Louis XIII of Bourbon

Louis XIII of Bourbon (1601-1643) was the King of France after the assasination of his father Henry IV (1553-1610) and until his death. During the regency of his mother, Maria de’ Medici (1573-1642), the favourite of the queen, the Italian Concino Concini was very important but was killed in 1617. Taking power, Louis XIII also trusted his favourites: first the Duke of Luynes (1578-1621), then, from 1624 onwards, Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), who remained at the king’s side until his death. Louis left real power, foreign policy (supremacy in Europe to the detriment of the Habsburgs) and domestic policy (the pacification of the Kingdom, the definitive defeat of the Huguenots and the redimensioning of the power of the great nobility in the Kingdom) in the hands of Richelieu. After 23 years of marriage with the Spaniard Anne of Austria (1601-1666), the long desired heir was born on 5 September 1638 (the future Louis XIV), followed, two years later, by Philip, the Duke of Orléans (1640-1701).