La Trémoille's father, Claude, had converted to
Protestantism during the
French Wars of Religion, but La Trémoille converted to
Catholicism around the time
Cardinal Richelieu and
Louis XIII suppressed the
Huguenot rebellion at the
siege of La Rochelle in 1628. His wife sent the children to her relatives in the Netherlands, making sure they were brought up Calvinist. She also maintained a Reformed court with church services, something which her husband tolerated. Following the siege, La Trémoille continued to serve in the French army, being wounded in action in Italy. Following that campaign, La Trémoille switched to a political career. In 1668, affected by
gout, Henri, left the business of his duchy to his elder son. He died on 21 January 1674, at seventy-five years of age, and was buried in Thouars. ==Ancestry and claims==