Louis XIII Of France
Louis XIII (27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre (as Louis II until 1620) from 1610 to 1643.
Louis was only nine years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority. Mismanagement of the kingdom and ceaseless political intrigues by Marie de Medici and her Italian favourites led the young king to take power, in 1617, by exiling his mother and executing her followers, including Concino Concini, the most influential Italian at the French court.
Louis XIII, taciturn and suspicious, leaned heavily on his Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu, to govern the Kingdom. They are remembered for the establishment of the Académie française and for putting an end to the revolt of the great feudal lords. The reign of Louis "the Just" was also marked by the struggles against Huguenots and Habsburg Spain.
France's greatest victory in the war against the Habsburg Empire came at the Battle of Rocroi (1643), five days after Louis's death—apparently from complications of intestinal tuberculosis. This battle marked the end of Spain's military ascendancy in Europe and foreshadowed French dominance in Europe under Louis XIV, his son and successor.
Read more about Louis XIII Of France: Early Life, 1601–10, Speech Impediment, Rule of Marie De' Medici, 1610–17, Ascendancy of Charles De Luynes, 1617–21, Rule By Council, 1622–24, Ministry of Cardinal Richelieu, 1624–42, Impact On Men's Fashion, In Fiction and Film, Ancestors
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