He is known for his mental illness and psychotic episodes that plagued him throughout his life. Charles ascended the throne at age 11, his father Charles V leaving behind a favorable military situation, marked by the reconquest of most of the English possessions in France. He decided in , aged 20, to emancipate himself. In , while leading a military expedition against the Duchy of Brittany , the king had his first attack of delirium , during which he attacked his own men in the forest of Le Mans.
A few months later, following the Bal des Ardents January where he narrowly escaped death from burning, Charles was again placed under the regency of his uncles, the Dukes of Berry and Burgundy. From then on, and until his death, Charles alternated between periods of mental instability and lucidity. Power was held by his influential uncles and by his wife, Queen Isabeau. In , Charles's army was crushed by the English at the Battle of Agincourt. Henry was thus made regent and heir to the throne of France, and Charles married his daughter Catherine to Henry.
However, Henry died shortly before Charles, which gave the House of Valois the chance to continue the fight against the House of Lancaster , leading to eventual Valois victory and the end of the Hundred Years' War in Charles was succeeded in law by his grandson Henry V's son , the infant Henry VI of England , but Charles's own son was crowned first in Reims Cathedral and was widely regarded even before his coronation as the true heir by the French people.
At his father's death on 16 September , Charles inherited the throne of France. His coronation took place on 4 November at Reims Cathedral. During his minority, France was ruled by Charles's uncles as regents. Although the royal age of majority was 14 the " age of accountability " under Roman Catholic canon law , Charles was 21 when he formally terminated the regency. Philip took the dominant role during the regency.
Louis of Anjou was fighting for his claim to the Kingdom of Naples after , dying in ; John of Berry was concerned only with his interests in Languedoc , [ 4 ] and not particularly enthusiastic with royal politics; and Louis of Bourbon was a largely unimportant figure, owing to his eccentric personality showing signs of mental illness and low status since he did not belong to the royal bloodline. During the regency, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposing.
