Charles IX

King of France · 1560-1574 · born on 27 June 1550, died on 30 May 1574

Son of Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici, Charles IX came to the throne in 1560, at the age of ten. His reign opened under the regency of his mother, who attempted a policy of conciliation: the Colloquy of Poissy (1561), the January Edict of 1562 (Saint-Germain) granting a degree of tolerance to the Protestants.

But peace did not hold: the massacre of Wassy (1562) triggered a long series of Wars of Religion. The Peace of Saint-Germain (1570) led to the marriage of his sister Margaret with the future Henry IV; a few days after the wedding, the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre broke out (24 August 1572), which the king and his mother let happen.

Sick and weakened, the young king died in 1574, at twenty-three, with no male heir. His reign, marked by religious violence, illustrates the failure of the policy of conciliation in the face of the extreme factions.

Key dates

In the tree of power

Further reading