Nonetheless, he spent most of his life in Spain, including his final years in a Spanish monastery. He could not speak Spanish very well, as it was not his primary language. Though Spain was the core of his possessions, he was never totally assimilated and especially in his earlier years felt as if he were viewed as a foreign prince.
Charles also inherited the tradition of political and dynastic enmity between the Royal and the Burgundian Ducal lines of the Valois Dynasty. In his words: "Paris is not a city, but a universe" He was betrothed to both Louise and Charlotte of Valois, daughters of King Francis I of France, but they both died in childhood. In his youth he made frequent visits to Paris, then the largest city of Western Europe. Charles shared with France his mother tongue and many cultural forms. A witticism sometimes attributed to Charles is: " I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse." But this quote has many variants and is often attributed instead to Frederick the Great.įrom his Burgundian ancestors he inherited an ambiguous relationship with the Kings of France. He also had a decent command of German, though he did not speak it as well as French. It is said that Charles spoke several languages: he was fluent in French, and Flemish, later adding an acceptable Spanish which was required for becoming King of Castile. He was tutored by William de Croÿ (who would later become his first prime minister), and also by Adrian of Utrecht (later Pope Adrian VI). The culture and courtly life were an important influence in his early life. Charles was born as the eldest son of Philip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad in the Flemish city of Ghent in 1500.
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