Louis XIII

Louis XIII (French pronunciation: [lwi tʁɛz]; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre as Louis II from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.

Louis XIII was the King of France from 1610 to 1643 and King of Navarre from 1610 to 1620. He became king at age 18 after his father, Henry IV, was assassinated. His mother, Marie de' Medici, acted as regent during his minority but was later exiled due to mismanagement and political intrigues. Louis XIII relied on chief ministers like Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, and Cardinal Richelieu to govern the kingdom. They established the Académie française and ended the revolt of the French nobility. The king's reign was marked by struggles against the Huguenots and Habsburg Spain. There are suggestions that Louis XIII may have been homosexual, with intense emotional attachments to male courtiers but no clear evidence of sexual relationships.