During 1581 Henri decided to establish a secret inner council, where the real business of state could be conducted, away from grandees such as the
duke of Guise. This new council was greatly associated with the two men becoming his chief favourites, Arques and Épernon both of whom functioned as 'principle ministers of the new cabinet'. As a part of the important position Henri had provided the men with, he expected them in return to act as intermediaries with the provincial nobility and form their own fidelity networks that would be loyal to the crown through the distribution of honours. This would have the side benefit of saving the crown money, which was always in short supply.
Fidelity network To this end Arques secured the elevation of Aymar de Chaste and Jacques de Budos to
gentilhomme de la chambre (gentleman of the chamber). Budos was a baron from Languedoc and distant relative of Arques. At Arques' request he would become a vicomte in 1583. At his request the governor of Narbonne
the baron de Rieux became a ''chevalier de l'Ordre du Saint-Esprit
(knight of the order of the Holy Spirit) in 1585. Rieux was a key ally of the Joyeuse family in Languedoc. He would follow this by securing two further appointments to the order in 1586 for lieutenant-generals of Normandy: the seigneur de Pierrecourt and Carrouges. In a conversation with the Savoyard ambassador Lucinge in 1585, Arques boasted that even the lowest man in the network he had built would bring 400 gentleman in support of him if required. He targeted also nobles that appeared to be at risk of defecting to the Catholic ligue'', such as
Manou and
La Châtre. This policy had great success for the king, the duke of Guise finding himself able to count on almost no figures in the court by 1586, forcing him to look elsewhere to secure his power. Looking at the networks in totality, Arques' would be relatively geographically diverse, while Épernon's was more concentrated among the nobility of the south west. In total Henri envisaged that the two men would assist in the reintegration of principal provinces whose connections to the crown had been damaged by the years of civil war. They would also be guides for the nobility, steering the institution away from the Lorraine Catholic party, the Protestants and the party of the king's brother Alençon.
Disgrace of the evangelists , favourite of the king Favour had previously been more distributed, however in the preceding months both
François d'O and
Saint-Luc had been disgraced, leaving only Arques and Épernon at the centre of the king's attentions. Saint-Luc had been growing in discontent in his relationship with the king for some time, and a dispute with Arques furthered the distance between them. Saint-Luc desired greatly for himself the great office of
grand écuyer (Grand Squire) which was currently possessed by
the comte de Chabot-Charny, and he was furious to find out that Arques had seduced the counts daughter and Chabot-Charny was speaking of providing the office and his daughter to Arques. The office had been promised to Saint-Luc on the occasion of his marriage by the king, however Chabot-Charny was uninterested in honouring this arrangement. Saint-Luc complained to the king who retorted that he had granted many privileges to Saint-Luc for which he should be grateful. Saint-Luc angrily rejoindered that there was little worth in raising men to the esteem of princes if the king was only going to cast them back down. When the final break came with the king, there would be many stories as to what had finally severed relations between Saint-Luc and the king. In one of them, Saint-Luc and Arques attempted to scare the king with a brass pipe in which they imitated the voice of an angel upbraiding the king for his sins. The prank accomplished, Arques denounced Saint-Luc as the author of the enterprise to the king. However given the multiplicity of stories as to the cause of Saint-Luc's final dismissal, it is questionable how seriously this story can be taken. This is especially true when one considers a letter written by Arques to his grandmother in which he defends Saint-Luc, making it more likely that D'O was the instigator of his downfall. Moreover, even after Saint-Luc's disgrace, Arques wrote friendly letters to the former favourite. Saint-Luc would respond favourably from his exile at
Brouage, and in the years that followed Arques would become the ex-favourites protector at court. , favourite of the king D'O was greatly embittered by the rise of Arques and Épernon which threatened his place in the court. The men had grown to hate each other over their holiday's together from the court at Ollainville. He particularly resented Arques for having secured a marriage to the sister of the king in 1581. In the hopes of regaining his position, he attempted to sow discord between Arques and Épernon. When this was uncovered, the king dismissed him at the urgings of Épernon. The disgrace of D'O brought further benefit to the Joyeuse family, with Arques' brother
Bouchage receiving the office of
maître de la garde-robe (Master of the Wardrobe).
Intermarriage Henri hoped to avoid rivalries between his two paramount favourites, and to this end arranged marriages between the families.
