Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy

Villeroy grew up at court and entered government service at a young age, following in the footsteps of his father Nicolas III de Neufville, and both grandfathers.

[2] In 1559, at the age of sixteen, he became a financial secretary and was soon employed by Catherine de' Medici, the widow of Henry II and the mother of the next three kings.

Because those kings were either too young, too ill, or, in Henry III's case, too irresponsible to attend to the details of administration, Catherine took control of the government.

[4][5] Villeroy himself had attended the Collège de Navarre, but did not remain in education for long enough to achieve high literary style—Cardinal Richelieu was to say of Villeroy that he possessed excellent judgement without advanced education (non aidé d'aucunes lettres)—though he occasionally wrote poetry himself and knew the poet Ronsard.

He was also loved by Catherine de' Medici, and by Henry III until that king became detached and distant towards the end of his reign.

"You are so wise," Catherine wrote to him concerning the difficulties posed by the behaviour of her son François, Duke of Anjou, "that you do not need any further advice about that or any other matter".

[9] From 1582, Villeroy found himself tested by the increasingly eccentric behaviour of Henry III, who responded to the mounting disorder in France and to financial pressures by withdrawing to religious retreats and refusing to attend to business in person.

[14] Catherine de' Medici was shocked at the secretary's treatment and supported Villeroy vigorously, saying she had not been so upset about any matter for a long time.

In summer 1588, the king's position became perilous when Henry I, Duke of Guise, and his followers in the Catholic League took control of Paris, co-ordinating their move with the armada that Philip II of Spain had sent against Protestant England.

Henry III managed to evade capture; but later that year faced a meeting of the Estates of Blois, packed with his enemies.

Villeroy came back to power in 1594 once Henry IV recanted his Protestant faith and returned to the Catholic fold.