Who's Who Henri IV Henri IV (Henri de Navarre, Henri de Bourbon), 1553-1610, first Bourbon king of France, was the son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret. On her death he succeeded to the kingdom of Navarre (1572). He took leadership of the Huguenot (Protestant) party in 1569. His marriage in 1572 with Marguerite de Valois was the occasion for the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day. Henri saved his life by abjuring Protestantism, but in 1576 he escaped …
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…Spain and, later, French aid for the Dutch against Spain, who now emerged as England's main enemy. Philip II of Spain, whose offer of marriage Elizabeth had refused in 1559, planned Spanish Armada expedition as reprisal against English raids on Spanish shipping. Defeat of Armada broke power of Sain. Vain, fickle in bestowing favors, prejudiced, vacillating, and parsimonious, she was also highly aware of responsibility of rule and immensely courageous. --Columbia-Viking desk encyclopedia, 1953.