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- BIOGRAPHY
Louis XIII 'le Juste', king of France and Navarre, was born on 27 September 1601 in Fntainebleau, the son of Henri IV, king of France and Navarre, and Marie de' Medici. He was only nine when he became King of France and Navarre. Sadly, his relations with his mother had never been good and there was no natural affection between them.
All his daily activities were chronicled by his physician, Jean Hérouard. At fifteen he was apparently plump though not unattractive; but as he grew older he became thinner and anxious looking. In November 1615, when only fifteen years old, he married Anne of Austria.
Louis XIII was regarded handsome, even though he had inherited the 'Austrian lip' from his mother. He had black, shoulder-length hair. Having become king at the age of nine, he was declared to be of age at thirteen. He was not robust yet feared no physical danger; nearly all his life was spent as a soldier fighting France's enemies: Spain, Austria, the Huguenots, ambitious noblemen, his father's bastards, his brother Gaston's plots and his mother's intrigues.
However, he was sensitive, quiet, inclined to suspicion and loved working with his hands. He could make a pair of shoes better than most cobblers and had his own forge, gunroom, printing press and carpenter's shop. He enjoyed cooking and had an ear for music. However, his one passion was falconry.
Louis XIII was aware of his shortcoming in politics and entrusted the state's affairs to his favourite, the Duc de Luynes, until the latter died in 1621 and was replaced by Cardinal Richelieu. Louis XIII and Richelieu were very close and no-one could say who was master in France. Richelieu supplied the intelligence while the king put these ideas into action. Almost every night the king would write to Richelieu, describing the day's events. In 1642 Cardinal Richelieu died and was replaced by Cardinal Mazarin.
A story has it that while hunting in December 1637 and caught in a storm, he found shelter at his wife's residence. Here they slept together and the result was the birth of the future Louis XIV who became known as 'Dieudonné' (Given by God). However, as Louis XIV was not born seven months after conception, he must have been conceived close to two months earlier. When Louis XIV was born, Louis XIII referred to 'my wife's four unhappy miscarriages.' There is some doubt cast on whether Anne was pregnant in the last two, or whether she was having health problems, but she evidently had reason to believe she had been pregnant. Two years later the queen again conceived and a second son was born.
His health having always been delicate, Louis XIII died, 14 May 1643 in St.Germain-en-Laye, of tuberculosis, aged only forty-one.
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