[1] He was the older brother of Louis of Bourbon, Prince of Condé, who would lead the Huguenots during the early French Wars of Religion.

In 1556, upon hearing that Jacques, Duke of Nemours had made his cousin-by-marriage pregnant, he threatened bloody consequences for Savoie and his family, causing the man to take the excuse of a campaign into Italy to leave France.

[11] The Huguenot leadership were animated by the prospect of bringing Navarre into their camp causing Calvin and Beza to devote considerable efforts to the project.

[12][13] When in 1559 king Henri died, opponents of the Guise, including Anne de Montmorency flocked to meet Navarre in Vendôme hoping he would establish himself in the government.

[17] After the failure of Amboise, unrest continued in the south of France; Navarre's brother Condé intrigued concerning an uprising in Lyon, with plans to send 1200 men in support.

[25] With Condé now retreating, Navarre and the other leaders began retaking rebel towns, capturing Blois, Tours and Amboise.

[26] In August the main royal force under Navarre besieged and overcame the rebel garrison in the key town of Bourges.

When his wife, Jeanne d'Albret, allowed the Huguenots to sack the chapel and the churches of Vendôme, he threatened to send her to a convent.

[27] Having taken Bourges, the royal army was faced with a choice, to march on the Huguenot capital of Orléans immediately, or first strike at the northern town of Rouen, which Aumale was currently unsuccessfully trying to besiege with his small force.

Navarre wanted to immediately push on Orlėans, but the plague in the town, the threat of the English, and the hopes of Catherine that he might yet prevail on his brother to abandon rebellion, persuaded the court against this policy.