Editing Henry II of France (section)

==Early years==
[[File:Henri II enfant.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Henry as a child]]
Henry was born in the royal [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], near Paris, the son of [[Francis I of France|King Francis I]] and [[Claude, Duchess of Brittany]], daughter of [[Louis XII of France]] and [[Anne, Duchess of Brittany]]. Francis and Claude were [[second cousins]]; both had [[Louis I, Duke of Orléans]], as a patrilineal great-grandfather, and their marriage strengthened the family's claim to the throne.{{sfn|Baumgartner|1988|pp=3–5}}

Henry's father was captured at the [[Battle of Pavia]] in 1525 by the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and held prisoner in [[Spain]].{{sfn|Tazón|2003|p=16}} To obtain his release, it was agreed that Henry and his older brother Francis be sent to Spain in his place.{{sfn|Knecht|1984|p=189}} They remained in captivity for over four years.{{sfn|Watkins|2009|pp=79–80}}

Henry married [[Catherine de' Medici]], a member of the ruling family of [[Florence]], on 28 October 1533, when they were both fourteen years old.{{sfn|Baumgartner|1988|pp=28–29}} The wedding was officiated by [[Pope Clement VII]], himself a [[Medici]].{{sfn|Baumgartner|1988|pp=28–29}} At this time, Henry's brother Francis was alive and there was little prospect of Henry coming to the throne. The following year, he became romantically involved with a thirty-five-year-old widow, [[Diane de Poitiers]]. Henry and Diane had always been very close: the young lady had fondly embraced Henry on the day he, as a seven-year-old child, set off to captivity in Spain, and the bond had been renewed after his return to France.{{sfn|Wellman|2013|p=197}} At the tournament to honour his father's new bride, [[Eleanor of Austria|Eleanor]], in 1531, Henry and Francis dressed as chevaliers, and Henry wore Diane's colors.{{sfn|Wellman|2013|p=197}}

Extremely confident, mature and intelligent, Diane left Catherine powerless to intervene.{{sfn|Wellman|2013|p=200}} She did, however, insist that Henry sleep with Catherine in order to produce heirs to the throne.{{sfn|Wellman|2013|p=200}}

When his elder brother Francis died in 1536 after a game of tennis, Henry became heir apparent to the throne.

His attachment to Diane caused a breach with his father in 1544; the royal mistress [[Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly]] persuaded Francis that Henry and Diane were conspiring on behalf of [[Anne de Montmorency|the Constable Montmorency]], who had been banished from court in 1540. Francis banished Diane from court.{{sfn|Wellman|2013|p=176}} Henry also withdrew to the [[Château d'Anet]]; father and son were reconciled in 1545.{{sfn|Wellman|2013|p=177}}

He succeeded his father on his 28th birthday and was crowned King of France on 25 July 1547 at [[Reims Cathedral]].{{sfn|Thevet|2010|pp=24–25}}