A quick-witted and observant man, Henri de Navarre knew how to adapt marvelously to circumstances. His judgment is sure, his always realistic observation and his common sense as a “Béarnais peasant” allow him to avoid pitfalls, to sniff out pitfalls and, very often, to return compromised situations in his favor. Patience does the rest as much as a strong will, stubbornness and a clear vision of the goal to be achieved. This is certainly one of the achievements of the personal education once given by Jeanne d'Albret, the benefits of which are now being revealed.
For nearly four years, Henri therefore used these resources to to fool the extremist party of the Court, which hardly appreciates it. He skilfully suppresses within himself the resentment that made him suffer so much when he arrived at Court. He hides his painful resignation the day after Saint-Barthélemy. He silenced his feelings of revolt at the sarcasm of courtiers as well as at the misconduct of "Queen Margot". Hometown, bonasse, he bides his time. She comes one day in February 1576, during a hunt in the forest of Senlis. The one who is, in fact, a "hostage of the Court" takes advantage of a gap in the woods to take off. The King of Navarre gallops south, rein in, reaches the Loire, retracts his abjuration on passing through Tours and reaches Poitou, Calvinist land. There, the fugitive takes the lead of his supporters and his influence extends practically to Languedoc.
The constitution of the League*, at the instigation of the Duke of Guise, cancels the happy effects of the Treaty of Beaulieu. Hostilities resumed in 1577. Henri captured Marmande and La Réole. These events alternated with periods of negotiations characterized by the edict of Poitiers, the peace of Bergerac and the ordinance of Blois of 1579. In vain. Positions were too clear-cut on both sides for an agreement to be lasting.
In 1580, the King of Navarre brought down the Place de Cahors, an important Catholic stronghold between the Viscount of Limoges and the Garonne basin. The peaces of Nérac* and Fleix* are only intervals between two campaigns. The Protestant assembly of Montauban conferred on the Béarnais the title of protector of the Churches in 1581. The following year, the assembly of Saint-Jean-d'Angély defined its powers. But the most important event of this period rich in twists and turns was undoubtedly the death of the Duke of Anjou, brother of Henry III, in June 1584. The absence of a royal heir immediately elevated the King of Navarre to rank of heir to the crown.
This time, for Catholics, the measure is at its height. Faithful reflection of the thinking of the Guise family, the League is moved. The emotion extends to Madrid, where the prospect of a reformed France encourages Philip II to promise 50,000 écus per month and volunteers to "extirpate sects and heresies". Before Henry III now stands the powerful and enterprising Duke of Guise, who boasts of Carolingian ancestry! "war of the three Henris".
Despite his brilliant success by Coutras* on Joyeuse, mignon by Henri III, the King of Navarre did not seem to be at the end of his troubles, because Henri de Guise never was no closer to the throne, this year 1588 which sees him "king of Paris". The crown is within reach. Out of overconfidence and pride, he procrastinates, desiring total success. Fatal smugness that will serve the cause of Béarnais.
Scorned by the Guise and the leaguers, Henri III rebels. Daggers and swords of
Forty-Five put a brutal end to Scarface's ambitions. By hatred of the latter, Henri III approaches the King of Navarre, following the advice of the members of the parliament of Paris, installed in Tours. On April 30, 1589, near Plessis-lez-Tours, for the first time in thirteen years, the reigning king met the man who was once called Henriquet. The army of Béarnais camped on the other side of the Cher. But the King of Navarre has, this time, no need of force to make his cause triumph. The cries of the assistants are enough to show that the hour is that of conciliation:“Long live the king! “, launch some, to which answer the exclamations of” Long live the king of Navarre! » and, significantly, of « Long live the kings! ”.
For Henry III, the wish will not come true, since the dagger of the monk Clement soon puts an end to its existence. But the monarch had enough lucidity and common sense to seal the rediscovered unity of the kingdom in Plessis-lez-Tours. Henri de Navarre is the designated successor. The League is morally defeated. It is still necessary to confirm this finding in the field.