I was born Alexandre-Édouard at the Royal Château of Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, fourth son of King Henri II and Catherine de' Medici, grandson of François I and Claude de France. I am my mother's favourite son. She lavished her fondness and affection upon me for most of my life, I was also healthier than my brothers, though I too had a weak lung and suffering from constant fatigue. Unlike my father and brothers, I had little interest in traditional Valois pastime of hunting and physical exercise. I was both fond of and skilled in fencing though. I prefer to indulge my tastes for the arts and reading-- thanks to my Italian heritage. I am also interested in clothes, fabriques, jewels, lapdogs and toys. Everytime I appear at the court, I always love being elegant and sophisticated. I often hid from state affairs and instead spend most of my time in acts of piety such as pilgrimages and flagellation.I was a leader of the royal army in the French Wars of Religion against the Huguenots and took part in the victories over them at the Battle of Jarnac and Battle of Moncontour. In 1573, I was elected King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Upon the death of my brother Charles IX, I secretly left Poland and returned to France, where I was crowned King in 1575 at Reims Cathedral. I relied on my mother and her chosen group of loyal secretaries until the last few weeks of her life. I was not partucularly interested in women bur I fell for Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont, whom I married two days after my coronation. In August of 1589, while I was besieging Paris with the King of Navarre, I was stabbed to death by a young fanatical Dominican friar, Jacques Clement. Childless, I was the last of the Valois Kings.