Bouchage, Arques' brother was married
Catherine de Nogaret in November 1581, and several months later
La Valette, Épernons elder brother married
Anne de Batarnay, Arques' maternal aunt. Arques was a witness to the signing of Bouchage's marriage contract in November. Arques' mother Marie was very hostile to the match of their family with Catherine. The marriage between La Valette and Anne would be a great success despite Catherine being much older. La Valette would serve as an intermediary between Arques and Épernon in the coming years. The bonds between the two families would deteriorate with the death of first Catherine in 1587, then Anne in 1591 and La Valette in 1592. However they would not collapse entirely thanks to the efforts of Épernon. As a result of the central attentions bestowed upon the two men, they became despised to varying degrees by segments of the high nobility and population of France. The heights to which each would be elevated disgusted supporters of the Lorraine and Montmorency family who saw their own centrality in French politics as natural. To this end a bitter war of pamphlets and preaching would be conducted against them from 1578 to the king's death in 1589. The king wrote to Arques's grandmother, the comtesse du Bouchage during this year, explaining that there was no difference for him in the affection he showed Arques from that he would grant his son. In 1581 Henri would write on this theme, saying it was his responsibility as a housekeeper to ensure that his three sons (Arques, Épernon and D'O - prior to the latter's disgrace) were all married off. Some historians have interpreted the effusive affection that Henri showed in his letters to Arques himself as a form of erotic desire. Henri was not however without caution concerning the rapid honours he bestowed upon his chief favourites, and at one point at least developed concerns that Arques might develop into an overmighty subject.
Duc de Joyeuse Henri was determined that his principal favourites have an aristocratic standing to match the esteem with which he was now placing them in. To this end, the viscounty of Joyeuse was raised to
duché pairie (Peerage Duchy) in Arques' favour in August 1581 (making the baron d'Arques the duc de Joyeuse). The letters-patent confirming this were registered by the
Parlement on 7 September. In them the king expounded upon how the raising was in return for the 'painful labours' the Joyeuse family had undergone in service of the crown. The families 'service against the Saracens' and other 'enemies of France', alongside the ancient dignity of their house was also cited. In November of that year Épernon would in turn be raised to the position of duke. Joyeuse was among the peers who accompanied Épernon to the Paris
Parlement for the registration of the letters patent that confirmed this. Arques was granted a vaunted placement in the peerage he had just entered, receiving precedence over all other ducal peers with the exception of those of sovereign houses, the duke of Guise (Lorraine),
the duke of Nemours (Savoie) and
the duke of Nevers (Mantua). Épernon would receive similar precedence. Henri reasoned that Joyeuse took this place of precedence due to his recent marriage to the sister of the queen, . Due to this, Joyeuse took precedence in the hierarchy of peers over Épernon, who was for the moment unmarried, though the king hoped to pair him with
Christine de Lorraine. Joyeuse and Épernon represented a new generation of favourites for Henri, ones who had more capacity and interest for matters of state governance than those who had initially risen with Henri upon his ascent to the crown. The new 'duchy of Joyeuse' was an agglomeration of the former viscounty which had been possessed by Joyeuse's father, alongside Baubiac, Rosieres, La Blachier, La Baume, Saint-Auban, Saint-André, Cougeres, Saint-Sauveur, Bec-de-Jon, Latte, Duniere, the barony of Saint-Didier and the barony of La Mastre. In total this expanded domain of Joyeuse would bring him revenues of around 10,000
livres. The raising of his two chief favourites to the French peerage came amid a flurry of ducal erections by the king. In September
the marquisate d'Elbeuf was raised to a
duché pairie, followed by
the duc de Piney-Luxembourg in October and
the comte de Retz in November.
