Editing Francis II of France (section)

==Death==
[[File:Hotel Groslot.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Francis II died in [[Orléans]], at the hôtel Groslot (above).]]

The king's health deteriorated in November 1560. On 16 November he fainted. After only 17 months on the throne, Francis II died on 5 December 1560 in [[Orléans]], Loiret, from an ear condition.{{sfn|Bryson|1999|p=109}} Multiple diseases have been suggested, such as [[mastoiditis]], [[meningitis]], or [[otitis]] exacerbated into an abscess. [[Ambroise Paré]], the royal surgeon, considered performing a [[trepanning|trepanation]]. Some suspected Protestants of having poisoned the king, a view held by Catholics as the tensions between them and Protestants were on the rise, but this has not been proven.

Francis II died childless, so his younger brother [[Charles IX of France|Charles]], then ten years old, succeeded him. On 21 December, the council named [[Catherine de' Medici]], Regent of France. The Guises left the court, while Mary Stuart, Francis II's widow, returned to [[Scotland]]. Louis, Prince of Condé, who was jailed and awaiting execution, was freed after some negotiations with Catherine de Médici.

On 23 December 1560, Francis II's body was interred in the [[Basilica of St Denis]] by the [[Charles, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon|Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon]].