10. Henry II became King of France after his elder brother died playing tennis, before himself dying in a jousting tournament at the age of 40
Henry II was King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The tenth king from the House of Valois, the future king spent more than four years as a child as a hostage in Spain. Never expected to inherit the crown, with his elder brother Francis superseding his claim, Henry suddenly became the heir apparent in 1536 after Francis dramatically died in a game of tennis. Ascending to the throne at the age of 28, Henry continued his father’s militaristic policies to limited accomplishment. His efforts to suppress the Protestant Reformation were ultimately ineffectual, whilst the conclusion of the Italian Wars saw France achieve minimal gains.
Failing to fundamentally reshape the European balance of power, with Spain remaining the preeminent power on the continent, Henry increasingly attended to his hobbies. Fond of both hunting and jousting, to celebrate the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, ending the Italian Wars, a tournament was held near Place des Vosges. Whilst competing on June 30, 1559, Henry suffered an eye wound when a fragment of a splintered lance wielded by Gabriel Montgomery, Captain of the King’s Scottish Guard, penetrated his visor. Becoming infected, Henry would die on July 10 of septicemia. Succeeded by his fifteen-year-old sickly son, France entered into a period of weak leadership and decline.