Charles IX (redirected from King Charles IX)

Charles IX, king of Sweden

Charles IX, 1550–1611, king of Sweden (1604–11), youngest son of Gustavus I. He was duke of Södermanland, Närke, and Värmland before his accession. During the reign of his brother, John III (1568–92), he opposed John's leanings toward Catholicism. After John's death he acted as regent, summoned (1593) an assembly of clergy and nobles to Uppsala, and had it establish Lutheranism as the state religion. This measure was passed in anticipation of the arrival (1594) of John III's Catholic son and heir, King Sigismund III of Poland, who was obliged to pledge himself to uphold Protestantism in Sweden as a condition for his coronation. Sigismund left Sweden in the same year, and Charles summoned the Riksdag, was made regent against the king's wishes, and ousted all Catholic officials. The Swedish nobles were loyal to Sigismund, but the people supported Charles. Sigismund landed an army at Kalmar (1598), was defeated by Charles at Stangebro, and was deposed by the Riksdag in 1599. To consolidate his power Charles had most of his opponents executed, but he refused to accept the Swedish crown until Sigismund's brother, John, renounced it in 1604. In 1600 he invaded Livonia and thus began the long Polish-Swedish wars that ended only with the Peace of Oliva in 1660. Charles's claim to Lapland involved him in the unsuccessful Kalmar War (1611–13) with Christian IV of Denmark. He died before the conclusion of the war and was succeeded by his son, Gustavus II.

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Charles IX, king of France

Charles IX, 1550–74, king of France. He succeeded (1560) his brother Francis II under the regency of his mother, Catherine de' Medici. She retained her influence throughout his reign. After 1570, however, Charles was temporarily under the sway of the French Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny. Catherine, fearing for her power, persuaded her weak son to approve the massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day in which Coligny and thousands of other Huguenots were murdered. Charles IX was succeeded by his brother Henry III.

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Charles IX

(born June 27, 1550, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, France—died May 30, 1574, Vincennes) King of France (1560–74). Son of Catherine de Médicis, he became king on the death of his brother Francis II, under his mother's regency. Though he was proclaimed of age in 1563, he remained under his mother's domination. His reign was marked by conflicts between Catholics and Huguenots, and he was remembered for authorizing the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572) at his mother's instigation, an event that apparently haunted him the rest of his life. He died of tuberculosis at age 23.

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Charles IX

 Swedish Karl

(born Oct. 4, 1550, Stockholm, Swed.—died Oct. 30, 1611, Nyköping) King of Sweden (1604–11). Third son of Gustav I Vasa, he helped lead a rebellion against the rule of his half brother Erik XIV that placed his other brother on the throne as John III. After the accession (1592) of his devoutly Catholic nephew, Sigismund III, Charles called the Convention of Uppsala, which demanded that Lutheranism be retained as the national religion. He opposed Sigismund in a civil war, and after the latter was deposed Charles became the virtual ruler of Sweden (1599–1604). Declared king in 1604, he pursued an aggressive foreign policy that led to war with Poland (1605) and Denmark (the Kalmar War, 1611–13).

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Charles IX

1550--74, king of France (1560--74), son of Catherine de' Medici and Henry II: his reign was marked by war between Huguenots and Catholics