With the prospect of the king of Navarre and the prince de Condé's rebellion looming, Limoges secured Spanish assurances of military support, though it would not be required.

He was again in the Swiss cantons seeking a reaffirmation and expansion of the Franco-Swiss alliance in 1564, before on his return to France working towards the peace of Longjumeau in 1568 which ended the second war of religion.

[3] Sébastien was the younger brother of the sécretaire d'État (secretary of state) the baron de Châteauneuf who would enjoy a high profile career in royal service.

[26] On 31 January 1557 Henri declared formal war on España after a month of reassuring England and the Holy Roman Empire that he did not intend to void the truce of Vaucelles.

[27] This was a sensitive task and he succeeded in ensuring Basse-Fontaine and Renard crossed the borders back to their respective countries in a synchronised fashion (with each slowing upon the delay of the other to this end).

[30] On 1 October 1558, Henri entrusted the new bishop of Limoges with reaching out to the príncipe de Éboli in Doullens to establish a location and time for a peace conference.

[39] The treaty, which surrendered the claims to territory that France had made for 70 years represented a complete reorientation in the king's priorities towards a new ambition for the internal reform of the kingdom and the destruction of Protestantism.

[44] During his residency, Limoges would complain to the cardinal de Lorraine in August 1560 that he had to shoulder all the costs of his mission for that year, without the king compensating him a single écu (crown).

[50] Limoges would obscure the letters he wrote to Catherine (to make them less of interest were his courier ever intercepted) by addressing them to an imaginary man named monsieur de Rocquerolles.

[51] Not all diplomatic correspondence between the ambassador and the French court would be communicated in writing, and in this the courier played a role, with Limoges regularly making use of the sieur de Lutaines.

Her lady in waiting was dismissed by agreement of the French and Spanish governments, the latter of whom opined that madame de Clermont's presence was an obstacle to her acclimatisation to España.

Henri had his eldest son the dauphin (heir to the throne) write to Limoges to secure Felipe's assurance of protection for the future king and the French people.

He argued that for the Spanish the French policy was 'designed to destabilise the religious situation in Nederland', 'form bonds with German princes' and damage the alliance between España and England.

Limoges for his part was largely dealing with the duque de Alba who opined that Felipe understood the English queen Elizabeth's concerns, and that the French naval preparations were troubling affairs in Spanish Nederland also.

[82] Limoges was to assure Felipe that despite this policy of softness, Catherine was determined to remain true to the religion and maintain the French kingdom in peace until such time a church council could resolve matters.

[92] Spanish opinion of French policy was further tested by the entry into the royal council of the leading Protestant grandees (Coligny, Condé and the cardinal de Châtillon).

[94] In April Catherine requested of Felipe via Limoges that the king provide some 'small scrap of territory' to Navarre as through his satisfaction there would be great benefits to the religion and internal peace in France.

[99] Catherine was exhorted to abandon her 'mask' of temporary accord with the Protestants and look to the true remedy to Protestantism, punishment of heretics and the dispatching of a French delegation to the council of Trent.

In response to this flagrant disregard for the situation, Catherine through Charles communicated to Limoges in December that it was not Felipe's business to meddle in French affairs nor was it appropriate for subjects of a crown upon receiving reasonable requests from their king to look elsewhere for support.

[107] In November 1561 Limoges was appraised by Catherine of two French merchants of the town of Croisic who while conducting trade in Sevilla had been imprisoned by the Spanish authorities on account of their Protestantism.

[112] In the dying days of 1561, the sieur de Rambouillet (an agent of the king of Navarre's) was dispatched into the Empire to reassure the Lutheran princes as to the cause of France's participation in the council of Trent.

[84] After the outbreak of the first French War of Religion, Catherine wrote to Limoges instructing him to encode sensitive matters in his correspondence, due to the 'troubles of the time' which made the risks of interception a pressing concern.

[130] Both Limoges and Saint-Sulpice were to address a speech from Catherine to her daughter Élisabeth in June, at which the queen's 'preordained and elected' role to guarantee harmony between France and España was emphasised.

[133] Limoges, alongside his brother Châteauneuf and various others were at some points during the talks involved in the process of negotiations for peace with England (which had entered the civil war on the side of Condé) that produced the treaty of Troyes which was established in April 1564.

In addition to the religious concerns they faced from the cantons, Limoges and Vielleville were confronted by a series of monetary demands for various unpaid pensions and debts the French crown owed.

The rebel prince Condé demanded as terms of peace that all parlements register the edict and that several towns be granted to the Protestants as sûreté (surety):Boulogne and La Rochelle.

[148] After the negotiations had been concluded to bring the third war of religion to a close, the council was assembled so that the sécretaire d'État Villeroy could read out the articles the king had granted.

[156][157] The exclusion of princes du sang (unless summoned by the king to attend) from the new council in combination with the retention of membership for the hated Birague caused much aggrievement among nobles.

[159] The council was divided between a majority faction which hoped to prosecute a war against the rebel brother of the duc de Montmorency, Damville, his province and the Protestants to restore them to obedience with the crown and a minority of moderates composed of Foix, Orléans and Limoges.

[160] Limoges was among the councillors present for the conseil d'État that ratified the king's decision to surrender the remaining French possessions in Piemonte to the duca di Savoia.