As an Italian outsider to much of the French aristocracy, Catherine de Medici brought him into her circle, hoping he would act as a counterweight at court to the great families of Guise and Montmorency.

On 13 August 1554 he served at the battle of Renty and soon afterward Henry II made him a gentleman of the chamber and master of the wardrobe to Charles of France.

He was then made captain of the first company of gentlemen of the king's household after the death of the duc de Roannois in December the same year.

[5] Retz acted as an intermediary between Catherine and the clergy of Paris as their approval for the marriage of Navarre and Margaret of Valois was sought.

Elizabeth was concerned however about the prince's appearance and Retz promised to provide a more flattering portrait, returning to France in September.

[citation needed] With La Rochelle entering revolt in the wake of the Massacre, Retz fought in the siege that followed.

[17] As a result of Tavannes' death there was also a vacancy in the marshalate, Retz was granted the honour at the château de Boulogne on 6 July 1573[18] Upon travelling to the Commonwealth with Henri, the new king awarded him a large pension of several hundred thousand livres.

[21] While no longer Constable he was granted the office of first gentleman of the chamber, a post he shared with Villequier each taking six months of the year.

[25] In 1578 despite the protests of the recent Estates General of 1576 about the practice, Retz resigned his governorship of Provence in favour of a successor of his choosing, the comte de Suze.

[26] Still loyal to his patron Catherine, he continued to champion her policy at court even after she herself reduced her involvement in the council of state.

[27] After having held the office of first gentleman of the chamber for 15 years, he was obliged to surrender it in 1581, so that the king's favourite Anne de Joyeuse could assume the role.

[32] After the death of François d'O in 1594, his role in the conseil des finances was assumed by a collaboration of important nobles, among them Retz.

One package was prepared by the king's minister the baron de Rosny and proposed various quick expedients to secure a cash flow, the other was devised by Bellièvre, and was constituted of a wide scale austerity program, with large restructuring of France's finances.

To lead the discussions of the notables in considering these proposals matters were divided into three chambers which were led by Retz, the duc de Montpensier and Marshal Matignon respectively.

[34] In the end, the notables agreed to the establishment of a new tax, known as the pancarte which appropriated 1/20th of the revenue of goods, and a year long suspension of royal wages among other resolutions.