Louis de Bourbon, 1st Prince of Condé was a prominent Huguenot leader and general, the founder of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. Coming from a position of relative political unimportance during the reign of Henri II, Condé's support for the Huguenots, along with his leading role in the conspiracy of Amboise and its aftermath, pushed him to the centre of French politics. Arrested during the reign of Francis II then released upon the latter's premature death, he would lead the Huguenot forces in the first three civil wars of the French Wars of Religion before being executed after his defeat at the Battle of Jarnac in 1569.
Louis I, Prince of Condé
The Conspiracy of Amboise, by Jean Perrisin and Jacque Tortorel
The Battle of Dreux in which Condé was captured.
Condé and his cavalry seek to seize the king at the Surprise of Meaux
The Most Serene House of Bourbon-Condé, named after Condé-en-Brie, was a French princely house and a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. The name of the house was derived from the title of Prince of Condé that was originally assumed around 1557 by the French Protestant leader Louis de Bourbon (1530–1569), uncle of King Henry IV of France, and borne by his male-line descendants.
The Château de Chantilly at the time of the Grand Condé
Image: Louis Ier de Bourbon, 1er prince de Condé (1530 1569)
Image: Henri Ier prince de Condé
Image: Henri I Ide Bourbon Conde
