Alexandre-Édouard de Valois, Duke of Anjou (Henri III)

Alexandre-Édouard de Valois (* 19 September 1551; † 2 August 1589) was the fourth son of Henri II and Caterina de' Medici. Among his siblings, he enjoyed the best health and held a special place as his mother’s favorite.

In 1570, negotiations commenced regarding a marriage with Elizabeth I. Anjou openly expressed his disapproval of marrying a woman 18 years his senior, while the English queen’s interest in the union remained questionable.

Anjou had attended several meetings with Catharina de' Medici, Maréchal Gaspard de Tavannes, Retz, Gonzague, and René de Birague following the assassination attempt of Coligny on 23 August 1572. Allegedly present at the Louvre when Charles IX, the Duke of Guise, and possibly the Duke of Montpensier joined, Anjou’s involvement in the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre remained unproven.¹

In July 1572, Sigismund II. August of Poland passed away without heirs. The Nihil Novi constitution of 1505 and the union of Poland and Lithuania into a Real Union in 1569 led to the emergence of the Rzeczpospolita szlachecka (Republic of Nobles). With the nobility electing the king, a significant portion of the population participated in political decisions compared to other European nations. Anjou was chosen by the Polish nobility in May 1573, although his enthusiasm for Poland was lacking. Upon receiving news of Charles IX's death in mid-June, Anjou hastily departed his new kingdom with a few loyalists to claim the throne of France.

On 3 February 1575, Anjou was crowned Henri III of France. Shortly afterward, he married Louise de Vaudémont, a cousin of the Duke of Guise. Although not a faithful husband, Henri was loved deeply by his wife, even beyond death. It is believed Louise was pregnant at least once but lost the child, possibly developing a uterine infection that rendered her infertile. Despite numerous attempts, cures, and pilgrimages, she never conceived again. Henri III placed great importance on hygiene and his appearance, often bordering on extravagance.² This was often overlooked as a means to visually represent the majesty of the sovereign.³ Unlike his predecessors, he was not enthusiastic about hunting or physical exercise, though he was a skilled horseman and swordsman. Henri III astonished those around him by devoting himself to the administrative affairs of the realm. An intellectual, he sought conversations with scholars, mastered several languages, and displayed great religious devotion, despite flirting with Calvinism in his youth.⁴ His contemporaries reproached his favouritism, a political strategy only appreciated by historians in the 20th century. By making his favourites, known as mignons, entirely dependent on royal grace and engaging them in internal rivalries, Henri III created a nobility loyal only to him, countering nobles like Guise who sought autonomy. This focus on appearance and etiquette positions Henri III as a direct forerunner of Louis XIV.

Unlike Guise, Henri III was not popular with the populace. His manoeuvring between Catholics and Huguenots became politically explosive when Alençon died in 1584, leaving no Catholic heir to the throne. This led to the formation of the Catholic League under Guise’s leadership. The conflict escalated on 12 May 1588, the "Day of the Barricades," when Parisians supported the duke, forcing the king to flee the capital in secret. Spain had long supported the Catholic movement and Guise. When the Spanish Armada was destroyed in autumn 1588, Henri III saw an opportunity. He dismissed all his ministers on 8 September 1588 and convened the Estates General for October, though the majority supported the League. The Duke of Mayenne informed Henri III of an assassination attempt planned by his brother. By assassinating the Duke of Guise, the king hoped to pre-empt the attempt and weaken the League, but the opposite occurred.⁵ Henri III then turned to Henri de Navarre for support against his own subjects. In the summer of 1589, they laid siege to Paris, held by the League’s supporters. The Dominican monk Jacques Clément gained access to the king and stabbed him. Henri III, the last sovereign of the House of Valois, which had ruled France for 261 years, died in the early hours of 2 August 1589.

The Massacre at Paris

Anjou first appears in [Scene 4], where he plans the massacre. In [Scene 6], he decides to participate in the general killing in disguise. He is present at the murders of Coligny, the preacher Loreine, and Ramée in [Scene 7] and [Scene 9]. In [Scene 9], he also meets Navarre, whom he deceives by claiming he has just woken up and has done everything to stop the riot.
In [Scene 10], Anjou is in the presence of the Polish ambassadors who offer him the royal crown. Here, he presents himself as a worthy opponent to Russia’s Ivan IV the Terrible and the Ottoman ruler Suleiman I the Magnificent. This not only reveals his arrogance but also serves as Marlowe’s critique of religion by contrasting the capable non-Catholic rulers with Anjou, an unimpressive representative of Catholicism.⁶ The clause guaranteeing Anjou a return to France in the event of Charles IX’s death is an invention by Marlowe. Alençon, the youngest brother of Charles IX, initially assumed he would succeed the king after his death, as his other brother was already king of Poland. Anjou’s assumption of the kingship was seen as permanent and independent of developments in the French succession.

From the coronation onwards in [Scene 14], Marlowe shifts focus to the mignons. Even during Charles IX’s lifetime, Anjou surrounded himself with select favorites, often to the court’s displeasure. These favorites became a significant nuisance after he ascended the throne, as it seemed they would wield political influence. The conflict between Henri III and Guise was not triggered by an alleged relationship between the Duchess of Guise and a mignon as in [Scene 17], but by the consistent preference of favorites over Guise in important positions.

In [Scene 19], several events preceding the last meeting between Henri III and Guise are mentioned: the foundation of the League, the Day of the Barricades, and the convocation of the Estates-General for autumn 1588. However, unlike in the play, the conversation between Henri III and Guise occurred after, not before, the convocation. The king’s statement upon seeing the dead Guise: "I nere was King of France untill this houre:"⁷ is one of many attributed to Henri III.

The assassination of the king in [Scene 24] is depicted with historical accuracy. However, Navarre was not present at the actual event; he had set up camp in Meudon and was summoned later. The weapon was not poisoned, as the doctor claims. Initially, it seemed Henri III might survive the attack. What he said before his death is disputed. The League’s pamphleteers claimed a brief conversation with Navarre without an official succession declaration, while Huguenot writers asserted the opposite. It is likely Henri III confirmed Navarre’s claim to the throne but urged him to convert to Catholicism.

Marlowe’s Anjou/Henri III is an ambivalent figure whose transformation begins with his coronation. Initially, he is a Catholic fellow traveler in Guise’s orbit. After becoming king, he increasingly becomes the real antagonist, whose assassination garners sympathy for Henri III. Towards the end, the King of France and the King of Navarre unite against rebellious fanatics led by a power-hungry family, with religion losing its significance. The portrayal of the mignons is also noteworthy. Criticized by the Queen Mother and Guise, they are not bad advisors and are less influential than Gaveston or Spencer in Edward II. Marlowe presents a clear dichotomy of good (Navarre) and evil (Guise, Queen Mother), with Henri III being more complex and surprisingly accurately portrayed for a character in a 16th-century historical drama.