Louis XIII of France
Encyclopedia : L : LO : LOU : Louis XIII of France
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Early life
Born at the Château de Fontainebleau, Louis XIII was the eldest child of Henry IV of France (1589–1610) and Marie de' Medici. His father was the first Bourbon King of France, having succeeded his ninth cousin, Henry III of France (1574–89), in application of the Salic law. Louis XIII's paternal grandparents were Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome and Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre; his maternal grandparents were Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Johanna, archduchess of Austria.
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The brilliant and energetic Cardinal Richelieu played a major role in Louis XIII's administration from 1624, decisively shaping the destiny of France for the next 18 years and dying only months before the King himself. As a result of Richelieu's work, Louis XIII became one of the first exemplars of an absolute monarch. Under Louis XIII the Habsburgs were humiliated, the French nobility was firmly kept in line behind their King, and the special privileges granted to the Huguenots by his father were retracted. Furthermore, Louis XIII had the port of Le Havre modernized and built up a powerful navy.
The King also did everything to reverse the trend for the promising artists of France to work and study in Italy. Louis XIII commissioned the great artists Nicolas Poussin and Philippe de Champaigne to decorate the Luxembourg Palace. In foreign matters, Louis XIII organized the development and administration of New France, expanding the settlement of Quebec westward along the Saint Lawrence River from Quebec City to Montreal.
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Though Richelieu was firmly in charge of French policies, the King's favorites left their mark on the reign. The first was the duc de Luynes, 23 years his senior, who was the boy's closest adult friend and adviser at the outset of his reign. The last of the King's favorites (1639–42) was the much younger marquis de Cinq-Mars, who was executed for conspiring with the Spanish enemy in time of war.
After Louis XIII's death in 1643, his wife Anne acted as regent for their four-year-old son, Louis XIV of France (1643–1715).
Marriage and Issue
On November 24 1615, Louis XIII married Anne of Austria (September 22 1601 – January 20 1666). They had the following children:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louis XIV, King of France | September 5 1638 | September 1 1715 | Married Maria Theresa of Spain (1638 - 1683) in 1660. Had issue. |
| Philip I, Duke of Orleans | September 21, 1640 | June 8, 1701 | Married (1) Henrietta Anne, Princess of England (1644 - 1670) in 1661. Had issue. Married (2) Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (1652 - 1722) in 1671. Had issue. |
Further reading
- Willis, Daniel A. (comp). The Descendants of Louis XIII. Clearfield, 1999.
Film
Ken Russell directed the film The Devils, in which Louis XIII is a significant character. The film was based on Huxley's book "The Devils of Loudun".Louis XIII in Fiction
Louis XIII, his wife Anne, and Cardinal Richelieu all became central figures in Alexandre Dumas' novel, The Three Musketeers.See also
External link
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|width="30%" align="center" rowspan=""|Preceded by:
Henry IV
|width="30%" align="center" rowspan=""|Succeeded by:
incorporated into France
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|width="30%" align="center" rowspan=""|Succeeded by:
Louis XIV
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