Louis XIII...A Colourful Character

Founder of the famous five-part string orchestra Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi (the subject of Philip Brown’s upcoming Café Concert), Louis XIII was quite a character…Here a few interesting facts about him:

Ravaillac brandishing a dagger

He rose to the throne at the age of 9 after his father (Henry IV) was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic, François Ravaillac (because Henry had guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants).

Marie de Medici

He staged a coup d’état against his mother Marie de’ Medici and her Italian hangers-on in 1617, resulting in Marie’s exile, the assassination of her favourite Concino Concini and the beheading (and burning!) of Concini’s widow for witchcraft

Louis XIV

He married Anne of Austria (daughter of Philip III of Spain). The marriage was only briefly happy and it took 23 years before they managed to produce an heir! He was named Louis-Dieudonné (Louis god-given), because the court and country saw his birth as a divine miracle. He would later become Louis XIV. 

Henri Coiffier de Ruzé

There is no evidence that Louis XIII had any mistresses, earning him the title ‘Louis the Chaste’. Although he is said to have had a penchant for one of his favourites, Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis de Cinq-Mars (who, despite his catchy name, was later executed at the age of 22 for conspiring against Louis XIII with the Spanish).

The man himself - Louis XIII

Louis XIII was a bit of trend setter. He significantly contributed to the re-emergence of male wig-wearing, which would remain dominant in European male fashion until the French Revolution

The 3 Musketeers, with Gene Kelly

He was famously portrayed as a bored and sour king in Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. 









To find out more about our next Café Concert 'Violons du Roi' with specialist baroque violin-maker Philip Brown visit our website...