Son of Charles de Moy, La Meilleraye was denied the potential inheritance of the governorship of the key port town of Le Havre in favour of the House of Montmorency.

With historic family ties to the house of Bourbon-Vendôme he joined Louis Prince of Condé in his rebellion during the first war of religion in 1562, travelling with him to Orléans.

During the second civil war he tried and failed to secure Dieppe for the crown, engaging in brutal reprisals when he was eventually able to bring the town to order.

In the subsequent civil war he again fought attempts by Protestants to secure Dieppe and Le Havre, but more successfully, having a prominent member of a rival Norman family executed for treason.

With the conclusion of the fifth war of religion in 1576 with the Protestant favoured Peace of Monsieur, La Meilleraye joined other Catholic nobles in indicating their disgust.

Returned to loyalty he and his familial network were keen supporters of the Duke of Guise's plans for an invasion of Scotland to restore Catholic control of the kingdom.

In 1583 Henri, dissauded from the experiment in Normandie to split the governate decided to reunify the office, and provide it to his favourite Anne de Joyeuse.

Though elevated through the 'Holy Council' set up by Charles, Duke of Aumale to the height of his power in Upper Normandy, he was by this point unable to sign documents.

[3] By July he had switched sides, receiving the governorship of Honfleur, Lisieux and Pont-Audemer in return for his defection from Claude, Duke of Aumale.

He was an enthusiastic convert to his new Catholic patrons, striking out at Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgommery when he attempted to manoeveur his forces in early September, engaging him near Dives-sur-Mer.

Faced with increased demands from the crown that he could not meet, he asked for more privileges so that he could acquire the funds, such as being allowed to raise his own salt tax through his post as vice admiral.

[7] Despite his pleas of poverty to the court, the money he raised from seizing Protestant property after the Edict of Saint-Maur allowed him to invest several thousand livres in new land holdings.

[8] During the third civil war he again worked to counteract Protestant attempts to seize the towns of Le Havre and Dieppe, a project he undertook with ruthlessness.

Regardless he was executed in March 1569, La Meilleraye having sacrificed his friend to burnish his ultra Catholic credentials and weaken a potential rival family for control of Normandie.

[8] Due to his influence over the Pays de Caux, the disgruntled canons of Lillebonne came to him to appeal, after Admiral Coligny reintroduced Protestant worship to a chapel in the community with the 1570 Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye that brought the third war of religion to a close.

In La Meilleraye's absence Roncherolles attended a council meeting at Abbeville in April to discuss the failure to bring Amiens into the fold.

In May Humières and La Meilleraye met in person to discuss drawing up a letter to the king in opposition to the rumours of peace that were now swirling the court.

The king for his part rejected La Meilleraye's proposal for a unified maître de camp fearing it would pass too much power to him.

[20] In 1583, Henri desired to reconsolidate the fractured governate of Normandie, with the aim of giving the key office to his favourite Anne de Joyeuse.

[22] Joyeuse's administration alarmed the notables of Normandie, while he was an ultra-Catholic, unlike some other of Henri's mignons he represented a significant royal consolidation of power at the expense of the local nobility.

[25] La Meilleraye for his part became de facto governor of Rouen on the departure of Carrouges.At this point the only towns outside his authority in upper Normandy were Le Havre which was controlled by Villars and Dieppe which was held by the crown.