Three Henrys, War of the

Three Henrys, War of the

(1587–89) Last of the Wars of Religion in France, fought between King Henry III, the ultra-Catholic Henri I de Lorraine, duke de Guise, and the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarra (later Henry IV). Early conflicts were won by the Holy League led by Guise, who forced Henry III to sign the Edict of Union in 1588, naming him lieutenant general of the kingdom. Humiliated, Henry III had Guise assassinated, but the Holy League continued to wield power, and Henry called for help from his cousin, Henry of Navarra. The royalist-Huguenot coalition forced the Holy Leaguers to retreat, but Henry III was assassinated, and, before he died, he exhorted the future Henry IV to become a Roman Catholic.