Francis I de Valois King of FRANCE

                   Henri II (1519-1559),son of Francis I, was married to Catherinede'Medici
in 1533, and reigned as King of France from 1547 to 1559. Henri andhis
Queen were fully aware that power and display were largely synonymous,
and that the Valois reputation in foreign courts was in part dependenton
theirability to impress visiting dignitaries with lavish, astonishing
and diverseentertainments. Thus, Henri inaugurated his reign with a
series of royal entries into the principal towns of his kingdom.Accounts
of his entries into Lyons, Paris and Rouen has survived and serve as
testimony to the erudition oftheir inventors as well as to their
splendor (McGowan,p.9-10).
Considered weak and pliant, Henri was advised throughout his reign byhis
mistress, Dianede Poitiers, a distinguished member of court, and by
Charles and Francois deGuise. While King, Henri issued a series of
increasingly severe edicts against the Huguenots, and established more
firmly the absolute power of the Valoismonarchy.
In July 1559, Henri II was mortally wounded in a mock tourney heldas
part of the ten day festivities celebrating the double marriages ofhis
son Francis to Mary, Queen of Scots, and his sister Marguerite to the
duke ofSavoy. He died eleven days later, leaving his fifteen year old
son, FrancisII, King of France.
Catherine de' Medici, survived Henri II by thirty years and was Queen
Mother to the next three Kings of France, Francis II, Charles IXand
Henri III.