Premier gentilhomme On 31 December of that year, Henri established Épernon and Joyeuse as co-holders of the office of
premier gentilhomme de la chambre du roi. Joyeuse was established to the office through the dispossession of
Marshal Retz who had held the honour previously. Retz' coholder
Villequier refused to be bought out of the office, and therefore was maintained as a third
premier gentilhomme until 1589, though without the honours accorded the other two. They were to alternate who held the title throughout the year. In theory this meant that Joyeuse was the
premier gentilhomme from January to April, Épernon from May to August and Villequier from September to December. This meant that his two favourites now controlled who could enter and leave the royal residence and therefore access to the king. They also had the exclusive right to be near the king in the time between his waking and dressing for the day, including the honour of passing him his clothes. Beyond this Joyeuse and Épernon had exclusive access to the king's personal
cabinet, including the right to enter it even when the king was absent, Villequier did not have this right. Other favourites of the king would have to wait in an antechamber before being granted access to the king. On Sundays when the king ate without ceremony with various courtiers, a place of honour at the
bas bout (Bottom end) of the table was always reserved for one of the two men. The two men were expected by the king to act as a screen concerning access to him, with petitioners interested in Henri's attention to address their concerns to one of the two men who would then if they felt it appropriate present the matter to Henri. By this means, Henri distanced himself from petitioners and delegates the responsibility of determining what business merited his time. Therefore for example, when Joyeuse received a request from madame de La Trémoille he withheld it as he did not believe Henri to be in the mood for business matters presently. As part of their elevation, both men resigned the office of
Chambellan, that they had previously held to their brothers
La Valette and
Bouchage. The traditional wage of a
premier gentilhomme was 1200
livres, however in 1585 this was expanded to 3500
livres. By their elevation to the office of
premier gentilhomme they formed part of a strategy by the king to dilute the authority the duke of Guise held over the crown from his office of
grand maître (Grand Master). Both men would also be encouraged to form their own patronage networks, in the hopes of cutting down royal expenditure. Also involved in this effort to limit the
grand maître was the creation of
Richelieu as
grand prévôt (Grand Provost) and
Rhodes as
grand maître des cérémonies (Grand Master of Ceremonies). Each of these offices was allowed to chip into the authority of
grand maître. Many princes took offence to the spatial domination of the court that the two favourites secured by this appointment. To this end they ceased to attend the Louvre. For a time after his marriage, Joyeuse engaged in a rapprochement with the house of Lorraine. Thus in the weeks that followed Joyeuse could be found alongside Guise with the king on trips around the
Île de France. He also took to riding alongside the duke of Guise. However this friendship would quickly give way to competition as each man sought to establish themselves at the head of the Catholic party. To this end he established himself as an intermediary with the Papal Nuncio for choices of who received various benefices. In late 1584 he escalated his displays of contempt for Guise as it became clear that the duke had rebellious intentions with the re-founded Catholic
ligue. Joyeuse took advantage of the gifts he had received during 1581 to invest in land as was expected of him by his marriage contract. To this end he purchased the barony of La Faulche in Champagne in December. He was further able to persuade the king to elevate his father, the lieutenant-general of Languedoc to the Marshalate upon the death of the incumbent Marshal
Cossé on 20 January 1582. On the same day that they received the honour of being made
premier gentilhomme, both Joyeuse and Épernon were inducted into the
Ordre du Saint-Esprit that they had borne witness to the creation of back in 1579. Henri hoped that the men's presence in the highest order of chivalry would help quiet the derisory nickname of 'arch-mignon' that now accompanied the two men.
Languedoc Both Joyeuse and Épernon were the sons of important men in their respective provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne, the lieutenant-generals of each province. The Joyeuse family was however more established than the Nogarets, with historic ties to the Montmorency clan, which gave Joyeuse an edge in social respectability. The Joyeuse military control over Languedoc was however limited, as
Guillaume de Joyeuse had to contend with the power of the Protestant dominated Nîmes and
the duke of Bouillon, as well as the governor proper. Joyeuse worked to increase his families position in Languedoc, and to this end secured the Archbishopric of Narbonne for his brother François in 1581, following this up with the establishment of Antoine-Scipion as ''grand prieur de l'Ordre de Malte'' (Grand Prior of the Order of Malta) for
Toulouse in 1582. Later in 1584, François would become archbishop of Toulouse. As his star rose tensions escalated with his families former patrons the Montmorency. This exploded into the open at the Estates of Bézieres in October 1581 when the Estates sent out a large delegation to meet the new duke, much to Montmorency's annoyance. Several attempts at reconciliations between the two families would be undertaken in 1583 though none would bear fruit, with proposals included the exchange of Montmorency's children as hostage. Joyeuse's father therefore took radical steps including seizing Narbonne and attempting to take Bézieres. Joyeuse himself took the opportunity at court to pressure the king of the necessity of relieving Montmorency of his control of Languedoc to de-escalate the situation. Montmorency was to be offered the governate of the
Île de France in exchange, however Montmorency recognised that the large independence he enjoyed as a governor in the south would not be replicable in such a post and declined. Joyeuse himself met with Montmorency at
Nissan-lez-Enserune that year in pursuit of that strategy, however Montmorency remained uninterested. Beyond his general rivalry with the Joyeuse in Languedoc Montmorency had particular distaste for Anne de Joyeuse, seeing in him the obstacle to any possibility of ever returning from his southern stronghold to court life.
