Antoine | |||||
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King of Navarre | |||||
Reign | 25 May 1555 – 17 November 1562 | ||||
Predecessor | Henry II | ||||
Successor | Jeanne III | ||||
Co-monarch | Jeanne III | ||||
Born | 22 April 1518 La Fère, Picardy, France |
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Died | 17 November 1562 (aged 44) Les Andelys, Eure |
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Burial | Vendôme | ||||
Spouse | Jeanne III, Queen of Navarre | ||||
Issue (among others) |
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House | Bourbon | ||||
Father | Charles, Duke of Vendôme | ||||
Mother | Françoise of Alençon | ||||
Religion | see details |
Full name | |
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French: Antoine de Bourbon |
Antoine (in English, Anthony; 22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562) was the King of Navarre through his marriage (jure uxoris) to Queen Jeanne III, from 1555 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of which he was head from 1537. He was the father of Henry IV of France.
He was born at La Fère, Picardy, France, the second son of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1489–1537), and his wife, Françoise of Alençon (died 1550). He was the older brother of Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé.
On 20 October 1548, at Moulins, he married Jeanne d'Albret, the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and his wife Margaret of Angoulême. After his father-in-law's death, he became King of Navarre, Count of Foix, of Bigorre, of Armagnac, of Périgord, and Viscount of Béarn. It was reported that Jeanne was much in love with him, but his subsequent actions show that he had little loyalty to her. The southern territory of the Kingdom of Navarre had been occupied by the Spanish since 1512, and Antoine tried to re-establish it. He was ready to sacrifice anything to his political interests.