Elder son of Pepin the Short and Bertrade of Laon. Consecrated with his father and younger brother Carloman in 754. The kingdom was divided between the two brothers on the death of Pepin, with Charles obtaining Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitaine. The death of his brother in 771 allowed him to reunify the kingdom. He was crowned emperor of the West by Pope Leo III in Rome on December 25, 800.
