Charles de La Cerda(French: Charles d'Espagne) Franco-Castilian nobleman and soldier, was the son of Alfonso de la Cerda (died 1327) and Isabelle d'Antoing.

A boyhood companion and favorite of John, Duke of Normandy

John II of France

John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...

, he commanded the Castilian

Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

 galleys at the Battle of L'Espagnols-sur-Mer, where he was defeated by Edward III of England

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

 after a long and desperate struggle. Soon after John's accession as John II of France, he was appointed Constable of France

Constable of France

The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...

 and created Count of Angoulême. Vacant since the death of Joan II of Navarre

Joan II of Navarre

Joan II was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only daughter of Margaret of Burgundy, first wife of King Louis X of France...

 in 1349, the title to Angoulême

Angoulême

-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...

 was claimed by her son, Charles II of Navarre

Charles II of Navarre

Charles II , called "Charles the Bad", was King of Navarre 1349-1387 and Count of Évreux 1343-1387....

, who bitterly resented La Cerda's preferment. In 1351, he married Marguerite, daughter of Charles of Blois

Charles, Duke of Brittany

Charles of Blois , claimed the title Duke of Brittany, from 1341 to his death.Charles is the son of Guy I of Blois-Châtillon, count of Blois, by Margaret of Valois, a sister of king Philip VI of France. He was a devout man, who took piety to the extreme of mortifying his own flesh...

.

In 1354, ruffians hired by the King of Navarre set upon and slew de la Cerda in an inn.