François du Plessis de Richelieu

François du Plessis, sieur de Richelieu was a French noble, military officer, and royal official during the French Wars of Religion. Born into an obscure noble family from Poitou, Richelieu began his career in the service of the Montpensier. He fought in the third war of religion under the command of the son of the duke of Montpensier at Jarnac and Moncontour. He again fought under the Montpensier, this time prince de Dombes during the fifth war of religion. It was on the recommendation of the Montpensier that Richelieu was elevated to the post of Grand Prévôt de l'Hôtel in February 1578, which the king combined with the new office of Grand Prévôt de France, giving him police authority both over the king's household and France at large. He would take to this role with enthusiasm, becoming a consistent advocate of the royal will. By the 1580s he had become a major creditor of the monarchy, serving as the intermediary between Italian banking families and the crown, this eventually brought him into financial ruin.