While reading The Splendid Century, I was struck by the uncanny amount of similarities between two seemingly unrelated kings; Henry III and Louis XIV. Although they had remarkably similar childhoods, their lives took shape as diversely as possible. Both kings were orphaned at a very young age, at a desperate time for their countries. They were needed to fix the problems their predecessors had so foolishly created. Being put under similar circumstances, their kingdoms were ruled as differently as possible. Louis created one of the most powerful empires of the time, while Henry made his fathers failures a reality. I was intrigued. These kings lives began similarly, where did they diverge? My analysis suggests, both these men faced similar circumstances growing up and they were both were born with similar temperaments, yet their lives turned out differently. …
