 The position was frequently given to the highest of the nobility or to the king's close friends.Francis I conferred it upon his former teacher Artus Gouffier, then to his uncle René de Savoie, the "grand bâtard de Savoie", then to his friend Anne, duc de Montmorency.In 1559, with the dismissal of Montmorency, the office fell into the hands of the Dukes of Guise, who used the position to increase their influence at court to such a point that Henry III forced Henry I, Duke of Guise to reduce his scope of authority.