Francis II, King of France
| Francis II | |
|---|---|
Portrait by François Clouet
|
|
| King of France | |
| Reign | 10 July 1559 – 5 December 1560 |
| Coronation | 21 September 1559 |
| Predecessor | Henry II |
| Successor | Charles IX |
| King consort of Scots | |
| Tenure | 24 April 1558 – 5 December 1560 |
| Born |
19 January 1544 Château de Fontainebleau, France |
| Died | 5 December 1560 (aged 16) Orléans, France |
| Burial | 23 December 1560 Basilica of St Denis, France |
| Spouse | Mary, Queen of Scots |
| House | Valois-Angoulême |
| Father | Henry II of France |
| Mother | Catherine de' Medici |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Francis II (French: François II) (19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was a King of France of the House of Valois-Angoulême from 1559 to 1560. He was also King consort of Scotland as a result of his willing marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in 1560.
He ascended the throne of France at the age of fifteen after the accidental death of his father, Henry II, in 1559. His short reign was dominated by the first stirrings of the French Wars of Religion.
Although the royal age of majority had been set at fourteen, his mother, Catherine de' Medici, entrusted the reins of government to his wife's uncles from the House of Guise, staunch supporters of the Catholic cause. They were unable to help Catholics in Scotland against the progressing Scottish Reformation, however, and the Auld Alliance was dissolved.
Francis was succeeded by two of his brothers in turn, both of whom were also unable to reduce tensions between Protestants and Catholics.
Born eleven years after his parents' wedding, Francis was named for his grandfather, King Francis I and uncle. The long delay in producing an heir may have been due to his father's repudiation of his mother in favor of his mistress Diane de Poitiers, however this repudiation was negated by Diane's insistence that Henry spend his nights with Catherine. Francis was at first raised at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He was baptized on 10 February 1544 at the Chapelle des Trinitaires in Fontainebleau. His godparents were Francis I (who knighted him during the ceremony), Pope Paul III, and his great-aunt Marguerite de Navarre. He became governor of Languedoc in 1546, and Dauphin of France in 1547, when his grandfather Francis I died.
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