MONTMORENCY, HENRI II. – Son of Enrico I, b. at Chantilly on 30 April 1595, d. at Tolosa on 30 October 1632. Enrico IV entrusted him with the government of Languedoc. In 1612 Luigi XIII appointed him admiral. In 1625 he defeated the rebel Soubise; in 1629–30 he took part in the campaign in Piedmont, winning at Avigliano and Saluzzo.
The policy of monarchical centralization pursued by Richelieu was necessarily bound to drive M. into opposition, as one of the most authoritative representatives of the old aristocracy. The failure to grant him the office of constable was merely an occasional cause of the breach. In 1630, when the cardinal’s position was thought to have been shaken and his fall imminent, Gastone d'Orléans placed himself at the head of the discontented. But the journée des dupes unexpectedly reaffirmed Richelieu’s power. Gastone tried his luck with arms: defeated, he fled to Nancy. M. had joined the rebel, attempting to raise Languedoc. But the province did not follow him, and M., defeated at Castelnaudary by Marshal de Schomberg, fell prisoner. Richelieu had him executed. This execution marked the cardinal’s triumph, depriving the French nobility of any hope of preventing the consolidation of royal absolutism.