The Forty-five guards were forty-five guards recruited by the Duke of Épernon

Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette

Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette , created Duke of Épernon, was a powerful member of the French nobility at the turn of the 17th century. He was deeply involved in plots and politics throughout his life....

 to provide Henri III of France with trusted protection in the midst of the War of the Three Henrys.

The Forty-five were noblemen of lesser nobility (many from Gascony

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

) with little more than a horse, a sword, and a few acres to live on. In the king's service, they were paid a lavish wage (by their standards). In return, 15 of them were to be on duty, day or night, ready at the king's call.

After the Catholic League

Catholic League (French)

The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...

 revolt in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, King Henri the III was forced to flee to Blois

Blois

Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...

, there, he staged a coup, regaining control of the Estates-General

French States-General

In France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...

 by employing the Forty-five to kill Henry I, Duke of Guise

Henry I, Duke of Guise

Henry I, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Count of Eu , sometimes called Le Balafré, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este...

 when he came to meet the king at the Château de Blois

Château de Blois

The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France, in the center of the city of Blois. The residence of several French kings, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her...

 on 23 December 1588, and his brother, Louis II, Cardinal of Guise

Louis II, Cardinal of Guise

Louis II, Cardinal of Guise was the third son of Francis, Duke of Guise and Anna d'Este. His maternal grandparents were Ercole d'Este II, Duke of Ferrara and Renée of France....

, the following day.

After the king was assassinated by Jacques Clément

Jacques Clément

Jacques Clément was the assassin of the French king Henry III.He was born at Serbonnes, in today's Yonne département, in Burgundy, and became a Dominican lay brother....

, the crown of France passed to Henry de Navarre

Henry IV of France

Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

; the Forty-five also passed to him and served him faithfully until his death, which was also by assassination - ironically in a conspiracy in which Épernon seems to have been involved.