François II (1544–60) was the son of Henry II and Catherine de Médicis. He reigned as King of France from 1559 to 1560, after the accidental death of his father. A monarch of the House of Valois-Angoulême, he was also King consort to Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death. His short reign coincided with growing religious tensions in France, the loss of French territories in Italy, and the end of the French occupation of Scotland in 1560, under the Treaty of Edinburgh.

This is a copy after a portrait thought to be of François II, attributed to François Quesnel. Another copy was produced in 1837 by Joseph Albrier for the museum at Versailles (MV 3209). At that time the original was in the Château d'Eu, Normandy. The sitter is shown wearing a black doublet with a white linen turned-down collar, a gold chain and a black velvet hat with a jewelled band and three white plumes.