Son of Louis de Bourbon-Condé, Henri is one of the leaders of the Protestant party, he holds a grudge against the Guises and the Duc d'Anjou after the humiliation of his father's corpse. Present at Saint-Barthélemy, he only saved his life by renouncing Protestantism. Assigned to residence at the Court with his cousin Navarre, he fled to the South and took the head of the Protestant army (4th, 5th and 6th wars of religion). His first wife Marie de Clèves had turned the head of the future Duke of Anjou Henry III, who went into depression when the young woman died. His second wife, Charlotte de la Trémoille, is probably one of those responsible for his assassination for a story of adultery.
Born in Rotterdam in Holland, his father is a priest. He himself was ordained in 1492. In 1499, he made a trip to England during which he met Thomas More. It is to this philosopher that Erasmus dedicates one of his major works:Eloge de la folie , published in 1511, a true satire of social classes.