Henry II (March 31, 1519 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, – July 10, 1559 at the Hôtel des Tournelles in Paris) from the House of Valois-Angoulême was from 1547 to 1559 king of France. He was descended from the Valois-Angoulême dynasty.
Henry was born in 1519 in the Royal Castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye as the second son of Francis I and Claude de France. He was Duke of Orléans. On July 25th in 1547 he was anointed as king in the cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims. Domestically, he continued the centralist ambitions of his father.
With the edicts of Châteaubriant (1552) and Écouen (1559) he pursued the Huguenots, however, did not live to the outbreak of the religious wars (1562). Henry was an avid hunter and liked participated in tournaments. His mistress Diane de Poitiers shared this passion.
After Henry’s death France fell among his three sons as kings consecutive Franz II., Charles IX. and Henry III. in a more than forty-year period of dynastic instability and religious conflicts.
Diane de Poitiers 1499- 1566. Mistress of Henry II.
Source: Costumes historiques, de la ville ou de théâtre et travestissements. Author: Achille Devéria (French, 1800–1857) and José Domínguez Bécquer. Publisher Paris: Goupil et Vibert 1831. Publisher London: Charles Tilt 1839. Printed by: Lemercier & Cie. Editorially restored.
