![]() The two eldest brothers of the House of Guise had already had major roles in the reign of Henry II. On the first day of his reign, Francis II instructed his four ministers to take orders from his mother, but since she was still in mourning for her husband, she directed them to the House of Guise. His mother, Catherine de' Medici, agreed to this delegation. Francis II took the sun for his emblem and for his mottoes Spectanda fides (This is how faith should be respected) and Lumen rectis (Light for the righteous).Ĭoinage under Francis II, with the bust of his father Henri IIĪccording to French law, Francis was an adult who did not need a regent but since he was young, inexperienced, and in fragile health, he delegated his power to his wife's uncles from the noble House of Guise: Francis, Duke of Guise, and Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine. The court then moved to the Loire Valley, where the Château de Blois and the surrounding forests were the new king's home. The crown was so heavy that nobles had to hold it in place for him. ![]() On 21 September 1559, Francis II was crowned king in Reims by his uncle Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine. Becoming king Ī little over a year after his marriage, on 10 July 1559, Francis became king at age 15 upon the death of Henry II, who had been killed in a jousting accident. The marriage produced no children, and may never even have been consummated, possibly due to Francis's illnesses or undescended testicles. ![]() As a result of the marriage, Francis became king consort in Scotland until his death. It was a union that could have given the future kings of France the throne of Scotland and also a claim to the throne of England through Mary's great-grandfather, King Henry VII of England. On 24 April 1558, Francis and Mary married in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Henry II said, "from the very first day they met, my son and she got on as well together as if they had known each other for a long time". She was tall for her age and eloquent, and Francis was unusually short and stuttered. Once the marriage agreement was formally ratified, the five-year-old Mary was sent to France to be raised at court until the marriage. Mary was a granddaughter of Claude, Duke of Guise, a very influential figure at the court of France. Mary had been crowned Queen of Scotland in Stirling Castle on 9 September 1543 at the age of nine months, following the death of her father James V. King Henry II, his father, arranged a remarkable betrothal for his son to the five year old Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Châtillon agreement of 27 January 1548, when Francis was only four years old. He learned dancing from Virgilio Bracesco and fencing from Hector of Mantua. He became governor of Languedoc in 1546 and Dauphin of France in 1547, when his grandfather Francis I died.įrancis's governor and governess were Jean d'Humières and Françoise d'Humières, and his tutor was Pierre Danès, a Greek scholar originally from Naples. His godparents were Francis I (who knighted him during the ceremony), Pope Paul III, and his great-aunt Marguerite de Navarre. He was baptised on 10 February 1544 at the Chapelle des Trinitaires in Fontainebleau. Francis was at first raised at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The long delay in producing an heir may have been due to his father's repudiation of his mother in favour of his mistress Diane de Poitiers, but this repudiation was mitigated by Diane's insistence that Henry spend his nights with Catherine. They were unable to help Catholics in Scotland against the progressing Scottish Reformation, however, and the Auld Alliance was dissolved.įrancis was succeeded by two of his brothers in turn, both of whom were also unable to reduce tensions between Protestants and Catholics.Ĭhildhood and education (1544–1559) įrancis was born 11 years after his parents' wedding. His short reign was dominated by the first stirrings of the French Wars of Religion.Īlthough the royal age of majority was 14, his mother, Catherine de' Medici, entrusted the reins of government to his wife Mary's uncles from the House of Guise, staunch supporters of the Catholic cause. He ascended the throne of France at age 15 after the accidental death of his father, Henry II, in 1559. He was also King consort of Scotland as a result of his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in 1560. Francis II ( French: François II 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was King of France from 1559 to 1560.
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