Henry II of Navarre

Henry II
Portrait by unknown French artist
King of Navarre
Reign	12 February 1517 – 25 May 1555
Predecessor	Catherine
Successor	Jeanne III and Antoine
Born	(1503-04-18)18 April 1503 Sangüesa
Died	24 May 1555(1555-05-24) (aged 52) Hagetmau
Spouse	Margaret of Angoulême ​ ​ (m. 1526; died 1549)​
Issue more...	Jeanne III
House	Albret
Father	John of Albret
Mother	Catherine of Navarre
Religion	Roman Catholic, although strongly sympathized with Calvinists throughout his life
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Henry II (Spanish: Enrique II; Basque: Henrike II; 18 April 1503 – 24 May 1555), nicknamed Sangüesino because he was born in Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517. The kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of the Pyrenees mountains by the Spanish conquest of 1512. Henry succeeded his mother, Queen Catherine, upon her death. His father was her husband and co-ruler, King John III, who died in 1516.

Early life

Henry was the son of King John III and Queen Catherine. His father died in 1516. His mother died on 12 February 1517 and Henry ascended the throne of Navarre. Since he was 14 years old, his sister Anne of Navarre functioned as his regent until he was 15 and was declared of legal majority on 18 April 1518. As Henry was often absent from Navarre, his sister Anne continued to act as his regent during his absences.

King of Navarre

After the failed reconquest attempt of Navarre in 1516, John III died, followed by Catherine I's demise in her independent dependencies of Béarn one year later, in 1517. Heir apparent Henry was proclaimed King of Navarre, and was lavishly crowned in Lescar. The title was also claimed by Ferdinand II of Aragon, who had invaded the realm in 1512 and usurped the title, and the claim was continued by his grandson Charles V. Henry II enjoyed the protection of Francis I of France.

A French and Navarrese expedition made another attempt at reconquering occupied Navarre, conquered Pamplona in May 1521, but were ultimately repelled by Charles after the Battle of Noain in June 1521.

Henry in contemporary miniature

In 1525, Henry was taken prisoner during the Battle of Pavia, but he managed to escape and in 1526, married Margaret, the sister of King Francis I of France and the widow of Charles, Duke of Alençon. In 1530, after the Treaty of Cambrai between Castile and France, Charles V evacuated the northernmost county (merindad) of Navarre, Lower Navarre, allowing Henry to seize it. The Pyrenean border between Lower and Upper Navarre now constitutes the Franco-Spanish border in this sector.

Henry had some strong sympathy with the Huguenots, and was fluent in both French and Spanish, according to the seigneur de Brantôme. He died at Hagetmau on 24 May 1555.

Marriage

In 1526, Henry married Marguerite of Angouleme. They had:

• Jeanne III of Navarre (16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572); mother of Henry IV of France
• John (7 July 1530 – 25 December 1530)

Sources

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Henry II. of Navarre". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 293.
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