History portrays François II of France as a sickly youth who inherited the throne at a very young age because of a tragic jousting event which claimed the life of his father, and then later succumbs to an ear infection a year into his own reign and leaving his wife, the beautiful and passionate queen of Scots, a young widow forced to return to her homeland; however, what if fate were reversed? What if François outgrew the phase of his sickly youth and transformed into a strapping young man, fit to rule not one but two kingdoms? Would he manage to gain the people’s adoration and restore popularity to the House of Valois, smoothing over the rising Protestant reform both at home and in his wife’s country? Would he bend the knee to Catholic lords calling for aggressive and immediate action, or would he and his queen lead the peoples of France and Scotland to some form of peace? Also, what of relations with the English queen Elizabeth, his wife’s greatest rival who his father had made an enemy of by naming the couple king and queen of “Scotland and England” at their wedding feast?
Part 1: [1559] “The king is dead! Long live the king!”
The year is 1559, and despite the warm summer heat of July, French court is now swathed in black mourning to mark the passing of the once charming and athletic young King, Henrii II. Members of the royal family begin taking their places in the funeral procession, first the new king and then the queens, the dowager in black yielding the place of honor to the younger in white, as wife of the now-reigning monarch. The other princes filed behind and they all made their way to the Basilica of Saint Denis, where their father would be laid to rest. Following the ceremony the royal court was moved to the Palace of Tau, where preparations were made to assemble the king’s government and to prepare for his coronation.
At fifteen years of age, the king had shot up in height to a striking height of 6’2” with broad shoulders, like his father, and a passion for physical activity such as the hunt and sword-fare. Though he could grow patchy facial hair, he kept clean shaven, and wore his hair trimmed short. As far as his studies went, he was an excellent student, like his mother Catherine de’Medici, with a thirst for new knowledge and a passion for politics, unlike his father. In all these things he found a match in his wife, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and the two were well-noted for their fondness for one another since childhood. She had also grown to be astonishingly tall, particularly for a woman, towering over most all but her husband, at 5’11”, and was revered by all who saw her as the ‘most beautiful queen in all Christendom.’ This mutual fondness quickly grew beyond the familiarity of youth to a passionate romance that both scandalized and wooed all the courts of Europe with tales of the handsome royal couple—similar to the queen’s ancestors Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville.
Given that the king was old enough to rule in his own right, in addition to his physical strength and mental sharpness, he refused to delegate his power to a regent, opting to rely on the counsel of his mother and his wife’s Guise uncles only for support, knowing that naming them his official chief advisors might cause grief with the Princes of the Blood. Louis, Prince of Condé, younger brother to Prince of the Blood Antoine, King of Navarre was summoned to court to better represent said faction and to support peace. Instructions were also given to direct Scottish affairs of state to his and Mary’s attention before their approval. The early days of their reign were marked by growing religious tension between Catholics and Protestants, and a sizeable national debt of 48million livres, while the king’s income only amounted to 12million livres a year. All efforts would be made to strengthen the monarchy’s image among nobles and lower-classes.
In September of that same year a coronation worthy of the Lord himself was put on display for all to see at Reims Cathedral. The celebrations were marvelous, boldly displaying the royal French and Scottish banners as the king and his queen were paraded through the city streets. As a queen regnant, Mary was not crowned, but was seated upon the royal dais in the Scottish regalia to look on as her husband took the holy oil upon his breast and forehead. By the end of the month, only days after the ceremony, doctors confirmed that the queen was pregnant—rumors had been circulating the court since shortly after Henrii’s passing. By the end of the year, English ambassadors arrived at court on behalf of Elizabeth and sought to enter negotiations concerning the aggressive relations between their nations.
Part 1: [1559] “The king is dead! Long live the king!”
The year is 1559, and despite the warm summer heat of July, French court is now swathed in black mourning to mark the passing of the once charming and athletic young King, Henrii II. Members of the royal family begin taking their places in the funeral procession, first the new king and then the queens, the dowager in black yielding the place of honor to the younger in white, as wife of the now-reigning monarch. The other princes filed behind and they all made their way to the Basilica of Saint Denis, where their father would be laid to rest. Following the ceremony the royal court was moved to the Palace of Tau, where preparations were made to assemble the king’s government and to prepare for his coronation.
At fifteen years of age, the king had shot up in height to a striking height of 6’2” with broad shoulders, like his father, and a passion for physical activity such as the hunt and sword-fare. Though he could grow patchy facial hair, he kept clean shaven, and wore his hair trimmed short. As far as his studies went, he was an excellent student, like his mother Catherine de’Medici, with a thirst for new knowledge and a passion for politics, unlike his father. In all these things he found a match in his wife, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and the two were well-noted for their fondness for one another since childhood. She had also grown to be astonishingly tall, particularly for a woman, towering over most all but her husband, at 5’11”, and was revered by all who saw her as the ‘most beautiful queen in all Christendom.’ This mutual fondness quickly grew beyond the familiarity of youth to a passionate romance that both scandalized and wooed all the courts of Europe with tales of the handsome royal couple—similar to the queen’s ancestors Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville.
Given that the king was old enough to rule in his own right, in addition to his physical strength and mental sharpness, he refused to delegate his power to a regent, opting to rely on the counsel of his mother and his wife’s Guise uncles only for support, knowing that naming them his official chief advisors might cause grief with the Princes of the Blood. Louis, Prince of Condé, younger brother to Prince of the Blood Antoine, King of Navarre was summoned to court to better represent said faction and to support peace. Instructions were also given to direct Scottish affairs of state to his and Mary’s attention before their approval. The early days of their reign were marked by growing religious tension between Catholics and Protestants, and a sizeable national debt of 48million livres, while the king’s income only amounted to 12million livres a year. All efforts would be made to strengthen the monarchy’s image among nobles and lower-classes.
In September of that same year a coronation worthy of the Lord himself was put on display for all to see at Reims Cathedral. The celebrations were marvelous, boldly displaying the royal French and Scottish banners as the king and his queen were paraded through the city streets. As a queen regnant, Mary was not crowned, but was seated upon the royal dais in the Scottish regalia to look on as her husband took the holy oil upon his breast and forehead. By the end of the month, only days after the ceremony, doctors confirmed that the queen was pregnant—rumors had been circulating the court since shortly after Henrii’s passing. By the end of the year, English ambassadors arrived at court on behalf of Elizabeth and sought to enter negotiations concerning the aggressive relations between their nations.
