Lorenzo II became lord of Florence in August 1513, after his uncle, Giuliano de' Medici, handed over control of its government.

Ambitious by nature, Lorenzo II, despite being appointed Captain of the Florentine militia, lacked patience with Florence's republican system of government and thus, in 1516, convinced his uncle, Pope Leo X to make him Duke of Urbino at the age of 24.

[5] Only 21 days after Catherine de' Medici's birth, Lorenzo II died, "worn out by disease and excess.

But historian Richard Trexler has argued that Lorenzo II, having been Captain of the Florentine militia, must be the figure holding the baton, symbol of military authority conferred by the Republic.

[7][8] Famously, Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated his political treatise The Prince to Lorenzo to advise him of tactics to use to maintain his authority.