The first French king of the House of Bourbon succeeded Henry III of France.
Henry IV of France was the first Bourbon king of France . Henry III ( 19 September 1551 -- 2 August 1589 ; born Alexandre Édouard de France , Henryk Walezy , Henrikas Valua ) was a monarch of the House of Valois who was elected the monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1573 to 1575 and ruled as King of France from 1574 until his death . In 1589 , Jacques Clément , a Catholic fanatic , murdered Henry III , who was succeeded by the King of Navarre who , as Henry IV , would assume the throne of France after converting to Catholicism , and become the first French king of the House of Bourbon . Henry IV of France . He was the first French monarch of the House of Bourbon , a branch of the Capetian dynasty . House of Bourbon . The house continued for three centuries as a cadet branch , while more senior Capetians ruled France , until Henry IV became the first Bourbon king of France in 1589 .