France in 1621.

King Louis XIII

The eldest son of the late King Henri IV and Marie de Médici, His Majesty King Louis XIII ascended to the throne of France in 1610, at the age of eight and a half, upon the assassination of his father. His mother acted as Regent until Louis XIII came of age at thirteen, but she clung to power unofficially for three years thereafter.

By 1617 the king, resentful at being excluded from power, in frustration took the reins of government into his own hands at the age of fifteen. The assassination of Concino Concini, who had greatly influenced the Queen Mother's policymaking, effectively removed the Queen Mother's favorites from positions of power.

The King has filled his court with loyal friends and executed those who remained loyal to his mother and taken as his favourite the ambitious Charles d'Albert de Luynes, who remains the dominant figure in the government. Louis exiled his mother to Blois, and in 1619–20 she raised two unsuccessful rebellions.

Although Bishop Armand du Plessis, her principal adviser, reconciled her to King Louis in August 1620, the relationship between the king and his mother remains one of thinly disguised hostility.

The Huguenots

The question of freedom of religion continues to haunt the country. For many years heretical Protestants have formed a virtual state within a state. The turmoil of the "Wars of Religion" rocked France with warfare that devastated a generation until ended by King Henri IV, who had formerly been of the heretical faith. In July 1593 Henri IV made his "perilous leap" and abjured his faith, in the church of St. Denis, with the famous witticism that "Paris is worth a mass." 1598 saw the publication of the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots freedom of worship and civil rights, however, many Frenchmen feel that there still remains much unfinished business.

French Protestants consider themselves to practice a "reformed" religion — which implies that the Catholic religion was in need of reforms. French Catholics, when talking in polite terms, traditionally refer to Protestantism as the "allegedly reformed religion" — with an obvious pejorative undertone of "pretense".

Les Notables

Duc de Luynes

Chief Minister and trusted favourite of the King.

The Queen Mother

Marie de Medici, now reconciled with the King?

The Queen

Anne of Austria, Spanish Hapsburg wife of the King. It is rumoured that their relationship is not entirely happy.

Duc d'Anjou

The King's brother and heir.

Henri, Prince de Conde

Opponent of The Queen Mother, imprisoned on her orders but released by de Luynes. A leading magnate of France and 2nd in line to the Throne.

Henri, Duc de Rohan, Prince de Leon.

The leading Huguenot magnate with extensive lands in the South and West.

Europe

International relations are tense. Under The Queen Mother's rule French policy was pro-Spanish and, to that end, she arranged the marriage between The King and Anne of Austria. Since taking power into his own hands The King's policy toward Spain has been more neutral; many advisors point to the continued Hapsburg threat to France, surrounded as she is by the Hapsburgs in Spain, The Netherlands and The Holy Roman Empire.

At present the Emperor, Ferdinand II, faces revolt of the Protestants in his Bohemian lands who have made the Elector of the Palatinate their new King. This has spread the conflict into the Emperor's German lands and he has asked for help from the Spanish to crush the Protestant rebels in Bohemia and Germany. Crushing Protestants is all well and good but a powerful Hapsburg Emperor could complete the encirclement of France. Then there are always the perfidious Protestant English, aiding the Huguenots to weaken the power of France!