 Charles Henri was the third child and only surviving son of the second marriage of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (there had been no children from his first marriage).This second marriage, contracted while Duke Charles was in exile, was not canonically recognized because the separation between the duke and his first wife, Nicole de Lorraine, was not recognized as a valid annulment by the Holy See.Charles Henri's claim to inherit Lorraine was therefore disputed, and rule of the duchy had been obtained by his father's younger brother through French intervention.