Antoine, 1st comte de Noailles (4 September 150411 March 1563) became admiral of France, and was ambassador in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for three years, 1553–1556, maintaining a gallant but unsuccessful rivalry with the Spanish ambassador,

Simon Renard Simon Renard, Sieur of Bermont and Lieutenant of Aumont or Amont, (1513- 8 August 1573) was a Burgundian diplomat who served as an advisor to Emperor Charles V and his son Philip II of Spain, who were also counts of Burgundy. Renard had the ...

. Antoine was the eldest of three brothers who served as French diplomats, three of the 19 children of Louis de Noailles and Catherine de Pierre-Buffière. His career started at the age of 25 with a trip with Francis de la Tour,

Viscount of Turenne A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, to Spain to arrange the marriage of

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

with

Eleanor of Austria Eleanor of Austria (15 November 1498 – 25 February 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became Queen consort of Portugal (1518–152 ...

, and he signed the final marriage contract. He then helped in the Italian wars and two missions to Scotland in 1548. His brothers Gilles and

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

were clergymen. His wife was

Jeanne de Gontaut Jeanne de Gontaut, Countess of Noailles (c. 1520 26 September 1586), was a French noblewoman and the wife of Antoine de Noailles, Admiral of France and French Ambassador to England from 1553 to 1556. Following her husband's death in 1562, Jeanne be ...

, who following his death, became a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

to Catherine de Medici.

Notes

References

* * * Attribution: * 1504 births 1562 deaths Antoine, 1st count of

Antoine Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

16th-century French diplomats French Navy admirals Ambassadors of France to England People of the Tudor period Court of Mary I of England {{France-noble-stub