Kings of France
King Henri III
King Henri III in Poland
Henri was elected the King of Poland in 1573, before his accession to the French throne. He only spent 6 months there, his brother King Charles IX dying and Henri escaping the Poles to return home.
This medallion has often been used as proof that the King got fatter as he aged, yet, being done in Poland, and his not wearing the Cordon of the Saint Esprit, one must conclude that he was quite young in the portrait, before 1578. There is a similar wax rendering of his wife Louise de Lorraine where she looks zaftig. But, she was known to be thin, so, these wax renderings o indeed seem to show voluminous robes, not overweight monarchs
The king's left ear does seem to be pierced.
Perhaps, he was not fat in the portrait - the effect is due to the artist ? voluminous coronation robes? Since his later images - on his trip home in Italy in 1574 - show him still slender.
On his way home from Poland, he dallied in Venice, prompting the following contemporary painting, ca 1575, the king is easily recognizable on the left
La Femme entre les deux âges, Source RMN