Born into a cadet branch of the house of Savoy, he fought for first Francis I, and then Henri II during the Italian Wars.

During this period he also conducted diplomacy for the French court, and was involved in the negotiations that brought an end to the Italian Wars.

In the early 1540s he campaigned in Roussillon under the authority of the Dauphin, fighting alongside his brother Claude, Count of Tende.

He accompanied Henry II of France on his 1552 entry into Lorraine to seize the three bishoprics of Toul Verdun and Metz.

[8] Subsequent to the negotiations he was invited to the tournament to celebrate the peace, at which Henri II was killed in a jousting accident.

[6] With the death of Henri II, the religious situation in the kingdom, which had been precarious, deteriorated into disorder, as emboldened Calvinists began to assert their worship publicly, particularly in the wake of the Conspiracy of Amboise.

This represented a particular issue for Villars in his position as lieutenant-general of Languedoc, a region where the reformation was strongest, resulting his efforts were consumed suppressing 'seditious conduct'.

[10] With the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion in the following month, he was tasked by Charles with reporting on the situation in Poitou, he visited the city of Châtellerault and informed the king of the inhabitants continued loyalty.

[11] With peace declared in 1563, he accompanied Charles and the queen mother on their grand tour of France, aimed at reinforcing the provinces loyalty to the crown, and dealing with reticence in adhering to the Edict of Amboise.

After the death of Gaspard II de Coligny during the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew he again took possession of the title of Admiral alongside a position on the conseil privé.

[19] With Damville going into rebellion in 1574 as leader of the politique party, Villars was offered his former role of 'commandant' of Languedoc however he declined the office.