Charles I, commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–1285) and Forcalquier in the Holy Roman Empire, Count of Anjou and Maine (1246–1285) in France; he was also King of Sicily (1266–1285) and Prince of Achaea (1278–1285). In 1272, he was proclaimed King of Albania, and in 1277 he purchased a claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Head from portrait statue [fr; it; nl] by Arnolfo di Cambio, c. 1277
The crusaders' defeat in the Battle of Al Mansurah, forcing them to abandon the invasion of Egypt. During the withdrawal, the Egyptians captured Charles and his two brothers, Louis IX of France and Alphonse of Poitiers.
Salt crystals in a puddle in Camargue. Salt pans at the delta of the Rhone significantly increased Charles's revenues in Provence.
Charles is crowned King of Sicily in Rome (1266), illustration from the next century
The Capetian dynasty, also known as the "House of France", is a dynasty of European origin, and a branch of the Robertians and the Karlings. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favour of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans.
Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon are still reigning over Spain and Luxembourg.
Charles the Bold as a boy stands next to his father, Philip the Good, c. 1447–8