Admiral de France At this time,
the duke of Mayenne, brother of the duke of Guise, was the
Admiral of France. Henri was however determined that the military should be under royal control. As such negotiations began for Mayenne to resign the charge of Admiral to Joyeuse. A title of the importance of Admiral would require significant compensation be granted to Mayenne for relinquishing it, and it was agreed that he would be awarded 360,000
livres and receive the elevation of his cousin
Elbeuf's marquisate into a duchy. Unlike the charge of Marshal, it was not supposed that a man made Admiral would have any specific naval experience and the post had a history of being granted to royal favourites going back to the start of the century. Counter-intuitively it was through his authority as Admiral that Joyeuse would be able to command land armies, which he had previously had no authority to do. Having appointed Joyeuse to the post in May 1582, on 1 June 1582 Mayenne resigned the charge of Admiral to him. This would be confirmed in Joyeuse taking an oath in front of
Parlement on 19 June. One of the perks Joyeuse took advantage of in his new office of Admiral was to take a cut of the profits of all fish sales in Paris. This brought him an income of 28,000
livres a year. Whenever the English ambassador wished to discuss matters related to naval affairs with the French court going forward, it was to Joyeuse that he would address himself. Henri ensured Joyeuse was always present when the English ambassador was received. In 1583 after the
French Fury (failed seizure of Antwerp by Alençon) resulted in the massacre of the French soldiers in
Antwerp, Henri ordered that Joyeuse use his authority to retaliate against the Flemings by impounding all their ships which were presently in the ports of Brittany. In March 1584, the specific parameters of Joyeuse's naval responsibilities were outlined in an edict. He was to have authority over the fleets, all ports and naval fortifications and justice on the sea. The edict went further, breaking down even who was to receive any treasures recovered from shipwrecks. The wide reach of the responsibilities encompassed in this edict aroused the fury of Joyeuse's brother in law
the duke of Mercœur, governor of Brittany. He valued the naval control he possessed in his province and was little inclined to give it to Joyeuse. The dispute between the two grandees was settled by Joyeuse's wife Marguerite who convinced Joyeuse to allow Mercœur to hold onto naval responsibilities in his governate. During the Portuguese succession crisis that began in 1580, France intervened in search of advantage. An expedition was undertaken under the command of
Strozzi that looked to gain many of the islands under Portuguese control. The expedition was a disaster with Strozzi's force being destroyed by a Spanish fleet under the
marqués de Santa Cruz. His summary executions of many nobles aroused the fury of the French court,
Catherine de Medici vowing to send a new expedition to avenge the prior, with
the duke of Brissac at its head. Henri however intervened, after the disaster of the first expedition, the matter of the naval expedition should be left to the Admiral of France, Joyeuse. While Joyeuse himself was initially floated to both requisition the boats required and lead the expedition, the king was unable to tolerate his absence, and therefore it was for Joyeuse to nominate another commander. Joyeuse selected his cousin
Aymar de Chaste a commander of the Order of Malta to lead the expedition to the
Azores. As for the acquisition of the boats, Joyeuse delegated this responsibility to Catherine, who was able to negotiate their acquisition from the Hanseatic ports and Scandinavians. The expedition would however prove as disastrous as the first, Chastes' forces outnumbered on their arrival coming to terms with Santa Cruz in return for being allowed to return home to France. In his capacity as Admiral, Joyeuse sought to oppose the designs of the duke of Guise and various allied lords for an invasion of England to liberate
Mary, Queen of Scots.
Elizabeth had protested to Henri of the ships being prepared at channel ports, and Henri entrusted responsibility for frustrating the expedition to him. To facilitate this further, Joyeuse was specifically made Admiral of Normandy. Joyeuse set about installing various men loyal to him in command of the channel ports. Soon logistical problems overcame the expedition and the duke of Guise withdrew his backing.
