2-356-556 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Henry IV, King of France, (1816). Henry (1553-1610) became King of Navarre in 1572 and ascended the French throne as the first Bourbon King of France in 1594. A Protestant, he fought in the French Wars of Religion, but after becoming king he converted to Catholicism and in 1598 signed the Edict of Nantes, granting religious freedoms to the Protestants and bringing the conflict to an end. He was murdered by a fanatical Catholic in 1610. He is pictured here lying in state afterwards. A print from Fifteen Splendid Portraits of Royal Personages, engraved in mezzotinto by Richard Earlom, Charles Turner and R Dunkarton, printed by J McCreery, Black Horse Court, Fleet Street, London.