François II was born at Fontainebleau on 19 January 1544 and died at Orléans on 5 December 1560. He was King of France from 10 July 1559 until his death.
The eldest son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, he ascended the French throne at the age of fifteen after the accidental death of his father on 10 July 1559. His short-lived reign lasted only one year and five months but was a major prelude to the outbreak of the Wars of Religion.
His reign was marked by a major political and religious crisis. On his accession, he entrusted the reins of government to the Guise, the uncles of his wife Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who were in favour of a policy of repression against the Protestants. After the Amboise conspiracy, he began to conciliate the Reformed but was implacable in the face of the rioters who undermined his authority in the provinces.
His reign was also marked by the abandonment of Scotland, Brazil and, as a result of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis signed by his father Henry II, Corsica, Tuscany, Savoy and almost all of Piedmont. This marked the beginning of the weakening of French influence in Europe, to the benefit of Spain.
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