Spiritual affairs The king was by this point in his reign, desperate for an heir that would secure the royal line, having been unable to produce one. On 11 August 1582 he undertook a pilgrimage to the Notre-Dame du Puy in Auvergne, in the hopes that god would grand him his wish. Accompanying him on this important trip were Jesuits, Épernon and Joyeuse. Henri decided, in March of 1583 to establish a
penitential confraternity. A demonstration of his piety he was keen to invite his courtiers, magistrates of the
Parlement and
Chambres des Comptes (Chamber of Accounts) to participate. Joyeuse and Épernon both joined the new order, however among some segments of the population the "Mediterranean" religiosity of the court grated against Parisian sensibilities. The Joyeuse family would build on this penitential movement themselves in August, when François de Joyeuse established the
Pénitents bleus de Saint-Jérôme (Blue penitents of Saint Jerome). The confraternity would have 72 members, largely composed of court favourites (Retz, Villequier, Châteauvieux etc.) and their families, among them of course his brothers including Joyeuse. The Joyeuse family were the most aligned to the king in his spiritual life, sharing his enthusiasm for penitential pursuits. Indeed one of Joyeuse's brothers would die of a chill contracted walking barefoot in a
penitential procession. The two men said their
matins together and prayed with one another to have children. Joyeuse accompanied the king on his monastic retreats, which became more frequent in the 1580s.
Normandy , governor of Normandy On 28 March 1583 Joyeuse succeeded to the post of governor of Normandy, the richest province in the kingdom. In total Normandy was responsible for between 1/4 and 1/3 of all royal revenues. This office had traditionally been given to the dauphin of France. By his ascent he replaced the three prior governors of the province,
Marshal Matignon,
Meilleraye and
Carrouges among whom the province had been split since 1574. At the same time, the disgraced D'O was bought out of his position as commander of the Château of Caen in Normandy in favour of Joyeuse. To compensate the three men for their dispossession each was given 6000
livres and returned to the positions they had held prior to their ascent to governors, lieutenant-generals of Rouen, Evreux, Caen, Caux and Gisors. The king referred to Joyeuse in the letters justifying the appointment as his most trusted brother in law.
The duke of Elbeuf was infuriated by Joyeuse's appointment, of all the Lorraine family he had the most holdings in Normandy and had hoped to acquire the title for himself. There was outrage too among the local Norman nobility, with various traditionally loyal nobles protesting the appointment of a man who was neither a prince nor Norman noble to the office. Joyeuse would have to contend with the power of the Le Veneur and Moy families, which had not been significantly diminished despite the loss of the governorship. Joyeuse for his part would have preferred Languedoc, where he could be sure of some familial strength, but unable to dislodge Montmorency therefore settled for Normandy. Despite not receiving the post officially until that date, awareness of his coming appointment was present prior, as such Joyeuse made his entry into
Rouen as the governor of the province on 25 March of that year and was received with a banner that celebrated the possibility 'afflicted Normandy' might now be in safe hands. He was accompanied on his entrance by the cream of the Norman nobility. Shortly thereafter he left Rouen and travelled to Caen, where he was again received with elaborate festivities, including an allegorical painting which alluded to his role as Admiral by depicting him as Neptune. The position of the Caen elite was sensitive, with the leading men of the city aware of the bitterness of D'O about being relieved of his governate . It was feared D'O would attempt to seize the city in a coup. Joyeuse had difficulty with the
Parlement in registering his appointment, as they protested that Norman liberties dictate that only the heir to the throne or a son of the king could be their governor. Alençon responded by claiming the governate for himself, which according to Le Roux therefore made Joyeuse's appointment a deliberate attempt of the king to limit his brothers ambitions. In April 1583 Henri went further, subordinating the governors of
Rouen,
Le Havre,
Honfleur,
Caen,
Cherbourg and
