Saul is dead but David is not yet king over all of Israel. As the chapter begins “Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David grew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker continually” (2nd Sam. 3:1). Most of Saul’s sons are dead but David’s family is growing.
David is anointed king of Yehudah (Judah), but he must now fight the house of Saul for control of all the tribes.
David discovers the result of the war between Saul and the Philistines. The 2nd Samuel 1 starts with David’s revealing his utter heartbreak at hearing of the death of his best friend, Yahunatan (Jonathan).