Francis II of France Dies: Mary, Queen of Scots Returns Home

Those who have seen Reign on the CW will not really know the full truth. The relationship between Francis and Mary was unlikely anything like the show has portrayed. To start with, Francis and Mary certainly didn’t speak with posh British accents. Both would have grown up with French accents as they were raised in the French court.

Another fact is that Mary was much taller than her husband, and Francis was a sickly child. Mary didn’t have children with her first husband, but it was highly unlikely to be problems with her. Considering how sickly Francis was as a child, he was likely impotent. After all, Mary did go on to have children with her second husband, Henry Stuart.

Francis and Mary married in 1558. Their life together was overshadowed by him being the heir to the French throne. It seemed unlikely that he would have been king, except that Henri died in a jousting accident in 1559. Mary soon became the Queen Consort of France, and the 15-year-old Francis was King of Scotland.

Despite the age of consent being 14 in France, Francis was not allowed to reign. It seemed that his mother, Catherine de Merdici knew that her son would not be able to cope with being king. The government was placed in the hands of Mary’s House of Guise uncle, who were staunch supporters of the Catholic religion.

This could have been problematic for the country. The Protestants were starting to rise up, something that has been covered well so far in Reign. Francis was unable to control the uprising, which overshadowed the reigns of both his brothers who ended up taking the throne after him.

It did make sense to allow the House of Guise take over, though. Both of Mary’s uncles from that side of the family had good relationships with Henri. At first, Francis wanted his ministers to follow the orders of his mother, but she was still mourning the death of her husband and decided that it was best that they take orders from someone who would be able to give them clearly.

Francis, Duke of Guise, was one of the royal army’s most infamous commanders, while Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, was great for negotiating on religious matters. The two brothers even split the duties well, with the duke taking the military command and the cardinal taking over diplomacy, justice and finance.

When Mary married Francis, she signed a secret pact. Scotland would become part of France if she died without an heir to the throne. Marie of Guise, Mary’s mother, used this relationship to her advantage when she was forced out of Edinburg by the Scottish lords congregation. In May 1559, Marie asked France for help, and troops were sent. Scotland was back in French control by the end of 1559.

However, it was not enough. Francis’ death meant that the pact signed by Mary was no longer valid. Just before that, the Scottish parliament drew up the Treaty of Edinburgh, which would bring Protestantism to the country. Mary refused to sign it, but eventually the country changed anyway.

There were suspicions that Protestants poisoned the Catholic king. However, there is no proof of this. It would also have made no sense considering the House of Guise pretty much ruled over France and not the young king. Killing Francis meant that his younger brother Charles would become king, and he would be even more influenced by Catholics.

Charles became king at just 10 years old. His mother, Catherine, was named regent, and the Guises left court. Mary returned to Scotland as a widow. On December 23 of that same year, Francis was buried at Saint-Denis.