Granville to Joyeuse. The example of a previous governor of Normandy
Admiral Annebault was deployed to justify this extraordinary arrangement. Despite all the power concentrated into his hands, Normandy would not be easy to govern. The province contained only four ordinance companies, and around 200 infantrymen in Rouen and Le Havre. Joyeuse worked quickly to make a good impression on the Norman nobility, making the king suppress a venal office which was much despised in Normandy. He also worked to impose his control. Back in late 1582, prior to becoming governor, Joyeuse had appointed his naval commander and relative Aymar de Chaste to the post of lieutenant of Caen. This would be followed in 1583 with the establishment of Chaste as lieutenant of Dieppe. He gained a further boon when two important offices were quickly vacated after his ascent, allowing him to choose replacements. The governor of Dieppe died and Joyeuse selected one of his relatives, Chaste to replace him. The following year on 21 June, he was able to take over the governate of Le Havre on the retirement of its incumbent, before choosing to sell the office to
André de Brancas. In Caen he established a vicomte from Languedoc, Gaspard Pelet as governor and
bailli (bailiff). Pelet was the
guidon (Guide) of his ordinance company. With all of these centralising efforts, rumour swirled that Henri was planning to make Joyeuse the duke of Normandy. The appointment of these men from outside the province would however sour things with the Norman nobility. Unlike other royal favourites, his Catholic credentials were impeccable, and this was an asset to him. That was until he appointed a former Protestant Claude Groulard as
premier président (first president) of the Rouen
Parlement in 1585. Groulard did not meet the age requirements of the office and his religious history was objectionable to elements of the nobility. Despite this insult, Joyeuse would largely leave the
Parlementaire dominated administration of Rouen alone, the contemporary de Thou interpreted this as a sign of his disinterest. Henri further eroded Joyeuse's reputation in the province in his efforts to cut down on the number of courtiers present at court, which had grown to around 8000 persons. He wrote to Joyeuse to urge him that Rouen did not need to send more than one merchant to represent their interests to the crown, and that if every town in France cut down like this royal expenses would be significantly reduced. The king himself would visit Normandy, and Joyeuse attempted to convince his brother Cardinal Joyeuse to join him for his entry. The cardinal was displeased by Joyeuse's request, disliking involving himself in the domestic
politics of France.
Pilgrim Joyeuse conducted a 'pilgrimage' to Italy in that year. He travelled at the king's expense with an escort of 30 cavalry men, in total the expedition would cost 100,000
livres. He had been tasked by Henri with travelling to Loretto to intercede with the virgin Mary on Henri's behalf for the birth of an heir. He had further cause to travel as his wife, Marguerite was ill, and he wished to pray for her recovery. He took the opportunity of being in Italy to frequent
Rome, entering the city on 1 July to a lavish reception from
Cardinal d'Este. He fruitlessly tried to mobilise the Pope to take action against the duke of Montmorency, arguing that Montmorency was an ally of Protestantism. He therefore pushed for the Pope to excommunicate Montmorency, but the Pope rebuffed him. While efforts against Montmorency were unsuccessful, Joyeuse was able to convince the Pope to sanction a further alienation of church property, on the grounds that the money raised would be used for a new war against Protestantism. His other effort concerning church land, the trading of the
Comtat Venaissin for the French held marquisate of Saluzzo would not be successful. He also took the opportunity to campaign for his brother François to receive the cardinals hat. Though not having achieved much of what he wanted, Joyeuse left Rome satisfied on 13 July, travelling back to France via all the major cities of northern Italia, in each of which he functioned as something akin to an ambassador. Back at court Joyeuse reported sadly to the king that his expedition had largely been a failure. Indeed, historians have argued that for Joyeuse personally it was more of a failure than in his demands, as his several month absence from court had been used profitably by his rival Épernon.
