François de Bassompierre François de Bassompierre ( April 12 , 1579 – October 12 , 1646 ) was a French courtier . The son of Christophe de Bassompierre ( 1547 – 1596 ) , he was born at the castle of Haroué in Lorraine . He was descended from an old family which had for generations served the dukes of Burgundy and Lorraine , and after being educated with his brothers in Bavaria and Italy , was introduced to the court of King Henry IV of France in 1598 . He became a great favourite of the king and shared to the full in the dissipations of court life . In 1600 , he took part in the brief campaign in Savoy , and in 1603 fought in Hungary against the Turks for emperor Rudolf II . In 1614 , he assisted Marie de ' Medici , now queen mother , in her struggle against the nobles , but upon her failure in 1617 remained loyal to the young king Louis XIII and assisted the royalists when they routed Marie ' s supporters at Les Ponts - de - Cé in 1620 . His services during the Huguenot rising of 1621 - 1622 won for him the dignity of marshal of France . He was with the army of the king during the siege of La Rochelle in 1628 , and in 1629 distinguished himself in the campaign against the Huguenot rebels of Languedoc , especially at the Siege of Privas . In 1615 Bassompierre had purchased from Henri , duc de Rohan , the coveted position of colonelgeneral of the Swiss and Grisons ; on this account he was sent to raise troops in Switzerland when Louis XIII marched against Savoy in 1629 , and after a short campaign in Italy his military career ended . As a diplomat , his career was a failure . In 1621 , he went to Madrid as envoy extraordinary to arrange the dispute concerning the seizure of the Valtelline forts by Spain , and signed the fruitless Treaty of Madrid . In 1625 , he was sent into Switzerland on an equally futile mission , and in 1626 to London to secure the retention of the Catholic ecclesiastics and attendants of Henrietta Maria , wife of King Charles I of England . The personal influence of Henry IV had deterred Bassompierre from a marriage with Charlotte de Montmorency , daughter of the constable Montmorency , afterwards princesse de Condé , and between 1614 and 1630 he was secretly married to Louise Marguerite , widow of François , prince de Conti , and through her became implicated in the plot to overthrow Richelieu on the " Day of the Dupes " ( 1630 ) . His share was only a slight one , but his wife was an intimate friend of Marie de ' Medici , and her hostility to the cardinal aroused his suspicions . By Richelieu ' s orders , Bassompierre was arrested at Senlis on February 25 , 1631 , and put into the Bastille , where he remained until Richelieu ' s death in 1643 . On his release his offices were restored to him , and he passed most of his time at the castle of Tillières in Normandy , until his death . He left a son , François de la Tour , by the princesse de Conti ( Louise Marguerite de Lorraine ) , and an illegitimate son , Louis de Bassompierre , afterwards Bishop of Saintes . His " Mémoires " , which are an important source for the history of his time , were first published at Cologne in 1665 . He also left an incomplete account of his embassies to Spain , Switzerland and England ( Cologne , 1668 ) and a number of discourses upon various subjects .