Born in 1526, the son of Guillaume de La Baume, Suze was a Catholic noble, who fought for the crown in the fractious province of Provence, against leading Protestant military commanders, among them the baron des Adrets and Montbrun.

With La Rochelle threatening to enter rebellion in the wake of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, Suze was among those tasked by the king with negotiating the submission of the city to its royal governor, however he was unsuccessful in this and a siege followed.

[3] After Maugiron's death during a duel in 1578, Suze imparted the news of the affair to the young man's father back in Dauphiné.

[6] During the first civil war, Suze remained loyal to the crown, and supported the royal commanders of the south in the fight against the Protestant insurgents, the baron des Adrets and Montbrun.

[8] Starting in 1568, the Ordre de Saint-Michel became increasingly decentralised in its awarding, with many local magnates granted the privilege to bestow the collar of the order on nobles of their choosing, outside the confines of an annual ceremony.

[5] After the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, the city of La Rochelle, horrified by what was unfolding across France, and increasingly filling with refugees, refused entry to the town to the baron de Biron, who had recently been appointed governor.

[5] The troubles of the Razats, in combination with other disorders which were affecting the other southern provinces, ravaged by decades of civil war, came to the attention of the court.

[16] As such after serving in the role for only a year, Suze ceded the position of governor to the bastard Angoulême, an illegitimate brother of king Charles.

[14] In 1578, Henri III established a new order to replace the Ordre de Saint-Michel, which had become diluted in prestige by the expansions made in the late 1560s.