King of Kings - by Lewis Lavoie
Panel #84
 Henry IV of France
Country
 King of France and Navarre
Reign
 2 August 1589 – 14 May 1610
Born
 13 December 1553
Died
 14 May 1610 (aged 56)
Wikipedia: Henry VI is considered one of the greatest kings of France and was instrumental in ending the French Wars Of Religion. A Calvinist, he converted to Catholicism to satisfy the wishes of 90% or more of the population of France. Henry IV was the first of the Bourbon dynasty. Henry was educated as a Calvinist and enjoyed the outdoor life. He had a reputation for being high spirited and good humoured. He had a great love of women and he had at least 56 mistresses. His nick-name was the "vert galant" - the gay spark.
During the wars he was to become the leading Huguenot after the deaths of Condé and Coligny. In 1572, he married Marguerite de Valois, the daughter of Catherine de Medici in an effort to reconcile all sides in France. It was this wedding that attracted the gathering of nobles to Paris and prompted the Massacre of St. Bartholomew`s which rather than reconcile both sides lead to an even deeper split and an enormous hatred between the Huguenots and the Catholics. Henry only saved his life by converting to Catholicism but when he escaped from Paris in 1576, he changed back to Calvinism and took over the lead of the Huguenots.
In 1589, the death of Henry III lead to the crowning of Henry as Henry IV. The signing of the Edict of Nantes in 1598 effectively ended the wars. His conversion to Catholicism in 1593 re-established a catholic king on the throne and the ending of the war with Spain in 1598 (the Treaty of Vervins) gave Henry the freedom to re-build France.