Born in Vendôme, he was the fifth son of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme. His mother was Françoise d'Alençon, the eldest daughter of René, Duke of Alençon, and Margaret of Lorraine. His older brother Antoine de Bourbon married Jeanne d'Albret. Their son, Condé's nephew, became Henry IV of France. Condé's cousin, through his father - who was the brother of Antoinette de Bourbon - was Mary of Guise. As a soldier in the French army, Condé fought at the Siege of Metz in 1552, when Francis, Duke of Guise successfully defended the city from the forces of Emperor Charles V, and again at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557. Whilst returning from a campaign in Italy, Louis stopped in Geneva to hear a sermon. After his conversion to Protestantism, he is suspected to have become involved in the Conspiracy of Amboise in 1560, a plot by the Huguenots and members of the House of Bourbon to abduct the adolescent King Francis II and usurp the power of the House of Guise, who were the leaders of the Catholic party. The plot failed, leading to the massacre of many Huguenots. Condé was arrested in late October 1560, but later released 20 December 1560, upon the Kings death. On 2 April 1562, Condé, commanding a Huguenot army, captured Orléans, with it he issued a draft stating that King Charles IX was being held hostage by the House of Guise. However, Queen-mother Catherine de' Medici proclaimed she and her son were not hostages and that Condé's actions were unlawful and constituted a rebellion. Condé was captured at the battle of Dreux in 1562. At Orléans, the duke of Guise was assassinated, and when the Queen's fears that the war might drag on led her to negotiate a truce, Condé negotiated the Peace of Amboise with the Catholic party in 1563, which gave the Huguenots some religious toleration. In the Battle of Jarnac, Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé was killed after his surrender and his body paraded on a donkey in Jarnac, to Catholic jeers. His son, Henri, also became a Huguenot general.
Children
Condé married in 1551 Eléanor de Roucy de Roye, heiress of Charles de Roye. She brought as her dowry the château and small town of Conti-sur-Selles, southwest of Amiens, which would pass to their third son, progenitor of the princes de Conti. They had:
Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons b. 3 Nov 1566, Nogent le Rotrou
Louis de Bourbon b. 1567
Benjamin de Bourbon b. 1569
He allegedly fathered a son by his mistress Isabelle de Limeuil, who served as Maid of Honour to Catherine de' Medici and was a member of her notorious group of female spies known at the French court as the "Flying Squadron". He vigorously denied paternity much to Isabelle's chagrin.
