Today is Thursday, May 14th, 2020.

On this day in 1610, King Henry the 4th of France was assassinated.

His killer, Francois Rabayac, insisted he acted alone.

But did he? Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised. C

for for listeners under 13. Today we're covering the assassination of King Henry the 4th of France by Catholic fanatic

Francois Raviac.

Let's go back to Paris on May 14th, 1610 in the late afternoon. King Henry jostled in his seat as the Royal carriage exited the Louve Palace.

So far his reign had been as bumpy as his ride over the cobblestone streets.

He'd come to power during the French Wars of religion between the Huguenot Protestants and Roman Catholics.

Born a Protestant himself, he was only able to take the throne by converting to Catholicism.

And though Henry had tried to mend the religious divide plaguing his country, his efforts

had done little to ease the tensions.

Everything he tried only created more enemies.

The Protestants didn't like that he converted to Catholicism.

The Catholics didn't like that he gave Protestants religious freedom.

The civil unrest led to multiple assassination attempts.

After being crowned in 1589, some accounts suggest there'd been over 20 attacks on his life. But on

May 14, 1610, he didn't seem too concerned about security.

He rode in an open carriage with a few of his ministers, protected only by a small contingent of guards.

He wasn't going far, just to visit a trusted advisor a few houses over, but he should have been more cautious.

Before it could reach its destination, Henry's carriage was blocked by two carts stuck in the road.

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