Francis II of France of France in 1547, when his grandfather Francis I died. Francis's governor and governess were Jean d'Humières and Françoise d'Humières, and his tutor was Pierre Danès, a Greek scholar originally from Naples. He learned dancing from Virgilio Bracesco and fencing from Hector of Mantua. King Henry II, his father, arranged a remarkable betrothal for his son to Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Châtillon agreement of 27 January 1548, when Francis was only four years old. Mary had been crowned Queen of Scots in Stirling Castle on 9 September 1543 at the age of nine months following the death of
Mary Stuart (play) "Mary Stuart", which holds a place in the opera repertory in Donizetti's version (as "Maria Stuarda"), can still hold the stage in its original form as demonstrated in its successful production, given in a 2005 run at the Donmar Warehouse. Using Peter Oswald's new translation, it was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and starred Janet McTeer as Mary, Queen of Scots and Harriet Walter as Elizabeth of England. The production transferred to the Apollo Theatre in London's West End, where it also played a sold-out engagement from late 2005 into January 2006. The production opened on Broadway on 30 March 2009