Born in 1599 - Died in Nantes in 1626.
A 17th century gentleman, master of Louis XIII's wardrobe, and his favourite. He leads a disorderly and inconsistent life. Lover of the Duchess of Chevreuse, he first conspired against Richelieu and the king but was forgiven, on the condition of pushing Gaston d'Orléans to marry Mademoiselle de Montpensier.
Chalais took good care of it and, on the contrary, entered into a new plot in 1626, with Anne of Austria and Gaston of Orléans. Denounced and arrested, he was sentenced to death after a rather unfair trial, his judges having promised him his life if he denounced his accomplices, which he did. He was nevertheless beheaded in Nantes, and it is said that the executioner, a novice, had to try thirty-four times before separating his head from his body.