Charles of Provence or Charles II (845 – 25 January 863) was the Carolingian

King of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

from 855 until his early death in 863. Charles was the youngest son of Emperor Lothair I and

Ermengarde of Tours Ermengarde of Tours (- 20 Mar 851) was daughter of Hugh of Tours and Ava of Morvois. In October 821 in Thionville, Ermengarde married the Carolingian Emperor Lothair I of the Franks (795–855). Ermengarde used her bridal gift to found the abb ...

. His father divided

Middle Francia Middle Francia ( la, Francia media) was a short-lived Frankish kingdom which was created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun after an intermittent civil war between the grandsons of Charlemagne resulted in division of the united empire. Middle Franc ...

between his three sons: the eldest,

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

, received

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the emperorship; Lothair II received

Lotharingia Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

(modern

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

, the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, and

Upper Burgundy The Kingdom of Upper Burgundy was a Frankish dominion established in 888 by the Welf king Rudolph I of Burgundy on the territory of former Middle Francia. It grew out of the Carolingian margraviate of Transjurane Burgundy (''Transjurania'', ...

); and the youngest, Charles, received

Lower Burgundy The Kingdom of Lower Burgundy, or Cisjurane Burgundy, was a historical kingdom in what is now southeastern France, so-called because it was lower down the Rhône Valley than Upper Burgundy. It included some of the territory of the Kingdom of ...

. Charles was only a child when his father died; and the governance of his realm was undertaken by his tutor, Count Girart de Roussillon, whose wife had been a sister-in-law of Lothar I. Girart was a vigorous regent, defending the kingdom from the Northmen, who raided up the Rhone as far as Valence. Charles' uncle

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

attempted to intervene in Provence in 861. After receiving an appeal for intervention from the Count of Arles, he invaded Provence, but only reached Macon, being restrained by Hincmar of Rheims. Charles of Provence never ruled his realm in anything more than name. It was Girart, rather than he, who in 858 arranged that should Charles die without children, Provence would revert to Charles' brother Lothair II. However, when Charles died, his elder brother Louis II also claimed Provence, so the realm was divided between the two: Lothair received the bishoprics of Lyon, Vienne and Grenoble, to be governed by Gerard; Louis II received Arles, Aix and Embrun.

Ancestry

Rulers of the Carolingian Empire Medieval child rulers 9th-century births 863 deaths 9th-century rulers in Europe Kings of Lower Burgundy Sons of emperors {{France-noble-stub