He was a son of René of Savoy and Anne of Lascaris. He accompanied Henry II of France on his 1552 trip to Lorraine and in 1553 relieved the town of Hesdin from its siege by the prince of Piedmont. He was wounded at battle of Saint-Quentin on 10 August 1557, though this did not stop him relieving Corbie from its Spanish siege. He accompanied Charles IX of France on his grand tour of France and in 1567 assisted at the Assemblée des Grands de France held at Moulins. He fought zealously against the Huguenots, fighting at Saint-Denis and Moncontour.