the murder of Henry IV

On May 14, 1610, François Ravaillac, a Catholic fanatic follower of the theory of legitimate tyrannicide, stabbed King Henry IV three times while he was traveling by carriage to the Bastille. Wounded in the lungs and aorta, the king died hours later, at the age of 56. Catholics never forgave him for his tolerance towards Protestants with the Edict of Nantes. Henry IV was buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis. During the French Revolution in 1793, his tomb was desecrated and his head stolen, but it was found in the early years of the 21st century.