Francis II of France
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Francis II (
French:
François II) (
January 19,
1544 –
December 5,
1560) was a King of
France (
1559 –
1560). He was born at the
Royal Chateau at Fontainbleau,
Seine-et-Marne, the son of
Henry II, King of France (
March 31 1519 –
July 10 1559) and
Catherine de Medici (
April 13 1519 –
January 5 1589). He was also the grandson of
Francis I, King of France and
Claude de France and brother of
Charles IX, King of France and
Henry III, King of FranceHis marriage to
Mary Stuart was arranged by his father in
1548 when François was 4 years old. Mary had been crowned
Queen of Scotland in
Stirling Castle on
September 9,
1543, at the age of nine months. Once the marriage agreement had been formally ratified, in
1548 the six-year-old Mary was sent to France, to be raised in the Royal Court until the marriage.
On
April 24 1558, the 14-year-old
Dauphin was married to Mary, Queen of Scots in a union that would give the future King of France the throne of Scotland and a strengthened claim to the throne of
England.
A year after his marriage, his father Henri II died, and François, still only 15 years old, was crowned King. His mother Catherine de Medici was appointed Regent, but it is considered that Mary's uncles
François de Guise and
Charles de Guise may actually have been the ones to hold the power in that period.
François II, who had always been a sickly child, died
December 5 1560 in
Orléans,
Loiret, at the age of 16 when an
ear infection worsened and caused an
abscess in his
brain. King François II is buried in
Saint Denis Basilica.
He was succeeded by his brother,
Charles IX (
June 27 1550 -
May 30 1574).
On
April 24 1558, he married
Mary Stewart - "Marie Stuart" in French (Mary, Queen of Scots) (
December 8 1542 -
February 8 1587). They had no children.
Francekstyles|royal name=King Francis II
Par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France|dipstyle=His
Most Christian Majesty|offstyle=Your Most Christian Majesty|altstyle=Monsieur Le Roi|}}
