Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans
| Charles II de Valois | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Orléans | |
 |
|
| Born | 22 January 1522 |
| Died | 9 September 1545 (aged 23) |
| House | Valois-Angoulême |
| Father | Francis I of France |
| Mother | Claude of France |
Charles II of Orléans (22 January 1522 – 9 September 1545) was the third son of Francis I and Claude of France.
From his birth until the death of his oldest brother Francis, Dauphin of France (Francis I's eldest son), in 1536, Charles was known as the Duke of Angoulême. After his brother's death, he became Duke of Orléans, a titled previously held by his surviving brother Henry, who had succeeded Francis as Dauphin and would later become King of France as Henry II.
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. 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, Henry, who never seemed to recover from his years of captivity in Spain.
In 1540 he was granted the title of Count of Clermont.
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 Henry, he headed south. Luxembourg was lost and retaken several times during the war.
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 Infanta 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.
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