Born into a prominent robe noble family, Morvillier began his royal service during the reign of François I, serving first as maître des requêtes for the king, and then ambassador to Venezia from 1546 to 1550.

After the death of Henri II he maintained an important position in the council of his successor, becoming garde des sceaux from March to May 1560, giving him the powers of the chancellor even if he didn't hold the office formerly, during the transition from the chancellorship of François Olivier to Michel de L'Hôpital.

He was among the grandees invited to the Assembly of Notables that August that met to discuss the financial and religious problems of the kingdom, a result of which was the calling of an Estates General.

Morvillier was again negotiating with England in 1572 when he helped secure the Treaty of Blois, before assisting the queen in her pet project marriage between Navarre and Marguerite de Valois.

When Anjou ascended to kingship in France, Morvillier was among his chief council, and guided the king during the crisis of the Estates General, though by now his popularity among radical Catholics was so low he felt compelled to retire.

[11] With the bankruptcy of France's great enemy Spain in 1558, Morvillier was tasked by the king with soothing the fears of the foreign bankers in Lyon, assuring them that French credit would remain good.

[12] After the disaster at the battle of Saint-Quentin in which the French army was destroyed and the Constable captured, the duke of Guise was urgently recalled from his stillborn Italian campaign to defend the kingdom.

Morvillier was among the notables involved in this group, which included Marshal Saint-André, Constable Montmorency and Cardinal Lorraine, all of whom were chief among the king's favour at court.

[9] In the wake of the Conspiracy of Amboise, France was faced with religious instability that could not be ignored, in combination with financial problems that had been eating away at the kingdom since the reign of Henri II.

Morvillier was among the delegates at this gathering, which agreed on the need to call an Estates General to remedy the financial ills of the kingdom, and an assembly of the church to address the issues of religious diversity.

[19] Later that year Morvillier would be dispatched as part of a commission to restore the remaining French held towns in Piedmont back to the duke of Savoy.

[9] Later that year, Morvillier again negotiated with England, which brought to a formal close the English invasion of France that had occurred during the first French War of Religion.

Morvillier was absent for the coup, having travelled to Bruxelles on a diplomatic mission to congratulate Alba on his appointment as governor of the Spanish Netherlands in August, and being on the road back to France at the time.

Now trapped in the city while the rebel force settled in to besiege Paris, Catherine sent Morvillier out to stall for time in negotiations with the Prince of Condé.

[26] Morvillier, in conjunction with the secretary of state Alluye would play the role of principal negotiators for the crown that formulated the Peace of Longjumeau, which brought the short second civil war to a close in March the following year.

[31] Morvillier had been outraged at the king's decision to appease the Emperor, by releasing the duke of Lorraine from the homage he owed the kingdom of France for the Duchy of Bar that he held.

The marriage would be finalised the following month, with the wedding of Navarre, Albret's son, and Marguerite de Valois, Catherine's daughter taking place in August.

[35] In June Morvillier was one of three advisers, alongside Tavannes and Nevers who were commissioned to write memoranda opposing Coligny's policy by the king.

[36] During a council meeting on 10 August where Coligny again advocated war, Morvillier interjected to highlight that France would be fighting alone, with the German Protestant princes and Elizabeth I unwilling to provide any support.

[38] He would however exert what influence he had to ensure that after the assassinations were carried out, a trial was conducted on an effigy of Coligny, and the captive Cavagne and Bricquemault, such that in a small way the ordinary rules of justice were maintained.

[40] During the massacre that followed the assassination, as the carefully orchestrated hits devolved into indiscriminate bloodshed, Morvillier took it upon himself to shelter an envoy of the duke of Saxony Hubert Languet, who had come to the city for the wedding of Navarre and Marguerite.

[10] Among the demands of the delegates was the dismissal of members of the royal council they perceived as soft on heresy, Pomponne de Bellièvre and Morvillier.

When the first estate proposed enforcing a singular religion on France, Morvillier was among the councillors who rallied around Catherine in opposing their demand as desirable in theory, but in practice likely to cause civil strife.