What is Henry II of France?
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox royalty|name=Henry II|succession=[[King of France]]|moretext=([[Style of the French sovereign|more...]])|image=Henry II of France-François Clouet (altered).jpg|caption=1559 portrait|reign=31 March 1547 – 10 July 1559|coronation=25 July 1547|cor-type=france|predecessor=[[Francis I of France|Francis I]]|successor=[[Francis II of France|Francis II]]|succession1=[[Duke of Brittany]]|reign1=10 August 1536 – 13 August 1547|predecessor1=[[Francis III, Duke of Brittany|Francis III]]|successor1=''Position abolished'' (Brittany absorbed into the [[crown lands of France]])|spouse={{marriage|[[Catherine de' Medici]]|28 October 1533}}|issue={{plainlist| * [[Francis II of France| Francis II, King of France]] * [[Elisabeth of Valois|Elisabeth, Queen of Spain]] * [[Claude of Valois|Claude, Duchess of Lorraine]] * [[Louis of Valois (1549–1550)|Louis, Duke of Orléans]] * [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX, King of France]] * [[Henry III of France|Henry III, King of France]] * [[Margaret of Valois|Margaret, Queen of France]] * [[Francis, Duke of Anjou]] }}|issue-link=#Children|issue-pipe=more...|house=[[House of Valois-Angoulême|Valois-Angoulême]]|father=[[Francis I of France]]|mother=[[Claude, Duchess of Brittany]]|birth_name=Henry, Duke of Orléans|birth_date=31 March 1519|birth_place=[[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]]|death_date=10 July 1559 (aged 40)|death_place=[[Hôtel des Tournelles]]|burial_date=13 August 1559|burial_place=[[Saint Denis Basilica]]|signature=Henry II of France signature.svg|religion=[[Catholic Church in France|Catholicism]]}} '''Henry II''' (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. He was the second son of Francis I and Claude of Brittany, and became Dauphin of France after his older brother, Francis, died in 1536. As a child, Henry and his brother were taken hostage by Spain for over four years as part of a treaty exchange for their father. During his reign, Henry continued many of his father’s policies, including promot