Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier

Henri de Bourbon
Duke of Montpensier
Born	1573
Died	27 February 1608
Spouse	Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse
Issue	Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier
Father	François de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier
Mother	Renée d'Anjou-Mézières [fr]
Religion	Catholic

Henri de Bourbon, prince dauphin d'Auvergne, then prince de Dombes and duc de Montpensier (1573 – 27 February 1608)^[1] was a French prince du sang (prince of the blood), duke, military commander, governor and royal councillor during the final days of the French Wars of Religion. The son of François de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier and Renée d'Anjou, Montpensier (known as Dombes prior to the death of his father) remained loyal to king Henri III after he entered war with the Catholic ligue (league) in December 1588. As a reward for his loyalty he was made first governor of Basse (lower) Auvergne, and then, upon the capture of the comte de Soissons he was established as governor of Bretagne.

This role brought him into conflict with the ligueur aligned former governor of the province duc de Mercœur. He initially had advantage against the ligue in the province, but this was reversed when Mercœur invited a large Spanish garrison into the province. After the death of Henri III in August 1589, Dombes and his father Montpensier transferred their loyalty to the Protestant king of Navarre who continued the royalist war on the ligue. In June 1592, Dombes' father died, and he succeeded him as governor of Normandie and duc de Montpensier. He succeeded in securing Honfleur for the royalist cause, however the majority of Normandie was brought into the royal fold by the buying off of its governor Admiral Villars. Montpensier presided over one of the Three Estates at the Assembly of Notables convoked to alleviate the kingdoms financial troubles in 1596. He was among the grandees who opposed the Edict of Nantes which granted toleration to Protestantism. His seniority in the line of succession ensured him a place on the royal council, even if Henri had a low opinion of his intelligence. He died on 27 February 1608 and was succeeded as governor of Normandie by the future king Louis XIII.