Actual power fell to two of Henri II's favourites, the duc de Guise duke of Guise and cardinal de Lorraine who quickly moved to assert a monopoly of their authority over the administration of the kingdom.
Royal patronage would flow to them and their clients, with those of their rival, Constable Montmorency quickly starved of royal favour.
Having been left with ruinous debts by Henri, they undertook a campaign of aggressive austerity which further alienated many grandees and soldiers who were not shielded from its effects as the clients of the Lorraine brothers were. To this end aggrieved Protestants and political opponents of the Lorraine brothers administration formulated a conspiracy to assume control of the king and end the Lorraine administration. This manifested in an attempted conspiracy at Amboise in March Guise and Lorraine were able to suppress the conspiracy, crushing it brutally.
While Amboise had been suppressed at the court, its aftershocks continued to be felt across France, with various disorders, particularly in the south of France. The Lorraine administration attempted to crush the embers of the revolt. At the same time they abandoned the persecutory policy of Henri II and differentiated 'heresy' from 'sedition' for the first time. An Assembly of Notables was called to advise on the kingdom's problems in August and it resolved on the convoking of an Estates General and a national church council.
At the assembly, Montmorency's nephew Admiral Coligny established himself as a leading voice of the Protestants, representing several of their petitions, much to the annoyance of the Lorraine government. Catherine de' Medici , the young king's mother, moved to the centre of the political stage as de facto regent for her second son Charles IX. To assume this position she negotiated with Navarre, who as premier prince du sang had a right to the regency.
