Henry II King Of FRANCE

Notes:

Wikipedia: Henry was born in the Royal Ch‚teau at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, the son of Francis I and Claude de France and the grandson of Louis XII of France and Anne de Bretagne. With his brother, he spent three years in Spain as a hostage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, as surety for his father, who had been captured at the Battle of Pavia. Henry married Catherine de Medici (13 April 1519?January 5, 1589) on 28 October 1533, when both were fourteen years old.

The following year he became involved with the thirty-five-year-old, recently widowed, Diane de Poitiers, who became his most trusted confidante and for the next twenty-five years wielded considerable influence behind the scenes, even signing royal documents. Extremely confident, mature and intelligent, she left Catherine powerless to intervene.

When his older brother Francis died in 1536 after a game of tennis, Henry became heir to the throne; he succeeded his father on March 31, 1547 and was crowned King of France on July 25, 1547 at Reims.

Henry's reign was marked by wars with Austria, and the persecution of the Protestant Huguenots. Henry II severely punished them, burning them alive or cutting out their tongues for speaking their Protestant beliefs. Even those suspected of being Huguenots could be imprisoned for life.

The Italian War of 1551?1559, sometimes known as the Habsburg-Valois War, began when Henry declared war against Charles V with the intent of recapturing Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. An early offensive into Lorraine was successful, with Henry capturing the three episcopal cities of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, but the attempted French invasion of Tuscany in 1553 was defeated at the Battle of Marciano.

After Charles's abdication in 1556 split the Habsburg empire between Phillip II of Spain and Ferdinand I, the focus of the war shifted to Flanders, where Phillip, in conjunction with Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, defeated the French at St. Quentin. England's entry into the war later that year led to the French capture of Calais, and French armies plundered Spanish possessions in the Low Countries; but Henry was nonetheless forced to accept the Peace of Cateau-CambrÈsis, in which he renounced any further claims to Italy.

The Peace of Cateau-CambrÈsis was signed between Elizabeth I of England and Henry on April 2 and between Henry and Philip II of Spain on April 3, 1559, at Le Cateau-CambrÈsis, around twenty kilometers south-east of Cambrai. Under its terms, France restored Piedmont and Savoy to the Duke of Savoy, but retained Saluzzo, Calais and the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Spain retained Franche-ComtÈ. Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, married Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry, the sister of Henry II, and Philip II of Spain married Henry's daughter Elisabeth.

Henry raised the young Queen Mary I of Scotland at his court, hoping to use her as a tool of Valois imperialism. On April 24, 1558, Henry's fourteen-year-old son Francis was married to Mary in a union intended to give the future king of France not only the throne of Scotland but a claim to the throne of England. Henry had Mary sign secret documents, illegal in Scottish law, that would ensure Valois rule in Scotland even if she died without heir (Guy 2004:91). Mary's claim to the English throne quickly became current when Mary I of England died later in 1558, Henry and his Catholic advisors regarding Elizabeth Tudor as illegitimate.
Henry II was an avid hunter and participant in jousts and tournaments. On June 30, 1559, at the Place des Vosges in Paris, during a match to celebrate the Peace Treaty of Cateau-CambrÈsis with his longtime enemies, the Habsburgs of Austria and to celebrate the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth of Valois to King Philip II of Spain, King Henry was mortally wounded by a sliver from the shattered lance of Gabriel Montgomery, captain of the King's Scottish Guard. It penetrated the closed visor, pierced his left eye, penetrated the brain and came out via his ear. He suffered terribly, and, despite the efforts of royal surgeon Ambroise ParÈ, died on July 10, 1559 and was buried in a cadaver tomb in Saint Denis Basilica. Prior to his death, Queen Catherine limited access to his bedside and denied his mistress (Diane de Poitiers) access to him, even though he repeatedly asked for her. Following his death, Catherine sent de Poitiers into exile, where she was to live in comfort on her own properties until her death.

Nostradamus supposedly predicted Henry's death.

