1610-1643
Louis XIII was born on the 27th of September
in 1601 at Fontainebleau Palace. He was only nine when he became
King of France. Sadly, his relations with his mother had never
been good and there was no natural affection between them. He
had been a morose and backward child, probably because of a speech
impediment caused by the fact that he had to have the frenum of
his tongue cut before he could speak at all. All his daily activities
were chronicled by his physician, Jean Herouard. At fifteen he
was apparently plump though not unattractive; but as he grew older
he became thinner and anxious looking. In November 1615, when
only fifteen years old, he married Anne of Austria. However, he
resisted his mother's urgings to have the marriage consummated
and, as Anne was no keener, for over twenty years they led separate
lives.
Louis XIII was regarded handsome, even
though he had inherited the 'Austrian lip' from his mother. He
had black, shoulder-length hair. Having become king at the age
of nine, he was declared to be of age at thirteen. He was not
robust yet feared no physical danger; nearly all his life was
spent as a soldier fighting France's enemies: Spain, Austria,
the Huguenots, ambitious noblemen, his father's bastards, his
brother Gaston's plots and his mother's intrigues. However, he
was sensitive, quiet, not intelligent, inclined to suspicion and
loved working with his hands. He could make a pair of shoes better
than most cobblers and had his own forge, gunroom, printing press
and carpenter's shop. He enjoyed cooking and had an ear for music.
However, his one passion was falconry. the state's affairs to
his favourite, the Duc de Luynes, until the latter died in 1621
and was replaced by Cardinal Richelieu. Louis XIII and Richelieu
were very close and no-one could say who was master in France.
Richelieu supplied the intelligence while the king put these ideas
into action. Almost every night the king would write to Richelieu,
describing the day's events. In 1642 Cardinal Richelieu died and
was replaced by Cardinal Mazarin.
While hunting in December 1637 and caught
in a storm, he found shelter at his wife's residence. Here they
slept together and the result was the birth of the future Louis
XIV who became known as 'Dieudonn‚' (Given by God). Two years
later the queen again conceived and a second son was born. His
health having always been delicate, Louis XIII died, in May 1643,
of tuberculosis, aged only forty-one.
