Charles, Count of Valois

Charles, count of Valois, lived from 12 March 1270 to 16 December 1325 and was a member of the House of Capet and the founder of the House of Valois, which ruled over France from 1328 to 1589. He was the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon. He held the counties of Valois, Alençon and Perche in appanage, and became Count of Anjou and Maine through his first marriage to Margaret, Countess of Anjou. Through his second marriage to Catherine I, Latin Empress of Constantinople, he was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1301 to 1307, although he ruled from exile with authority only over Crusader States in Greece. As a son, brother, brother-in-law and son-in-law of kings or queens, he was heir presumptive to the French throne from 1322 to 1324 and again from 1324 until his death, and his eldest son became King Philip VI of France.