Editing Charles the Simple (section)

== Early life ==
Charles was the third and [[posthumous son]] of King [[Louis the Stammerer]] by his second wife [[Adelaide of Paris]].<ref name="ESII1">{{cite book |last1=Schwennicke |first1=Detlev |last2=Isenburg |first2=Wilhelm Karl von |last3=Freytag von Loringhoven |first3=Frank |title=Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der europäischen Staaten: neue Folge. |trans-title=European family tables: Family tables on the history of European states: new series |volume=Bd. 2, Die ausserdeutschen Staaten: die regierenden Häuser der übrigen Staaten europas [Vol. 2, The non-German states: the ruling houses of the other European states] |publisher=Verlag von J. A. Stargardt |publication-place=Marburg |year=1984 |oclc=750595132 |language=de |at=Tafel 1}}</ref> As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne at the time of the death in 884 of his half-brother, king [[Carloman II of France|Carloman II]].<ref>''The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919–966'', ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: [[University of Toronto Press]], 2011), p. xv</ref> Instead, Frankish nobles of the realm asked his cousin, Emperor [[Charles the Fat]], to assume the crown.<ref>Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe'', trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 216</ref> He was also prevented from succeeding the unpopular Charles the Fat, who was deposed in November 887 and died in January 888, although it is unknown if his overthrow was accepted or even made known in [[West Francia]] before his death. The nobility then elected [[Odo of France|Odo]], the hero of the [[Siege of Paris (885–886)]] as the new king, although there was a faction that supported claims of [[Guy III of Spoleto]]. The young Charles was put under the protection of [[Ranulf II of Aquitaine|Ranulf II]], the [[Duke of Aquitaine]], who may have tried to claim the throne for him and in the end used the royal title himself until making peace with Odo.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}