5. Inheriting the French throne at the age of 13, Charles VIII died at just 27 after bumping his head on a doorframe and falling into a coma
Charles VIII, also known as Charles the Affable, was the seventh King of France from the House of Valois, reigning between 1483 and his death in 1498. Ascending to the throne at the age of just thirteen after the death of his father, Louis XI, the early period of Charles’ reign was overseen by his elder sister, Anne, who acted notably proficiently as regent and emerged victorious in the Mad War (1485-1488) to secure the power of the French crown. Marrying Anne of Brittany in 1491, Charles successfully avoided the encirclement of France by the House of Habsburg – an important victory in the centuries to come.
Offered the Kingdom of Naples, upon which Charles enjoyed a claim, by Pope Innocent VIII in 1489, in 1494 Charles invaded Italy with an army of 25,000 men to press his ownership. Although initially successful, his campaign would quickly stagnate and become subsumed in debt, with the Italian Wars dominating the politics of Western Europe until 1559. In 1498, whilst on his way to spectate a game of tennis, Charles accidentally bumped his head on the lintel of a doorframe. At approximately 2 pm, upon his return from the match Charles suddenly fell into a coma. He died nine hours later of what is now believed to have been an epidural hematoma.
