Biography
Biography
Please note that the TimeRef website is currently being redesigned.
Henry (II, King of France 1547-1559)
| Born | 13 April 1519 | Born At | |
| Died | 10 July 1559 | Buried At |
| Born | 13 April 1519 / |
| Died | 10 July 1559 / |
Henry was the second son of Francis I, King of France and Claude of France. Henry's elder brother Francis died in 1536 at the age of eighteen leaving Henry heir to the French throne. In 1533 Henry married Catherine de Medici, an Italian noblewoman. In 1550, Henry signed a peace agreement with King Henry VIII and bought Boulogne. This allowed the French king to concentrate his efforts against Charles V, the Holy Roman Emporer. In 1552, Henry conquered the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun. In 1556 Charles V died and was succeeded by his son Philip. Henry and Philip signed a peace treaty at Vaucelles, but the truce was short lived and hostilities broke out again in 1557. Philip had the support of the English as he had married Mary Tudor, the Queen of Endland. Again, after a couple of years of fighting, the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis was signed bringing the Italian conflict to an end. In July 1559 Henry was wounded in the eye during a tournament that was celebrating his daughter's marriage to Philip II of Spain and died of his injuries.
Family Tree Details
Henry (II, King of France 1547-1559) (b.1519 - d.1559)
+de Medici, Catherine
= Francis (II, King of France 1559-1560) (b.1544 - d.1560)
+Mary (Stuart, Queen of Scotland) (b.1542 - d.1587)
+de Medici, Catherine
= Francis (II, King of France 1559-1560) (b.1544 - d.1560)
+Mary (Stuart, Queen of Scotland) (b.1542 - d.1587)
Henry (II, King of France 1547-1559) (b.1519 - d.1559)
+de Medici, Catherine
= Francis (II, King of France 1559-1560) (b.1544 - d.1560)
+Mary (Stuart, Queen of Scotland) (b.1542 - d.1587)
See Also
People
Places
Timeline
1547(Age: 28yrs)
Mar 31
Francis I, the King of France, died at Rambouillet Castle. He was succeeded by his son Henry. [1]
1550(Age: 31yrs)
The war between England and Scotland and France was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Boulogne. The English withdrew from Scotland. This allowed the French king, Henry II to concentrate on his enemy, Charles V, The Holy Roman Emporer. [2]
1552(Age: 33yrs)
Henry waged war against Charles V, the Holy Roman Emporer and captured the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun.
1556(Age: 37yrs)
Feb 5
This treaty signed by Henry II brought peace with Charles V. France came out well in the deal as the three bishoprics, Metz, Toul and Verdun remained in their possession.
1557(Age: 38yrs)
In the first week of January the French attacked the town of Douai on the Flemish border. This broke the Treaty of Vaucelles and war between France and Spain was formally declared.
1558(Age: 39yrs)
Henry II of France drew up some extra conditions for the marriage of his son to Mary Stuart. The princess was too young to understand the implications of them and signed in good faith. The secret conditions gave Henry II and his heirs a claim to the Scottish throne and England as well through Mary's claim. They also secured a payment from the Scottish revenue and a clause prevented Mary from trying to reverse the agreement in future. [3]
The defences of Calais had not been maintained as Queen Mary had been spending the country's wealth elsewhere and when the French laid siege to the city it did not take long for it to fall. The shock of losing Calais was felt all over England.
An agreement was reached between the Scottish commissioners and the French king Henry II for the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Francis, the Dauphin of France. The terms of the agreement allowed the Scots to maintain their traditional rights and would become united with France when Francis became King of France. It was also agreed that if Mary died without having children the Scottish throne would go to the Earl of Arran. [4]
1559(Age: 40yrs)
A peace treaty signed by both Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain bringing an end to the conflicts between their countries. Part of the treaty was the agreed future marriage of Philip and Elizabeth of Valois, the French kings daughter, who had originally been promised to Philip's son Carlos.
Henry II, the French king, was accidentally injured during a tournament celebrating a wedding. He was taking part in a joust and the tip of a lance went into his eye. Infection set it and he died a short time afterwards. Henry was succeeded by his son Francis II, the husband of Mary Stuart. [4]
On this day in history:
TimeRef Shield Designer
Use this medieval shield designer to create your coat of arms. Click the image below to start your design.
TimeRef Shield Designer
Use this medieval shield designer to create your coat of arms. Click the image below to start your design.
3D Virtual Reconstructions
Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past. Built using the popular game development tool Unity 3D, these reconstructions will run in the most of the popular web browsers on your desktop or laptop computer.
Page Navigation
Selection of references used:
- 1: W.H.Hudson, France, The Nation & its Development, MCMXVII, George G. Harrap & Co (MCMXVII)
- 2: John Prebble, The Lion in the North, ISBN:0-14-00.3652-0, Penguin Books
- 3: Agnes Strickland and Rosalie Kaufman, The Life of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland
- 4: Richard Oram, The Kings and Queens of Scotland, ISBN:0-7524-3814-X
