Eléanor was the first wife of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé;[2] as such, she was the sister-in-law of Antoine of Navarre and aunt of King Henry IV.

Eléanor inherited the county of Roucy through her father and the lordship of Conti through her mother.

During the first of the French Civil Wars, especially between 1560 and 1563, Eléanor and her mother were engaged in important political activities in support of her husband, the Prince of Condé.

Twice while Condé was a prisoner of the ultra-catholic Guise family, his wife and mother-in-law systematically reinforced his alliances with Protestant German princes and with Elizabeth I of England.

[4] Armed with this support, Eléanor made negotiations by letter and by direct contact with the regent, Catherine de' Medici; the outcome was the Peace of Amboise and the release of her husband.