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Henry II of France

 
Henry II of France

 
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Henry II of France
 
 
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Henry II (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559), of the House of Valois and the son and successor of Francis I
Francis I of France

Francis I , 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....
, was King of France from 31 March 1547, until his death.

y was born in the Royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The Ch?teau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a French royal palace in the commune in France of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the d?partement in France of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris....
, near Paris, the son of Francis I
Francis I of France

Francis I , 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....
 and Claude de France (daughter of Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France

Louis XII , called "the Father of the People" was the thirty-fifth List of French monarchs of France and the sole monarch from the House of Valois Cadet branch of the House of Valois....
 and Anne, Duchess of Brittany). With his brother, he spent three years in Spain as a hostage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
, as surety for his father, who had been captured at the Battle of Pavia
Battle of Pavia

The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of February 24, 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521. A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve of Mirabello outside the city walls....
.






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Henry II (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559), of the House of Valois and the son and successor of Francis I
Francis I of France

Francis I , 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....
, was King of France from 31 March 1547, until his death.

Early years

Henry was born in the Royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The Ch?teau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a French royal palace in the commune in France of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the d?partement in France of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris....
, near Paris, the son of Francis I
Francis I of France

Francis I , 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....
 and Claude de France (daughter of Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France

Louis XII , called "the Father of the People" was the thirty-fifth List of French monarchs of France and the sole monarch from the House of Valois Cadet branch of the House of Valois....
 and Anne, Duchess of Brittany). With his brother, he spent three years in Spain as a hostage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
, as surety for his father, who had been captured at the Battle of Pavia
Battle of Pavia

The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of February 24, 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521. A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve of Mirabello outside the city walls....
. Henry married Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de' Medici was born in Florence, as Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici. Her parents, Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, both died within weeks of her birth....
 (13 April 1519 – 5 January 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
Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers was a noblewoman and a fixture at the courts of Francis I of France and Henry II of France of France. She became notorious as the latter's favorite mistress, though she was 20 years his senior....
, 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 his 28th birthday, 31 March 1547 and was crowned King of France on 25 July 1547 at Reims
Reims

The city of Reims lies in the Champagne-Ardenne region in northeastern France 129 km east-northeast of Paris.Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
.

Reign