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Charles of Valois (1391-1465) became Duke of Orléans in 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis of Valois. He was also Duke of Milan, through his mother Valentina Visconti, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. He is now remembered as an accomplished poet.
Charles was one of the many French noblemen wounded in the Battle of Agincourt on (October 25, 1415), captured and taken to England as a hostage. He was then in his mid-twenties and would remain in captivity for the next twenty-five years. The conditions of his confinement were not strict; he was allowed to live more or less in the manner to which he had become accustomed, like so many other captured nobles. However he was not offered release in exchange for a ransom, possibly due to his close relationship with the French royal family. Restored to his home territory, he made a feeble attempt to regain the lost lands of Orléans, before settling down to end his life as Count of Blois, where he became a celebrated patron of the arts.
Charles married three times. His first wife Isabella of Valois (widow of Richard II of England), died in childbirth, after which he married Bonne of Armagnac in 1410. Bonne died before he returned from captivity. On his return to France, Charles married Marie of Cléves and finally had a son, the future King Louis XII of France.
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