Henry II of France

Henry was born on 31st March 1519 in the Royal Chateau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris. He was the son of King Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany.

His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia by the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and was held as a prisoner by the Roman Emperor Charles V. Henry was around six years old at that time.

In order to obtain his father’s release, it was agreed that Henry and his older brother Francis would have to stay in his place. Thus, the two brothers remained captive for over four years in Spain. He was able to return home only after the conclusion of the Peace of Cambria.

After the death of Henry’s elder brother Francis, the Dauphin and Duke of Brittany, in 1536, Henry became the heir apparent to the throne. King Francis I himself passed away after a few years, on Henry’s birthday, 31 March 1547.

Following King Francis I’s death, Henry became the King of France. His official coronation took place on 25 July 1547 at Reims Cathedral. Henry continued many of his father’s policies; however, he dismissed many of his father’s ministers.

As the king, Henry II brought about several administrative reforms, which included making the different sections of the king’s council specialized. The commissaries, who were sent into the provinces to exercise the king’s orders, became the forerunners of the intendants, and intermediary tribunals were established between the local justices and the high courts, which were known as parlements.

Henry II felt that the rise of Protestantism was a huge threat to France. A staunch Catholic, he began the persecution of Protestants, mostly the Calvinists known as Huguenots.

The Huguenots were French Protestants who had embraced the reformed tradition of Protestantism. The members of the group, especially the Protestants among the ministers, were severely punished; they were either burnt at the stake or had their tongues cut off.

Henry II’s declaration of war on the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V started the Eighth Italian War, also known as the Hapsburg-Valois War, which took place from 1551 to 1559.

Despite his persecution of Protestants, Henry II formed an alliance with the German Protestant princes at the Treaty of Chambord in 1552. He also continued his father’s Franco-Ottoman Alliance, which allowed him to push for conquests towards the Rhine.

His main goals were, however, to keep the power he had secured, as well as protect the Church at home. While he easily achieved the first goal through his suppressive methods, the second one required careful and extensive planning.

The war lasted till the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed in 1559. As part of the peace treaty, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth was married to Philip II of Spain while his sister Margaret was married to Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy.