The War of the Three Henrys
From 1587-1589, nearing the end of the Wars of Religion in France, a war broke out between three different people of power in france. The three Henrys involved included: The Huguenot leader Henry of Bourbon (Henry IV), Henry III, and, Henri I De Lorraine 3e duc de Guise. The War of the Three Henrys was directly caused by the impact of the Wars of Religion. The War of the Three Henrys has so many important events and details, I believe breaking down the war by year is the best possible option to examine the most information beginning with 1587 and finishing in 1589.
1587: The fighting in 1587 started when a Royal army under Anne, duke of Joyeuse, headed west from Paris to confront Navarre. He decided to retreat into La Rochelle, leaving Joyeuse free to recapture a number of towns that had been taken by the Huguenots. This included Saint Maixent, Tonnay Charente, and Maillezais and on several occasions the Royalists carried out massacres In mid August Joyeuse returned to Paris to secure his position at court. During 1587 an army of Swiss and German troops invade Lorraine under the instruction of Baron Fabian. As this army was making its way west, they began getting harassed from all angles by league armies led by Guise and Mayenne. In the meantime the Germans had advanced into a trap. They were unable to cross the Loire, and so decided to push on along the north bank. They were able to get past the king, but were attacked by Guise. The Germans pushed on towards Chartres, but after their Swiss troops accepted an offer of safe conduct and returned home, they decided to retreat back up the Loire. They then suffered an embarrassing defeat at and in the aftermath of that second setback the Germans also accepted an offer of safe conduct.
1588: Over the winter of 1587-88 a series of plots were hatched at Paris to replace Henry III with Henry of Guise. None of the plots succeeded, but they did alarm Henry, who moved 2,000 Swiss troops close to Paris. He continued to anger the League by giving Joyeuse’s posts to his new favourite, the duke of Epernon, instead of to members of the league. The governorship of Normandy was seen as a particular threat, giving Henry’s supporters a powerbase that could threaten Paris. Early in the year the Huguenots lost two of their leaders. Guillaume-Robert de la Mack, duke of Bouillon, the senior French leader in the German army of 1587 died at Geneva. On 5 March 1588 Henry, prince of Condé, died. He was believed to have been poisoned by the orders of his new wife, and she was imprisoned for several years. This left Henry of Navarre as the sole senior Protestant leader. Henry III was now on the verge of losing control of Paris.
A group of radical Catholics, led by ‘The Sixteen’, controlled the Parisian part of the Catholic League. They now felt threatened by the proximity of the Swiss and Epernon’s control of Normandy, and asked Guise to come to Paris, despite Henry III having ordered the Duke to stay away. Guise was willing to take the risk. The Spanish Armada was about to sail, and he needed to make sure that Henry III couldn’t provide any aid to Elizabeth. Guise decided to risk ignoring the king, and on 9 May entered the city in secret. He was soon recognised, and made his way to the Royal Palace surrounded by an adoring crowd. Guise first went to Catherine de Medici, who then took him to the king. Henry III briefly considered having Guise assassinated at this first meeting, but decided not to risk triggering riots in Paris.
Henry of Guise and Cardinal Louis of Guise were summoned to the king’s chamber in the chateau at Blois, where the duke was murdered by the king’s guards. The cardinal was arrested, and was killed on the following day in his cell. Henry also arrested Guise’s family and several members of the Paris Sixteen, including La Chapelle-Marteau, the mayor of Paris.
1589: Henry III’s desperate gamble quickly failed. Henry of Guise was replaced as leader of the aristocratic faction of the Catholic League by his youngest brother, Charles, duke of Mayenne. In Paris the people turned on Henry III, declaring him to be a tyrant. The doctors of the Sorbonne declared him to be deposed, and the Parliament of Paris ratified the same declaration. The Sixteen simply replaced their arrested members. The murder of the Cardinal meant that the Catholic Church turned against him. Mayenne entered Paris on 12 February, and the Sixteen appointed him lieutenant-general of the kingdom. The combined Royal army then marched towards Paris. They were joined by Swiss and German contingents, giving them around 45,000-48,000 men, far more than Mayenne had inside Paris. The siege of Paris began at the end of July, but it would be short-lived. On the morning of 1 August Henry III was stabbed by a Catholic monk, Jacques Clement, and died early on 2 August. Henry of Navarre thus became Henry IV of France, but he was unable to keep the Royal army together. The three way Eighth War of Religion had thus become the more straightforward two-way Ninth War of Religion, fought over Henry of Navarre's succession to the throne.
Rickard, J (23 January 2018), Eighth War of Religion, 1585-89 (War of the Three Henrys) , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_eighth_war_religion.html
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, (08 December 2018), War of The Three Henrys, https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Three-Henrys