Francois II (1544-1560) - Find a Grave Memorial

French Monarch. Oldest son of Henri II and Catherine de Medici. On April 24. 1558 he married the two years older Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots in the Cathedral Notre Dame –de-Paris. He succeeded his father 14 months later. His mother was overwhelmed by grief and retired for some time to her palace. By this time François was considered to be of age and although he had always been sick and a bit mentally unstable there was no regent appointed for him. He choose the two brothers François and Charles de Guise, his wife's uncles, as his advisors. Due to his state of health they were able to reign the Kingdom by themselves. By the spring of 1560 the opposition to the Guise, supported by the Queen Mother was very powerful and threatened to escalate into a civil war. During a hunting trip he got an ear infection which worsened with every passing day and ended with an abscess in his brain. When the Queen Mother saw her sons end coming she pressured Antoine de Bourbon to give up his right to act as a regent for the next King. She also convinced the dying King to sign a statement in which he declared he had always acted alone and didn't follow his advisors. The Guise had demanded such a statement for their agreement to Catherine's contract with Antoine. He was succeeded by his brother Charles IX. Cathrine very successfully acted as Charles regent until 1563.

Bio by: Lutetia