In 1572, Catherine de Médicis and Jeanne d’Albret decided to fulfil the promise made by
Henri II to Antoine de Bourbon and
unite their respective children –
Marguerite de Valois and Henri de Navarre – in marriage.
his marriage between a Catholic and a Protestant was
intended to be the apotheosis of the Edict of Saint-Germain,
and the symbol of the country's newfound religious unity.
Instead, it served as a pretext for one of the darkest episodes in
France's history – the St Bartholomew's Day massacre.
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