Henry of Navarre Becomes Henry IV

1589

On the assassination of Henry III, the Protestant king of Navarre became, by strict dynastic logic, Henry IV of France. Most Catholics refused to accept him. He would spend nearly a decade fighting for his throne, converting to Catholicism only after military stalemate forced the expedient on him. His famous remark Paris is worth a Mass encapsulated the pragmatic calculation that a Protestant king could rule Catholic France only by converting.