Louis de Clermont, seigneur de Bussy d'Amboise (1549–1579) was a gentleman at the court of French king of Henri III, a swordsman, dandy, and a lover of both sexes. He was one of the favorites, or "mignons", of Monsieur, brother of the king.[1] He was a cousin of François d'Amboise.
Of a noble family (high grand-uncle was a cardinal), he entered the service of prince François, Duke of Anjou, the younger brother and rival of Henri III. Bussy became well-known at court as Anjou's "favorite" and later became the lover of princess Marguerite de Valois.
Bussy made fun of the favorites of the king and frequently fought duels with them. He helped François d'Anjou flee from the court where Henri III held him prisoner.
He was a main participant in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572), when he assassinated, among others, his relative Antoine de Clermont. While later attempting to seduce the wife of Charles de Chambes, Count of Montsoreau, he was trapped and killed by her husband.
Bussy d'Amboise is the hero of the play Bussy D'Ambois (1607) by English playwright George Chapman, written twenty years after D'Amboise's death. He is also the hero of the novel La Dame de Monsoreau by Alexandre Dumas, père, also sometimes entitled "Chicot the Jester". The character of Bussy, as is frequently the case with Dumas, seems to be based in large part on historical fact. He is also one of main characters in the play Henri III et sa cour (1829) by the same author.