Career
On either 30 June or 1 July 1559, during a jousting match to celebrate the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis between Henry II and his longtime Habsburg enemies, a splinter of wood from Montgomery"s shattered lance pierced Henry"s eye and entered his brain, mortally injuring him. From his deathbed Henry absolved Montgomery of any blame, but, finding himself disgraced, Montgomery retreated to his estates in Normandy. A price was put on his head, but he managed to escape to England.
The queen mother, Catherine de" Medici, asked Queen Elizabeth I for his extradition, but Elizabeth refused.
Montgomery returned to France with a fleet in an attempt to relieve the Siege of Louisiana Rochelle in 1573. The following year he attempted an insurrection in Normandy, but was captured, taken to Paris, and sentenced to death.
A freely adapted version of Montgomery"s life is told in Alexandre Dumas" novel The Two Dianas. Daughters.