Henry was succeeded by his son, Francis II, who died the following year and was succeeded by his two brothers. Their mother acted as Regent. For the forty years following Henry II's death, France was filled with turbulence as Protestants and Catholics fought the bitter Wars of Religion

Henry married Caterina DE'MEDICI on 28 Oct 1533. Caterina (daughter of Duke of Urbino Lorenzo DE'MEDICI, II and Madeleine De La Tour D'AUVERGNE) was born on 13 Apr 1519 in Florence, Italy; died on 05 Jan 1589 in Royal Chateau de Bloia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Henry III King Of FRANCE was born on 19 Sep 1551; died on 02 Aug 1589.
2. Joan Princess Of FRANCE was born on 24 Jun 1556; died on 24 Jun 1556.
3. Francis II King Of FRANCE was born on 19 Jan 1544; died on 05 Dec 1560.
4. Marguerite DE VALOIS was born on 14 May 1553; died on 27 Mar 1615.
5. Claude Of VALOIS was born on 12 Nov 1547; died on 21 Feb 1575.
6. Victoria Princess Of FRANCE was born on 24 Jun 1556; died in Aug 1556.
7. Elizabeth Of VALOIS was born on 02 Apr 1545; died on 03 Oct 1568.
8. Charles IX King Of FRANCE was born on 27 Jun 1550; died on 30 May 1574.
9. Hercules Prince Of FRANCE was born on 18 Mar 1555; died on 19 Jun 1584.
10. Louis Of FRANCE was born on 03 Feb 1549; died in Oct 1549.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Francois Of Navarre

Notes:

Francis I of France (French: FranÁois Ier) (September 12, 1494 ? March 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (le PËre et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547.

Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch. His reign saw France make immense cultural advances. He was a contemporary of King Henry VIII of England and of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, his great rivals, and Suleiman the Magnificent, his ally.

rancis I, a member of the Valois Dynasty, was born at Cognac, Charente, the son of Charles d'AngoulÍme (1459 ? January 1, 1496), and of Louise of Savoy (September 11, 1476 ? September 22, 1531). His father, Charles d'AngoulÍme, was the cousin of King Louis XII. In 1498, the four-year-old Francis, already Count of AngoulÍme, was created Duke of Valois. He was the heir presumptive of Louis XII, who did not succeed in siring sons with any of his three wives. Young Francis was, by instigation of King Louis, in 1506 betrothed and on 18 May 1514 married, to Claude of France (1499-1524), the daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany and heiress of Brittany. Because of the Salic Law that stated that women could not inherit the throne of France, the throne passed to Francis I at the death of Louis XII, as he was the descendant of the eldest surviving male line of the Capetian Dynasty. Claude of France became queen consort.

When young Francis ascended the throne in 1515, he was already a king with unprecedented humanist credentials. While his two predecessors, Charles VIII and Louis XII, had spent much of their reigns concerned with Italy they did not much embrace the new intellectual movements coming out of it. Both monarchs continued in the same patterns of behavior that had dominated the French monarchy for centuries. They are considered the last of the medieval French monarchs, but they did lay the groundwork for the Renaissance to come into full swing in France.

Contact between the French and Italians in the long running series of wars under Charles and Louis had brought new ideas to France by the time the young Francis was receiving his education. Thus a number of his tutors, such as Desmoulins, his Latin instructor, and Christophe de Longeuil were schooled in the new ways of thinking and they attempted to imbue Francis with it. Francis' mother also had a great interest in Renaissance art, which she passed down to her son. One certainly cannot say that Francis received a humanist education; most of his teachers had not yet been affected by the Renaissance. One can, however, state that he clearly received an education more oriented towards humanism than any previous French king.

Francis' legacy is a mixed one. He achieved great cultural feats, but they came at the expense of France's economic well being.

The persecution of the Protestants was to lead France into decades of civil war, which did not end until 1598 with the Edict of Nantes.

Francis I died at the Ch‚teau de Rambouillet and is interred with his first wife, Claude de France, Duchess of Bretagne, in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son, Henry II.

Francis married Claude Princess Of FRANCE on 18 May 1514. Claude (daughter of Louis XII King Of FRANCE and Anne Of BRITTANY) was born on 14 Oct 1499; died on 20 Jul 1524. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]