Henry II of Navarre

Henry II of Navarre
Henri d'Albret by an unknown French painter
Spouse(s)	Marguerite de Navarre
Noble family	House of Albret
Father	John III of Navarre
Mother	Catherine I of Navarre
Born	18 April 1503(1503-04-18) Sangüesa
Died	25 May 1555(1555-05-25) (aged 52) Hagetmau

Henry II (18 April 1503 – 25 May 1555) was the eldest son of John III of Navarre (died 1516) and Catherine I of Navarre, sister and heiress of Francis Phoebus, King of Navarre; he was born at Sangüesa.

Contents 1 King of Navarre 2 Marriage 3 Ancestors 4 Notes 5 References

King of Navarre

When Catherine died in exile in 1517, Henry was proclaimed king of Navarre. The title was also claimed by Ferdinand II of Aragon, who had invaded the realm in 1512. Under the protection of King François I of France, he assumed the title of King of Navarre and was lavishly crowned in Lescar, despite Ferdinand's claim being continued by his grandson Charles I.

After ineffectual conferences at Noyon in 1516 and at Montpellier in 1518, an active effort was made in 1521 to establish him in de facto sovereignty. The French and Navarrese invaded Spanish Navarre, but were ultimately expelled by Charles after the Battle of Noain (June 1521).

In 1525, Henry was taken prisoner at the Battle of Pavia, but he contrived to escape under a guise and in 1526, married Marguerite, sister of King François I and widow of Charles, Duke of Alençon. By her, he was the father of Jeanne d'Albret, and was consequently the grandfather of Henry IV of France. Henry, who had some strong sympathy with the Huguenots, died at Hagetmau on 25 May 1555.

Marriage

In 1526, he married Marguerite de Valois^[1] who became known as Marguerite de Navarre (11 April 1492- 21 December 1549) and had issue:

1. Jeanne III of Navarre (16 November 1528–9 June 1572)
2. Jean (7 July 1530- 25 December 1530)

Ancestors

Henry's ancestors in four generations

									Jean I of Albret
						Alain I of Albret
									Catherine de Rohan
			John III of Navarre
									William of Châtillon-Limoges
						Françoise of Châtillon-Limoges
									Isabelle de la Tour d'Auvergne
Henry II of Navarre
									Gaston IV, Count of Foix
						Gaston of Foix, Prince of Viana
									Eleanor of Navarre
			Catherine I of Navarre
									Charles VII of France
						Magdalena of Valois
									Marie of Anjou

Notes

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Henry II of Navarre House of Albret Born: April 18 1503 Died: May 25 1555
Preceded by Catherine	King of Navarre 1517 – May 25, 1555	Succeeded by Jeanne III
	Count of Foix 1517 – May 25, 1555

Persondata
Name	Henry II of Navarre
Alternative names	Henri d'Albret; Henri II de Navarre (French)
Short description	King of Navarre (1517-1555)
Date of birth	18 April 1503
Place of birth	Sangüesa
Date of death	25 May 1555
Place of death	Hagetmau