1-649-574 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

Henry IV, King of France and Navarre, (c1771-1847). Henry (1553-1610) became King of Navarre in 1572 and ascended the French throne 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.