Francis II (French: François II) (January 19, 1544 – December 5, 1560) was a King of France (1559 – 1560). He was born at the Royal Chateau at Fontainbleau, Seine-et-Marne, the son of Henri II (March 31 1519 – July 10 1559) and Catherine de Medici (April 13 1519 – January 5 1589).

King consort of Scotland

His marriage to Mary Stuart was arranged by his father in 1548 when François was 4 years old. Mary had been crowned Queen of Scotland in Stirling Castle on September 9, 1543, at the age of nine months. Once the marriage agreement had been formally ratified, in 1548, Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland, sent her six-year-old daughter, Queen Mary, to France to be raised in the Royal Court until the marriage.

On April 24 1558, the 14-year-old Dauphin was married to Mary, Queen of Scots in a union that would give the future King of France the throne of Scotland and a strengthened claim to the throne of England.

King of France

A year after his marriage, his father Henri II died, and François, still only 15 years old, was crowned King. His mother Catherine de Medici was appointed Regent, but it is considered that Mary's uncles François de Guise and Charles de Guise may actually have been the ones to hold the power in that period.

François II, who had always been a sickly child, died December 5 1560 in Orléans, Loiret, at the age of 16 when an ear infection worsened and caused an abscess in his brain. King François II is buried in Saint Denis Basilica.

He was succeeded by his brother, Charles IX (June 27 1550 - May 30 1574).

Marriage

On April 24 1558, he married Mary Stuart (December 8 1542 - February 8 1587) with no children.