[1] His ecclesiastical post was entirely a sinecure; he was never ordained,[2] and led a dissipated life.

Nevertheless, he was made Archbishop of Reims in January 1605,[3] and created cardinal on December 2, 1615.

He incurred the displeasure of Louis XIII of France, and was imprisoned in the Bastille in 1620.

[2] He joined the royal campaign to besiege the Huguenot stronghold of Montauban in 1621, and there fell ill with scarlet fever and died.

[4] He married, in secret, Charlotte des Essarts,[2] Mademoiselle de La Haye in 1611.