"N..." initially meant "unnamed" (), it has since been erroneously transcribed as Nicolas. This error, though noted by numerous historians, including Georges Lacour-Gayet, Eudore Soulié and Édouard de Barthélemy, seems to have been repeated by means of biographers copying the child's supposed name from other biographers. Life The playwright François Tristan l'Hermite, who, as a youngster, lived at the court of Henry IV and was often called upon to read stories to the king's own children, described Monsieur d'Orléans as extremely handsome, intelligent, sharp-witted and prone to taking pity on those around him. Once, when recounting Aesop's The Wolf and the Lamb to Monsieur, the young prince was disturbed at the thought of the wolf eating the lamb, and implored l'Hermite to stop. This touched all those present, prompting l'Hermite to change the ending of the fable. Deeply moved, l'Hermite would later describe Monsieur d'Orléans as "a divine flower" and "an incomparable wonder". In 1608, Monsieur's father, Henry IV, intended to betroth him to the slightly older Marie de Bourbon-Montpensier, who was one of the greatest heiresses of her time, having inherited numerous titles and lands on the death of her father, Henri, Duke of Montpensier. Her mother, Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse, herself a rich heiress, held a high position at court as the recently widowed and wealthy mother of a princesse du sang. In 1610, Henry IV was stabbed to death by a Catholic fanatic in Paris and the Dauphin succeeded as Louis XIII, with Queen Marie as regent. As the second son, Monsieur became heir presumptive to the French throne, a position he held until his death. Health and death Monsieur's health was delicate from infancy. In September 1607, one of his nursemaids died of the plague; soon afterwards, he was discovered to be feverish, but seems to have recovered quickly. Louis Batiffol, Marie de' Medici's biographer, describes Monsieur as frail, with a large head set atop a very thin body, stating that he "suffered from his first days" and "dragged on in constant suffering". In November 1611, Monsieur was taken ill with seizures at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which lasted a few days. Louis XIII was brought to visit his brother and, upon seeing him, Monsieur reportedly said: "you honour me too greatly to have come to see me". The young king ran out of the room in tears and refused to enter again. Some time in