Having inherited his titles at a young age, Nemours fought for king Henri II during the latter Italian Wars, seeing action at the siege of Metz and the stunning victories of Renty and Calais in 1554 and 1558.

The new administration, led by the Guise due to François' young age was plagued with religious and financial difficulties, that emboldened a conspiracy to form against it.

With the death of the Marshal Saint-André on the field of Dreux in December, he became the governor of the Lyonnais, an office he would hold for the next nine years before resigning it in favour of his lieutenant-general François de Mandelot.

While besieged in Paris the following month, he aided in breaking the ring the Protestants had set up around the city before Anne de Montmorency's victory at the battle of Saint Denis.

Aumale and Nemours found themselves too consumed in bickering to effectively block the force, and it linked up with the main Protestant body.

[7] The daughter of Duke Ercole II of Ferrara and Renée of France, Anne brought with her to the marriage the county of Gisors, a title she would continue to hold until her own death in 1607.

[12] In 1571, 5 years after the marriage of Nemours and d'Este, the Pope endorsed the decision of the archbishop of Lyon, leading Françoise to formally convert to Protestantism.

[14] Nemours fought in the recently resumed Italian Wars in 1552, fighting at the spectacular victory of the defence of Metz and the siege of Lens where he distinguished himself.

Claude, Duke of Aumale was made governor of Piedmont, leaving his post at the head of the light cavalry vacant.

[17] It would be at this event that during a joust against Montgommery, the captain of his Scots Guard, Henri would be killed as a splinter of his opponent's lance embedded itself in his head.

Nemours, fresh off the capture of Mazères and Raunay, was tasked with reducing a château held by the baron de Castelnau, one of the ringleaders.

[19][20][21] Ousted from government by the death of the young king in December 1560, the Guise retreated from court, conscious that they were unlikely to receive much office or favours under the new formal regency for Charles IX.

[28] He fought with the baron des Adrets in Dauphiné, and in December was in the process of negotiating a favourable truce with the infamous commander which would have seen him secure the defection of the rebel army.

[30] In the wake of the Edict of Amboise which brought the first civil war to a close with the provision of limited toleration to Protestants the crown desired to reconcile the factions to ensure internal peace.

Catherine de Medici informed Anne d'Este that she had successfully reconciled Condé with Nemours and Cardinal Guise, brother of the late duke.

In an attempt to gain the upper hand, the Guise arranged for a petition to court, from many leading nobles, arguing for the right to open a case against Coligny.

[34] Frustrated at their declining influence in court, and the increasingly restrictive direction royal policy was moving in regarding Protestantism, the leading Protestants again plotted a coup.

While Hôpital, the chancellor, had argued in favour of relying on the fortifications at Meaux, Nemours and Guise advocated a flight to Paris and convinced the court successfully.

[36] During the battle of Saint-Denis, Montmorency would be killed, leaving the office of Constable of France and role as chief of the crown's military vacant.

While closer to the family, Anjou was still a child, and as such to provide him military guidance, and to actually lead the army in the field, a selection of loyal nobles were chosen.

Artus de Cossé-Brissac the recently promoted Marshal, the king's cousin Louis, Duke of Montpensier and Nemours were chosen for this important role, with Cossé in overall charge.

[39] The two commanders did not get along, and their constant conflict enabled Zweibrücken to slip past them through the Franche-Comté and establish contact with the Protestants under Gaspard II de Coligny.

[42] By 1575 Protestants were no longer the only ones in rebellion, as the Malcontent movement swept up many politiques who wished for religious compromise to secure stability in the kingdom.

[43] Yet Alençon saw this movement as conducive to his own power, and aligned himself with the Malcontents, releasing a manifesto in which he denounced the influence of 'foreigners' and calling for their exclusion from the estates general.

While Alençon would succeed in securing favourable terms for himself in the Peace of Monsieur, Nemours and Nevers would remain active in court life.

Frustrated at his continued inability to contain the movement, he declared himself to be at its head, and was compelled by the Estates General of 1576 to void the peace and make war on the Protestants again.