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Louis XIII (27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France and Navarre from 1610 to 1643. Along with his First Minister Cardinal Richelieu, Louis "the Just" is remembered for the establishment of the Académie française and participation in the Thirty Years' War against the House of Habsburg. France's participation in the war insured the decline of Spain as a power in Europe.
Louis XIII of France in 1632[]
While King Louis XIII was the ostensible ruler of France, true power rested in his advisor, Cardinal Richelieu, who took it upon himself to maintain France as a true national power. Rebecca Abrabanel had attended an audience with Louis XIII while an envoy to France and personally saw the king's personality as rather childish. King Louis granted Richelieu carte blanche on nearly everything in his powers to support France and its role in the Ostend War.
At the time of the Ring of Fire, despite several years of marriage to Anne of Austria, Louis had yet to sire any heirs. This caused substantial concerns in the French court. Cardinal Richelieu saw the king's childlessness as a proverbial Sword of Damocles, as Louis' brother Gaston, the Duke of Orléans was the heir presumptive, hated the Cardinal and intended to execute him if Gaston became the next king of France.
| Regnal titles (OTL) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry IV |
King of France and Navarre 1610-1643 |
Succeeded by Louis XIV |
| Regnal titles (1632) | ||
| Preceded by Henry IV |
King of France and Navarre 1610-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |