The future king Francis II was born in the family of Henry II (1519–1559) and Catherine de Medici (1519–1589). This happened in the eleventh year of marriage of a crowned couple, January 19, 1544. The child was named after his grandfather Francis I. Due to the fact that Catherine could not give birth to an heir for a long time, she was removed from the king, who began to live with her favorite Diana de Poitiers.
Infancy
Francis II grew up in the Saint-Germain Palace. It was a residence in a Parisian suburb on the banks of the Seine. The child was baptized on February 10, 1544 in Fontainebleau. The grandfather king then knighted him. The godparents were Pope Paul III and Aunt Margarita of Navarre.
In 1546, the baby became viceroy in Languedoc, and a year later received the title of dauphin, after his grandfather died, and father Henry II became king. The child had many mentors, including a Greek scholar from Naples. The growing heir learned to dance and fencing (this was a sign of good form in that era).
Marriage organization
An important issue was the engagement and continuation of the dynasty. Henry II decided that his son would marry Mary Stuart - Queen of Scotland. She was born on December 8, 1542, and from the very first days received her title because her father died at that time, Jacob V. In fact, her closest relative, James Hamilton (Earl of Arran), ruled for her.
At that time, the religious question was acute. France and Scotland were Catholic countries. England got its Protestant church. Therefore, the authorities of the three countries were not in a hurry to conclude alliances. When the “French” party finally won in Scotland, the nobles decided to give the little queen as a Dauphin from Paris. The initiator of such an alliance was Cardinal David Beaton, who replaced Hamilton.
Then the British troops invaded the country suddenly. Catholic churches were destroyed, and peasant lands were ruined. Protestants launched an individual terror against the Scottish nobles who did not want to make concessions to their southern neighbor. Finally, the regents of Mary turned to France for help. Troops came from there in exchange for the promised wedding. In August 1548, Maria, who had just turned five, boarded the ship and went to her future husband.
Wedding with Maria Stuart
The girl, among other things, was also the granddaughter of Claude de Guise - a peer of France and one of the most influential aristocrats in the country. He took care of her and helped at court until his death, which overtook the venerable nobleman in 1550. The bride was unusually tall for her age, while Francis II, on the contrary, was short. Despite this, Henry II liked the future daughter-in-law, and he said with satisfaction that the children would get used to each other over time.
The wedding took place on April 24, 1558. The new marriage meant that in the future the descendants of this pair would be able to unite the thrones of Scotland and France under one scepter. In addition, Mary was the great-granddaughter of the English king Henry VII. This fact would give her children a legitimate reason to claim the throne in London. Until his death, Francis II remained king consort of Scotland. This title did not give real power, but secured the status of the spouse of the ruler. But the couple never had children for their short marriage. This was due to a young age and possible diseases of the Dauphin.
Throne inheritance
Just a year after the wedding (July 10, 1559), Francis II of Valois became king due to the untimely death of his father. Henry II celebrated the wedding of one of his daughters and, by tradition, arranged a knightly tournament. The king fought with one of the guests - Gabriel de Montgomery. The count’s spear broke on the shell of Henry, and his shard hit the ruler in the eye. The wound was fatal because it caused inflammation. The king died, despite the fact that he was assisted by the best doctors in Europe, including Andreas Vesalius (the founder of the modern doctrine of anatomy). It is believed that the death of Henry was predicted by Nostradamus, who, incidentally, was still alive at that time.
On September 21, 1559, Francis II of Valois was crowned in Reims. The ceremony of laying the crown was entrusted to Cardinal Charles de Guise. The crown was so heavy that the courtiers had to support it. Charles became one of the regents along with the uncles of Mary of the Giza clan. Also, the mother, Catherine de Medici, had a great influence on the child. The young monarch spent all his free time on entertainment: he hunted, organized funny tournaments and traveled to his palaces.
His reluctance to delve into public affairs further fueled hostility between various court clans, longing for manifestations of real power. Giza, who actually began to rule the country, faced a sea of internal problems, each of which overlapped with another.
Treasury issues
First of all, there was a financial issue. Francis II and Mary Stuart gained the throne after several costly wars with the Habsburgs launched by previous Valois. The state borrowed from banks, which resulted in a debt of 48 million livres, while the royal treasury for the year received only 12 million income.
Because of this, Giza began to pursue a policy of financial economy, which served as one of the reasons for their unpopularity in society. In addition, the brothers deferred payments to the military. The army was generally reduced, and many soldiers were left without work, after which they went into robbers or participated in religious wars, profiting from the confrontation of all against all. The courtyard, which had lost its usual luxury, was also dissatisfied.
