ABSTRACT
The effectiveness of personal monarchy depended in the main on the age, health and lifespan of the monarch himself. In spite of many accidents and illnesses, Francis I (1494-1547) died at the age of fifty-two, having ruled for thirty-two years (1515-47). His successor, Henry II (1519-59) was less fortunate: he was fatally injured in a tournament when only forty, having ruled for only twelve years (1547-59). Francis I was twenty-one years old at his accession and noted for his powerful physique. The death of Francis I was followed immediately by a palace revolution. The new king, Henry II, began by cleaning up the court. He curbed its entertainments so as to devote more time to 'grave and virtuous thoughts' and cashiered Francis's 'fair band of ladies'. Historians have, on the whole, done less than justice to Henry II. He has been portrayed by Michelet as a gloomy monarch.
