Jeanne d’Albret

queen of Navarre

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Jeanne d'Albret was the queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. She was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and a key player in the religious wars of France.12

Born in 1528, Jeanne was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Margaret of Angoulême. She inherited the throne of Navarre upon her father's death in 1555. Jeanne was a devout Calvinist and actively promoted the Protestant cause in her kingdom. She also played a significant role in French politics, aligning herself with the Huguenot (Protestant) faction during the French Wars of Religion.12

Jeanne d'Albret's marriage to Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, united the House of Bourbon with the Kingdom of Navarre. Their son, Henry III of Navarre, would later become King Henry IV of France. Jeanne died in 1572, leaving her son to continue the struggle for religious and political stability in France.1

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Albret Family
In 1550 the lands of Albret were made a duchy. Jeanne d’Albret (1528–72), Jean’s granddaughter, married Antoine de Bourbon and left her titles to her son, Henry III of Navarre, who became king of France as Henry IV. A member of the Miossans branch of the family, César-Phébus d’Albret (1614–76),…
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In 1550 the lands of Albret were made a duchy. Jeanne d’Albret (1528–72), Jean’s granddaughter, married Antoine de Bourbon and left her titles to her son, Henry III of Navarre, who became king of France as Henry IV. A member of the Miossans branch of the family, César-Phébus d’Albret (1614–76),…
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house of Bourbon
Origins
…his marriage in 1548 to Jeanne d’Albret. The son of that marriage, titular king of Navarre in succession to his mother from 1572, became king of France, as Henry IV, on the death of the last Valois king in 1589. From Henry IV descended all the Bourbon sovereigns. The great…
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…his marriage in 1548 to Jeanne d’Albret. The son of that marriage, titular king of Navarre in succession to his mother from 1572, became king of France, as Henry IV, on the death of the last Valois king in 1589. From Henry IV descended all the Bourbon sovereigns. The great…
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Henry IV
Prince of Béarn.
…Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme, and Jeanne d’Albret, queen of Navarre from 1555. Henry, through his father, was in the sole legitimate line of descent from the Capetian kings of France. It was scarcely to be expected, however, that he would one day succeed to the throne of France, since Catherine…
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…Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme, and Jeanne d’Albret, queen of Navarre from 1555. Henry, through his father, was in the sole legitimate line of descent from the Capetian kings of France. It was scarcely to be expected, however, that he would one day succeed to the throne of France, since Catherine…
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Protestantism
Calvinism in France
…the obscurantists, and Margaret’s daughter, Jeanne d’Albret, the queen of Navarre, a feudatory of France, provided an asylum for the persecuted in her domain, though she did not herself espouse the Huguenot cause until 1560. When Lutheran teaching first began to infiltrate France, Francis I, who would not abet heresy,…
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…the obscurantists, and Margaret’s daughter, Jeanne d’Albret, the queen of Navarre, a feudatory of France, provided an asylum for the persecuted in her domain, though she did not herself espouse the Huguenot cause until 1560. When Lutheran teaching first began to infiltrate France, Francis I, who would not abet heresy,…
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