French persecution of Protestants has increased during…
March 1547 CE
French persecution of Protestants has increased during the past decade under King Francis.
The royal court has divided into factions under the influence of Francis' favorites and his mistress, the duchesse d'Etampes.
War with the Holy Roman Empire, together with arts patronage, has so strained the royal resources that François has had to adopt devices such as the sale of government offices and the prosecution of his own financiers.
The sixty-year-old king dies at Rambouillet on March 31, 1547, the twenty-eighth birthday of his son, who succeeds him as Henry II.