François II
King of France · 1559-1560 · born on 19 January 1544, died on 5 December 1560
Eldest son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, Francis II became king in 1559, at fifteen. Since 1558 he had been married to Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.
His reign, dominated by the Guise, Mary Stuart’s uncles, was very brief: struck down by an infection, he died in December 1560. His mother, Catherine de Medici, then took the regency on behalf of her second son, Charles IX.
In the tree of power
- Era: Valois
- Predecessor: Henri II (1547-1559)
- Successor: Charles IX (1560-1574)