Henri III (b.1551), son of Henri II and Catherine de' Medici, reigned as King of France from 1574 until his death in 1589. Henri is considered one of the weakest of the French kings. During his reign, he allowed the state's finances to fall into great disarray, forcing him to sell offices and levy heavy taxes on the populace. He was almost consistently embroiled in religious wars, which ultimately led to his assassination in 1589 (The Columbia Encyclopedia,1947).
In 1572, Catherine de' Medici's ambassadors to Poland were finalizing plans to place Henri, duke of Anjou, on the Polish throne. Soon after, Polish emissaries visited the Valois court. To honor them, Catherine presented Le Balet des Polonais, on August 15, 1573.
Henri ruled Poland for less than a year. He was summoned back to Paris upon the death of his brother Charles IX, and crowned Henri III, King of France.
Henri's entry back to France was celebrated in a most lavish and leisurely fashion. He made his way through numerous towns of Northern Italy, each striving to outdo one another in celebrating this powerful monarch. Henri showed his appreciation and pleasure by lingering long amid the banquets and among his adulators, despite the numerous reports of increasing religious tensions between Catholics and Huguenots in France.
Upon returning to the French court, Henri was crowned King and wed to Louise de Vaudemont. These events must have been celebrated quietly, for their are no official records relating to any significant court spectacles during this period. Henri seemed to have been too consumed with staving off a religious civil war and with the duties of state to sponsor any elaborate court fetes.
The next official record of a court spectacle does not occur until 1581, seven years after Henri ascended to the throne. The celebration ( which includesLe Balet Comique de la Reine ), was commissioned by Queen Louise and Henry III, to honor the duc de Joyeuse, the King's favorite, on the occasion of his marriage to the Queen's sister.*
*( see McGowan, pp.11-12).
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