Foreign policy
In foreign policy, Francis II and his advisers tried to continue efforts to strengthen and maintain the peace that came after the end of the Italian Wars. It was a series of armed conflicts stretching from 1494 to 1559. Henry II, shortly before his death, made the Cato-Cambresian world. The agreement consisted of two papers.
The first contract was signed with the Queen of England, Elizabeth I. According to him, France captured the captured coastal Calais, but in exchange for this, Paris had to pay 500 thousand ecu. However, Giza, faced with a mass of debts within the country, decided not to provide money for the fortress. Time has shown that 500 thousand ecu remained only on paper, while Calais was the property of France. No one opposed this, including Francis II. The biography of the young monarch eloquently suggests that he generally did not like to take the initiative in his own hands.
Territorial concessions
The second treaty, concluded at Kato Cambresi, reconciled France and Spain. He was much more painful. France lost large territories. She gave the Habsburgs Thionville, Marienburg, Luxembourg, as well as some areas in Charolais and Artois. The Duke of Savoy (an ally of Spain) received from Paris Savoy, Piedmont. The Genoese Republic went to Corsica.
Francis had no choice but to fulfill the clauses of the contract drawn up by his father, because of which Spain finally took a leading position in the Old World, while France, occupied by internal strife, could not oppose this to anything.
Another interesting clause in the agreement was that Emmanuel Philibert (Duke of Savoy) married Aunt Francis, Margarita. This marriage took place already during the reign of the young monarch. Another wedding took place between Philip of Spain and the sister of Francis - Elizabeth.
Also, during the reign of Francis, lengthy negotiations continued with the Spanish crown on the return of hostages from both sides of the border. Some of them have been in prison for decades.
At the same time, a revolt of Protestant Lords against the French regents began in Scotland. The official religion was changed, after which all Parisian managers hastily left the country.
Religious war
The Giza brothers were fanatical Catholics. It was they who initiated the new wave of repression against the Protestants who lived in France. This measure was allowed by King Francis II, who gave the go-ahead for freedom of action to the uncles of his wife. Huguenots were persecuted up to mass executions. The places of their gatherings and gatherings were being destroyed, as if they were plague barracks.
The actions of the Catholics were opposed by the Protestant party, which also had its leaders at the royal court. These were distant relatives of the ruler Antoine de Bourbon (king of the small mountain of Navarre) and Louis Conde. They were also called “princes of blood” (that is, they were representatives of the Capetian dynasty, which included the reigning Valois).
Ambauz conspiracy
In March 1560, the Huguenots in response to the actions of Catholics staged an Ambaus conspiracy. It was an attempt to capture Francis in captivity and force him to alienate the Giza brothers. However, plans became known in advance, and the royal court took refuge in Amboise - a city standing on the Loire and which is the heart of all France. Nevertheless, the conspirators decided to take a chance. Their attempt failed, the invaders were killed by the guards.
This caused a wave of persecution of Protestants. They were executed almost without trial. Antoine de Bourbon and Louis Conde were also arrested and charged with plotting. They were saved only by the fact that the mother of the king Catherine de Medici stood up for them. She, like many aristocrats behind her, was moderate in religious matters and tried to reach a compromise between Catholics and Huguenots. It was December 1560.
Reconciliation policy
After such passions, religious policy became softer, which was ratified by Francis 2. His reign was marked by the fact that all prisoners by religion were released. Since the time of Henry II, this was the first relief. In May 1560, an edict was issued, signed by Francis II. The Duke of Brittany (this is one of his many titles) first spoke of freedom of conscience.
In April, the Queen Mother declared Chancellor of France Michel de l'Opital. He was a well-known civil servant, poet and humanist of the era. The writer published poetry in Latin, in which he imitated the ancient Horace. His father had previously served Charles de Bourbon. Tolerant Michelle began a policy of tolerance. For the dialogue between the warring denominations, the General States were convened (for the first time in 67 years). Soon a decree was passed, which amounted to de l'Opital. He abolished the death penalty for a crime against religion. The remaining activities of the politician remained on board, whose face was Francis II. Children on the throne began to succeed, as a charming coquette changes gloves.
The death of Francis and the fate of Mary
Francis II - king of France - could no longer follow these events. A fistula suddenly formed in his ear, causing fatal gangrene. On December 5, 1560, the 16-year-old monarch died in Orleans. The next son of Henry II, Charles X, ascended the throne.
Francis' wife, Mary Stuart, returned to her homeland, where Protestants had triumphed by then. Their faction demanded that the young queen break with the Roman Church. The girl managed to maneuver between the two parties to the conflict, until she was deprived of the throne in 1567, after which she fled to England. There she was imprisoned by Elizabeth Tudor. The Scottish woman was seen in a careless correspondence with a Catholic agent with whom she coordinated the assassination attempt on the Queen of England. As a result, Mary was executed in 1587 at the age of 44 years.