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Charles of Valois 1270-1325
French nobleman

The second son of Philip III of France and Isabelle of Aragon, he was put forward as French claimant to the Kingdom of Aragon which he was unable to conquer (1283-89), eventually receiving Anjou and Maine (1290) as compensation. He continued to figure in the diplomatic schemes of his brother Philip IV as unsuccessful candidate for the thrones of Constantinople (Istanbul) from 1301 to 1307 and the Holy Roman Empire in 1308, and achieved great influence during the short reigns of Philip's three sons Louis X, Philip V (1293-1322) and Charles IV, commanding French armies in Guyenne and Flanders. Three years after his death, his only son, Philip VI, became the first of the Valois Kings of France.