Montmorency The aggressive opposition of Joyeuse to the great
house of Montmorency occurred concurrently to Épernon declaring himself to be an enemy of the duke of Guise. By this means the two leading aristocratic pillars of previous regimes were attacked. Back in Languedoc Guillaume de Joyeuse continued to push for the king to dismiss Montmorency. Montmorency meanwhile complained incessantly that the duke of Joyeuse was going to have him assassinated. The dispute was still bubbling away in 1585 when Guillaume intercepted a letter in which Montmorency spoke disrespectfully of the king, describing him as engaging in 'unregulated love affairs'. When the king learned of this, he decided to formally dismiss Montmorency in September of that year. Guillaume entered Toulouse in triumph. Montmorency meanwhile accused Joyeuse of working towards his excommunication again, this time through the bishop of Paris. Not long after this though Henri decided that he had gone too far in the dismissal and alongside his mother Catherine began to work to reconcile at least somewhat with Montmorency as an ally against the
ligueur (leaguer) party. In the summer of 1587 Catherine succeeded in a coup, securing several marriage alliances with the Montmorency family. Bouchage was to marry Montmorency's daughter
Marguerite de Montmorency, meanwhile
Charlotte de Montmorency was to marry the bastard child of
Charles IX. Guillaume de Joyeuse would refuse this reconciliation however, and join the
ligue in 1589, while the king returned Languedoc to Montmorency formally in 1589. The chancellor
René de Birague died in November 1583. Both Joyeuse and Épernon were keen to see that their man was chosen by the king to replace him. Joyeuse advocated for his own brother, François de Joyeuse. Épernon meanwhile pushed for the candidacy of the
garde des sceaux Cheverny. In this competition between favourites, Épernon would triumph. In compensation to Joyeuse, Henri would secure François' elevation to cardinal. From November 1583 to February 1584 an
Assembly of Notables convened to consider matters of finance. Among those in attendance were the
princes du sang (Princes of the blood), officers of the crown, and representatives of both Épernon and Joyeuse. For Épernon his brother La Valette advocated the family interests, for Joyeuse his brother Bouchage. They would consider various proposals for the financial reform of the kingdom. Their proposals would be taken seriously with the legislation passed by Henri throughout the year reflecting their suggestions. The king also reigned in his spending on their suggestion, with his budget almost becoming balanced in 1585. Joyeuse would receive further indications of royal favour during 1584. He was permitted to purchase the governate of the important port city of
Le Havre inside his governate of Normandy, and was made governor of the duchy of Alençon upon the death of
Alençon.
Opposition , leading of the second Catholic
ligue In July 1584, the king's brother, and heir to the throne, Alençon died. With his death, the succession defaulted to the distant cousin of the king
Navarre, a Protestant. The prospect of Navarre's succession was seized upon by segments of the Catholic nobility (led by the duke of Guise) who used it as an excuse to re-found the
Catholic Ligue (League). The favour shown to Joyeuse and Épernon greatly aggrieved segments of the French nobility. Both men were subject to pointed criticism, without being explicitly named, in the
Manifesto of Péronne issued by the reconstituted Catholic League for enabling the path to the throne of a 'heretic'. The manifesto went on to accuse them of depriving nobles of their rightful titles and others of their offices so as to monopolise authority over the army. Indeed opposition to Henri's choice of favourites proved a great driver in the movement at the aristocratic level. Increasingly concerned by the rumblings of opposition, Henri undertook to establish a new bodyguard. This new bodyguard would be known as the
quarante-cinq (Forty Five). The members of the new bodyguard were selected by Épernon and Joyeuse from among their various vassals and clients in the
noblesse seconde (secondary nobility). Of the 45 men, 35% would be of Gascon extraction, while 27% would be from Joyeuse's power base in eastern Languedoc. The two men provided money to the new bodyguards so that they might buy the horses necessary to fulfil their duties. As he brought forth this new institution, Henri dismissed many in his court, further swelling the ranks of the opposition who derided the
quarante-cinq as a collection of 'low-born Gascon thugs'. The English ambassador for his part characterised it as an institution primarily designed to protect the favourites themselves. Having played a great role in the foundation of the institution, Joyeuse would also have a roll to play in its leadership. When the English ambassador
the Earl of Derby visited in 1585 to present the king with the English
Order of the Garter, Joyeuse took charge of the
quarante cinq which guarded the king's chamber and afforded Derby his entrance. Joyeuse was afforded access to the ''conseil d'État
(Council of State) by Henri towards the end of 1581. However unlike many other men that surrounded the king, he did not participate regularly. In total he would participate in the council only once, on 8 January 1585, outside of that he was absent. Despite being included as an official member by the règlement de 1585
(rules of 1585), Joyeuse rarely attended the conseil des finances
(Council of Finances). Naval matters would sometimes compel his presence, as when he evoked the expenditure of the Norman navy, or when he had matters to settle concerning the payment of Corsican sailors. Joyeuse was on occasion admitted to the conseil ordinaire du roi
(Ordinary Council of the king), however only if a matter concerned his interests. He would however be a staple of the conseil privé'' (Private Council) where matters of sensitivity were discussed. Much of the important decision making Henri undertook occurred outside the confines of formal council. ==Decline and death==