On the 10th of June in that year Henry III.'s brother, the Duke of Anjou, died at Chateau-Thierry.

By this death the leader of the Protestants, Henry, King of Navarre, became lawful heir to the throne of France.

The Leaguers could not stomach that prospect.

The Guises turned it to formidable account.

They did not hesitate to make the future of France a subject of negotiation with Philip II.