet (French pronunciation: [maʁi tuʃɛ]; 1549 – 28 March 1638), Dame de Belleville, was the only mistress ofCharlesIXofFrance. Although born...
Siege of Rouen. He was the father of Henry IV ofFrance. Antoine was born at La Fère, Picardy, France, the second son ofCharles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme...
upon inheriting the French throne when his brother, CharlesIX, died without issue. France was at the time plagued by the Wars of Religion, and Henry's...
begin on 1 January. During a trip to various parts of his kingdom, the King ofFrance, CharlesIX, found that depending on the diocese, the year began...
bore hand painted royal French decorations in gold including the motto and coat of arms of her son CharlesIXofFrance. Of these 38 instruments ordered...
Early Modern France Vons, Jacqueline; Saint-Martin, Pauline (2010). "Vie et mort de Marie-Elisabeth de France (1572-1578), fille de CharlesIX et Elisabeth...
Patriarch of Aquileia and ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I of England and his brother Marcantonio, an ambassador to King CharlesIXofFrance. The villa...
King CharlesIXofFrance received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court...
monarchs of the House of Bourbon. The royal Bourbons originated in 1272, when Robert, the youngest son of King Louis IXofFrance, married the heiress of the...
Medici, to the son of Emperor Charles V's arch-enemy, King Francis I ofFrance—the future King Henry II. This led to the transfer of Medici blood, through...
incomparable pearl[citation needed]), and even for the death of King CharlesIXofFrance, who died (1574) soon afterward.[need quotation to verify] In...
in the household of the children of the king, with CharlesIX and Henri III as playmates. Lude's father Jean de Daillon was governor of Poitou from 1543...