Religion
Antoine appears not to have had real religious conviction and officially changed religions several times. His reconversion to Catholicism separated him from his wife and he threatened to repudiate her. He had an affair with Louise de La Béraudière de l'Isle Rouhet, "la belle Rouet," with whom he had a son, Charles III de Bourbon (1554–1610) who became archbishop of Rouen.
Although his brother Louis was the head of the Protestant faction, Antoine spent most of his life fighting for the King of France. Catherine de' Medici, regent for her son Charles IX, named him lieutenant general of the kingdom in 1561. When his wife allowed the Huguenots to sack the chapel of Vendôme and the churches of the town in 1562, he threatened to send her to a convent. She took refuge in Béarn.
Antoine was vain and unstable. He often disappointed his followers and was manipulated by his superiors and out-witted by his adversaries.
He laid siege to Rouen and was mortally wounded on 13 November 1562. He died at Les Andelys, Eure.
Read more about this topic: Antoine Of Navarre
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