Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans

Charles d'Angoulême, Duke of Orléans (22 January 1522 – 9 September 1545) was the third son of King Francis I of France and Claude of France, daughter of Louis XII of France.

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Duke of Orléans

Upon the death of Francis, Dauphin of France (Francis I's eldest son) in 1536, Charles became Duc d'Orléans, a titled he received from his brother Henri, who was now dauphin and later Henry II of France.

By all accounts, he was the most handsome of Francis I's sons. Smallpox made him blind in one eye, but it seems that it was not noticeable. He was known for his wild antics, his practical jokes and his extravagance and frivolousness, which his father approved of wholeheartedly.[1] He was, by far, his father's favorite son. In addition, he was popular with everyone at his father's court, and it was widely believed that the French nobility of the time would have much preferred to have him as the Dauphin as opposed to his downcast brother, Henri, who never seemed to recover from his years of captivity in Spain.[1]

French Monarchy-
Capetian Dynasty, House of Valois
(Valois-Angoulême branch)

Francis I
Children
   Francis, Dauphin of Viennois
   Henry II
   Magdalene, Queen of Scots
   Charles of Valois
   Margaret, Duchess of Savoy
Henry II
Children
   Francis II
   Elizabeth, Queen of Spain
   Claude, Duchess of Lorraine
   Louis, Duke of Orléans
   Charles IX
   Henry III
   Margaret, Queen of Navarre
   Francis, Duke of Anjou
   Joan of Valois
   Victoria of Valois
Francis II
Charles IX
Henry III

In 1542, Francis I and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor again went to war against each other. Charles fought and captured Luxembourg, but then fearful that he would miss the glory of Perpignan, which was under siege by the Dauphin Henri, he headed south. Luxembourg was lost and retaken several times during the war.

Marriage arrangements

On 19 September 1544, the Treaty of Crépy was signed. Charles had a choice to marry one of two relatives of the Emperor:

One option was Maria of Spain, daughter of Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, with the Netherlands or the Low Countries of Franche-Comté as her dowry.

The other option was Anna of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I, King of Hungary and Bohemia and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. She was a niece of Charles V through her father and would receive Milan as her dowry. As the groom's father, Francis I was expected by the Treaty to endow his son with Angoulême, Châtellerault, Bourbon and Orléans.

The Peace of Crépy deeply offended Charle's elder brother the Dauphin Henri and his wife, Catherine de' Medici. As a minor point, Henri considered Milan to be his birthright anyway, as the heir of Valentina Visconti. More importantly, his brother Charles would by this settlement become as powerful as a monarch, and would be supported by the Emperor, dividing French interests, and creating a strategic nightmare. Many historians believe that this is exactly what Charles V, hoping to use Prince Charles as an adversary against Henri, had in mind.

Death

The rivalry between Charles and his brother, the Dauphin Henri, was potentially dangerous. However, it solved itself with the death of Charles. In the autumn of 1545, Charles was on his way (with his brother, the Dauphin) to Boulogne, which was under siege. On 6 September, they came across a cluster of houses that had been emptied and sealed off "from the plague" -- probably a form of influenza. Stating that "no son of a King of France ever died of plague", Charles entered some of the infected houses with his brother.[2] Laughing, he slashed at bedding with his sword and started a pillow fight with some of his traveling companions. Stories have also been told of him (on a dare) lying down on one of the infected beds and rolling around on the bedding. Later that evening, after dining with his father and brother, he took suddenly ill, suffering from pain, a high fever, vomiting and shaking limbs. His brother rushed to his sickroom immediately, but was barred from entering, being physically restrained on three occasions.

Charles died on 9 September 1545. Some thought that he had been poisoned, but most agreed that it was the "plague" that killed him. He is buried next to his father, Francis I and his brother, the Dauphin Francis at the Abbey of Saint-Denis.

At the time of his death, he possessed the Duchies of Angoulême, Bourbon, and Châtellerault.

Anecdotes

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Seward, Desmond (1973). Prince of the Renaissance: The Golden Life of François I. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. p. 228. 
  2. ^ Seward, Desmond (1973). Prince of the Renaissance: The Golden Life of François I. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. p. 241. 
Dukes of Orléans
Currant claimants