| Notes |
- Francis was born 11 years after his parents' wedding. 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.
King Henry II, his father, arranged a remarkable betrothal for his son to Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Châtillon agreement of 27 January 1548, when Francis was only four years old. 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. Mary was a granddaughter of Claude, Duke of Guise, a very influential figure at the court of France. Once the marriage agreement was formally ratified, the six-year-old Mary was sent to France to be raised at court until the marriage. She was tall for her age and eloquent, and Francis was unusually short and stuttered.
On 24 April 1558, Francis and Mary married in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. 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. As a result of the marriage, Francis became King Consort in Scotland until his death. The marriage produced no children, and may never even have been consummated, possibly due to Francis's illnesses or undescended testicles.
A sickly and weak-willed young man, Francis became a tool of the Guises, who saw an opportunity for power and a chance to break the Huguenot strength within the kingdom. To defeat the Guises, Louis de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Huguenot leader, planned the conspiracy of Amboise (March 1560), an abortive coup d?etat in which some Huguenots surrounded the Château of Amboise and tried to seize the King. The conspiracy was savagely put down, and its failure strengthened the power of the Guises. This in turn frightened Francis? mother, Catherine, who then tried to balance the situation by securing the appointment of the moderate Michel de L?Hospital as chancellor.
In the hopes of gaining peace and rehabilitating court finances, the States General was summoned, but Francis died soon after the session began at Orléans. His death temporarily ended the Guises? dominion and saved Condé, who had been sentenced to death for high treason. Francis was succeeded by his brother, Charles IX.
François II de Valois, Roi de France
Also Known As: "Francis", "François"
Birthdate: January 19, 1544 (16)
Birthplace: Chateau de Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, France
Death: December 05, 1560 (16)
Orléans, Loiret, France
Place of Burial: Basilica of Saint Denis, Saint-Denis, Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Immediate Family:
Son of Henri II de Valois-Angoulême-Orleans, Roi de France and Caterina de' Medici, reine de France
Husband of Mary I, Queen of Scots
Brother of Elisabeth de Valois; Claude de France; Louis de Valois, duc d'Orléans; Charles IX de Valois, roi de France; Henri III de Valois, King of France; Marguerite de Valois, reine de France et de Navarre; François de Valois, duc d'Anjou et d'Alençon; Jeanne de Valois, princesse de France; Victoire de Valois, princesse de France; Carlos de Francia Valois; Rey de Francia Francisco II Valois and Princesa Clarissa de Francia Valois « less
Half brother of Diane de Valois; Henri d'Angoulême, Baron de Fontette and Henri de Saint Rémy, comte de Saint-Rémy, baron de Fontette
Occupation: King FRANÇOIS II of France (1559-60), *Fontainebleau 19.1.1544, +Orleans 5.12.1560, bur St.Denis, Roi de France (1559-1560), King of France (1559 - 1560), King of France 1559-1560, King of France, karalius (1559-1560)
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1544 - 1560 (16 years)