instigating incident for the French Wars of Religion. Aumale served the crown throughout the first war, repeatedly trying to besiege Rouen without success, before the main royal army arrived with sufficient force to subdue the town. He failed to stop François de Coligny d'Andelot bringing mercenaries into the kingdom to reinforce the rebel cause. He was wounded at the Battle of Dreux in December. In January his brother was assassinated, leaving him and Lorraine as heads of the family. Guise's son inherited his governorship of Champagne. Aumale would act as de facto governor until the young Guise attained his majority. He played a far more active role in the governance of Champagne than his own government of Burgundy. Meanwhile he and his family prosecuted a bitter vendetta against Gaspard II de Coligny who they blamed for the assassination of Guise. This culminated in skirmishes in Paris, before the king was able to enforce a peace in 1566 between the parties. Aumale continued to fight in the second and third civil wars, but was repeatedly unable to stop incursions into France by German reiters in favour of the rebels. While he was not involved in the planning of the liquidation of the Protestant leadership he was intimately involved in the killing of the Protestant leaders on 24 August 1572 that would spiral out of control into the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew. The following year he was among the nobles present at the siege of La Rochelle where he was killed on 3 March 1573. Early life and family Family Claude II de Lorraine, duc d'Aumale, was born in 1526, the third son of Claude, Duke of Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon. The eldest son François, Duke of Guise was 7 years his elder, while Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine was born in 1524. Louis I, Cardinal of Guise was born in 1527, while François de Lorraine was born in 1534. The youngest Guise son René, Marquis of Elbeuf was born in 1536. Meanwhile his sisters Mary of Guise, Louise of Guise, Reneé of Guise and Antoinette of Guise were born in 1515, 1520, 1522 and 1531 respectively. Louise de Brézé On 1 August 1547 he married Louise de Brézé (c. 1518 – January 1577), dame d'Anet, the daughter of Louis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, and Diane de Poitiers in one of the key political marriages of the decade. Diane gifted her new