François de Montmorency, 2nd Duke of Montmorency

François de Montmorency, 2nd Duke of Montmorency KG (17 July 1530 – 6 May 1579) was a French noble, governor, diplomat and soldier during the latter Italian Wars and the early French Wars of Religion. The son of Anne de Montmorency, favourite of the king and Madeleine of Savoy, Montmorency began his political career during the coronation of Henri II in 1547. With the resumption of the Italian Wars in 1551 he fought at the capture of Chieri, the famous defence of Metz and the defence of Thérouanne. In the latter engagement he was captured by Imperial forces, and put up for ransom. He would spend the next three years in captivity before returning to France in 1556. Returning to the conflict immediately he participated in the disastrous Saint-Quentin campaign in which the French army was destroyed and his father captured. After serving as a lieutenant in Picardie he found himself gaining advantage on the death of Henri II, the new Guise regime compensating the Montmorency family for their seizure of the grand maître title with the provision of a Marshal baton to Montmorency.

Back in 1556 on his return from captivity he had been granted the dual honour of the governorship of Île de France and that of Paris. He would hold these offices with brief interruptions until his death, building a sizeable power base in the capital. His father was disappointed to learn on his release that he had secretly arranged a marriage, and Montmorency was forced to annul the arrangement so he could marry the king's daughter Diane de France. As governor of the Île de France he exerted a moderate Catholic influence that infuriated radical elements of the city that accused him of crypto Protestantism. This was advantageous to him as the crown increasingly moved in the direction of toleration, culminating in the Edict of January which recognised the right of Protestant worship in 1562. During the early civil wars he remained loyal to the crown but represented a conciliatory position on the royal council, frequently partaking in peace talks. During the second war of religion he fought at Saint-Denis where his father was killed, leaving him as duke.

Throughout this period he feuded with the Guise, allying himself with his cousin Admiral Coligny who the Guise accused of assassinating the duke of Guise in 1563. This culminated in a showdown in his governorship when Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, brother to the late duke attempted a show of force entry into the city, only to be repulsed in a skirmish with Montmorency's forces. Though the two sides were forced to reconcile at Moulins, Allier in 1566 the feud would continue. Montmorency was the lone voice at court in support of Coligny's plan to bring France into war with Spain. When Coligny was assassinated in Paris by the duke of Guise in the opening hours of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, Montmorency was absent from the city, having retired to his estates with an illness. He considered revenging himself on the Guise, until the king informed him the assassination had his blessing. In 1574 Montmorency found himself close to the king's brother Alençon at court, and was accused of involvement in an attempt on the duke of Guise's life, leaving court, he was convinced by Charles IX to return in April, only to be implicated in a conspiracy of Alençon's, and thrown in the Bastille. His brothers escaped court and entered rebellion, however he would not be released until Alençon himself escaped court in September 1575 and his release was demanded. Weakened by his imprisonment he spent the final years of his life less involved in affairs of court, dying in 1579.