War of the Three Henrys

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War of the Three Henrys
Part of French Wars of Religion
The Three Henrys Henry of Navarre Henry III of France Henry of Guise
Date 1585–1589[1] Location France Result Henry of Navarre outlives the other Henrys and becomes the King of France House of Bourbon replaces the House of Valois as the Royal House of France
Belligerents
Protestants: Huguenots  England	Politiques	Catholics: Catholic League Spain  Duchy of Savoy
Commanders and leaders
Henry of Navarre Henri, Prince of Condé (1552–1588)	Henry III of France X Duke of Mercœur Anne, Duke of Joyeuse † Jean, Duke of Épernon	Henry I, Duke of Guise X Charles, Duke of Mayenne

The War of the Three Henrys^[1] (French: Guerre des trois Henri), also known as the Eighth War of Religion^[1] (French: Huitième guerre de Religion), took place during 1585–1589,^[1] and was the eighth conflict in the series of civil wars in France known as the French Wars of Religion.^[1][a] It was a three-way war fought between:

• King Henry III of France, supported by the royalists and the politiques;
• King Henry of Navarre, later Henry IV of France, heir presumptive to the French throne and leader of the Huguenots, supported by Elizabeth I of England and the German protestant princes; and
• Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, leader of the Catholic League, funded and supported by Philip II of Spain.^[1]

The underlying cause of the war was the looming royal succession crisis from the death of heir presumptive, Francis, Duke of Anjou (Henry III's brother), on 10 June 1584, which made the Protestant Henry of Navarre heir to the throne of the childless Henry III, whose death would extinguish the House of Valois.^[1][2] On 31 December 1584, the Catholic League allied itself with Philip II of Spain by the Treaty of Joinville.^[2]

The war began when the Catholic League convinced (or forced) King Henry III to issue the Treaty of Nemours (7 July 1585), an edict outlawing Protestantism and annulling Henry of Navarre's right to the throne.^[2] Henry III was possibly influenced by the royal favorite, Anne de Joyeuse.^{[citation needed]} In September 1585, Pope Sixtus V excommunicated both Henry of Navarre and his cousin and leading general Condé to remove them from the royal succession.^[3]

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