King James I | Letter signed, to Sillery, on the asssassination of Henri IV, 16 May 1610

King James VI and I.

Letter signed, with autograph subscription (“Vostre bien bon amy Jaques R”), to Nicolas Brûlart, Marquis de Sillery, Chancellor of France

RESPONDING TO NEWS OF THE ASSASSINATION OF THE FRENCH KING HENRI IV (“…le funeste advis que nous avons eu de l’execrable parricide commis en la personne du feu Roy nostre tres cher frere…”), informing that he is sending Sir Thomas Edmondes as his new ambassador to Paris and assuring him of his continued friendship with France, 1 page, folio, Westminster, 16 May 1610, integral address leaf, traces of red wax seal impression, remains of guard

KING JAMES I RESPONDS TO ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC EVENTS OF THE PERIOD, THE ASSASSINATION OF THE FRENCH KING HENRI IV. Henri had brought an end to the French Wars of Religion and his murder by a Catholic extremist threatened the Bourbon succession (his heir, Louis XIII, was nine years old), the peace of France, and the European balance of power. King James had a longstanding fear of assassination – the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 had been the latest of several attempts on his life – so the regicide was also personally troubling, and he immediately increased his personal security. This letter also announces the appointment of Sir Thomas Edmondes (d.1639), a veteran diplomat with years of experience in Paris, as the King’s ambassador to the French court. This letter was written soon after the murder but not two days later as the date seems to suggest. This letter is dated 16 May, and Henri IV had been assassinated on 14 May, but King James is using the old style date, as was then conventional in England, which corresponds to 26 May in the new style calendar that was used in France.