# Francis II of Lorraine
**Francis II of Lorraine** (François de Lorraine; 27 February 1572 – 14 October 1632) was a prince of the [House of Lorraine](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-lorraine) who, as Count of Vaudémont, secured a brief recognition as Duke of Lorraine in 1625 before abdicating in favor of his son Charles IV.[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm) • [2](https://en.numista.com/catalogue/ruler.php?id=6304)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 February 1572, son of Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, and Claude de Valois, Princesse de France[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm) |
| Marriage | Christine de Salm, married 12 March 1597; the union brought part of the Salm lands into the duchy as the Comté de Salm[3](https://gw.geneanet.org/jrvincent?lang=en&n=de+salm&p=christine) • [4](https://musee-lorrain.nancy.fr/les-collections/catalogues-numeriques/la-lorraine-pour-horizon/la-mort-du-dernier-duc-de-lorraine-et-la-reunion-a-la-france-1766-1790/portrait-de-louis-charles-othon-prince-de-salm-salm) |
| Claim to the duchy | On 26 November 1625 the States assembled in Nancy declared him duke according to the law of male heredity[2](https://en.numista.com/catalogue/ruler.php?id=6304) |
| Reign | A few hours in 1625 under the name François II; he abdicated as Duke of Lorraine in 1625[5](https://www.sfnumismatique.org/wp-content/uploads/BSFN-74-09.pdf) • [1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm) |
| Death | 14 October 1632, Badonviller[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm) |
## Family and titles
Francis was the second son of Duke Charles III of Lorraine (1543–1608) and [Claude of France](https://www.edgepedia.org/claude-of-france) (1547–1575), daughter of [Henry II of France](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-ii-of-france).[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm) On 12 March 1597 he married Christine de Salm, daughter of a neighboring princely house; through this marriage part of the Salm lands passed to the duchy under the name Comté de Salm, while the remainder kept its independence and was erected into a principality by Emperor Ferdinand II in 1623.[3](https://gw.geneanet.org/jrvincent?lang=en&n=de+salm&p=christine) • [4](https://musee-lorrain.nancy.fr/les-collections/catalogues-numeriques/la-lorraine-pour-horizon/la-mort-du-dernier-duc-de-lorraine-et-la-reunion-a-la-france-1766-1790/portrait-de-louis-charles-othon-prince-de-salm-salm)
His children included Charles IV, born in 1604, who would succeed him as duke, and Henriette de Lorraine.[2](https://en.numista.com/catalogue/ruler.php?id=6304) • [5](https://www.sfnumismatique.org/wp-content/uploads/BSFN-74-09.pdf)
## The 1625 succession
The ducal succession turned on the marriage of Francis's son Charles IV to Nicole, Duchess of Lorraine, the heiress descended from Duke Henri II.[2](https://en.numista.com/catalogue/ruler.php?id=6304) Francis obtained from the States assembled in Nancy on 26 November 1625 a declaration that he was duke according to the law of male heredity, a ruling that displaced the female line's claim.[2](https://en.numista.com/catalogue/ruler.php?id=6304) A numismatic account records that he reigned only a few hours over the duchy in 1625 under the name François II before abdicating in favor of his son.[5](https://www.sfnumismatique.org/wp-content/uploads/BSFN-74-09.pdf) • [1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm) Charles IV then ruled Lorraine for half a century, from 1624/1625 until 1675, and his contested legitimacy became a standing theme of French royal propaganda against the duchy in the late 1620s and 1630s.[6](https://crulh.univ-lorraine.fr/editions-du-crulh/ouvrages-des-chercheurs/charles-iv-de-lorraine-1604-1675-lesprit-cavalier) • [7](https://www.blelorraine.fr/2020/11/charles-iv-ou-le-duc-insoumis-de-lorraine-insoumis/)
## Later life and property
Francis owned the hôtel de Salm in Nancy, a residence whose upkeep appears regularly in ducal accounts of the period; the building was destroyed by fire in 1681.[8](https://docnum.univ-lorraine.fr/public/DDOC_T_2023_0258_DEBIZE.pdf) He died at Badonviller on 14 October 1632, in the same year that French pressure on the duchies of Lorraine and Bar began the first French occupation (1632–1661).[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm) • [9](https://crulh.univ-lorraine.fr/editions-du-crulh/annales-de-lest/princes-juges-et-sujets-dans-lespace-lorrain-des-xvie-et-xviie)
## References
1. [ThePeerage: François II, Duc de Lorraine](https://www.thepeerage.com/p11374.htm)
2. [Numista: Duchy of Lorraine, Francis II](https://en.numista.com/catalogue/ruler.php?id=6304)
3. [Geneanet: Christine de Salm](https://gw.geneanet.org/jrvincent?lang=en&n=de+salm&p=christine)
4. [Musée Lorrain: Portrait de Louis-Charles-Othon, prince de Salm-Salm](https://musee-lorrain.nancy.fr/les-collections/catalogues-numeriques/la-lorraine-pour-horizon/la-mort-du-dernier-duc-de-lorraine-et-la-reunion-a-la-france-1766-1790/portrait-de-louis-charles-othon-prince-de-salm-salm)
5. [Bulletin de la Société française de numismatique 74-9](https://www.sfnumismatique.org/wp-content/uploads/BSFN-74-09.pdf)
6. [CRULH: Charles IV de Lorraine (1604-1675). L'esprit cavalier](https://crulh.univ-lorraine.fr/editions-du-crulh/ouvrages-des-chercheurs/charles-iv-de-lorraine-1604-1675-lesprit-cavalier)
7. [BLE Lorraine: Charles IV ou le Duc de Lorraine insoumis](https://www.blelorraine.fr/2020/11/charles-iv-ou-le-duc-insoumis-de-lorraine-insoumis/)
8. [Debize, Le palais ducal de la famille de Lorraine à Nancy, 1477-1739 (thesis, Université de Lorraine, 2023)](https://docnum.univ-lorraine.fr/public/DDOC_T_2023_0258_DEBIZE.pdf)
9. [CRULH: Princes, juges et sujets dans l'espace lorrain des XVIe et XVIIe siècles](https://crulh.univ-lorraine.fr/editions-du-crulh/annales-de-lest/princes-juges-et-sujets-dans-lespace-lorrain-des-xvie-et-xviie)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › European history › Western Europe › Early modern Western Europe (1500 to 1789) › Low Countries, Scandinavia, and Italy*
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