Charles was the son of
Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, and
Agnes of Burgundy. Being a younger son, he was appointed
Canon of
Lyon in 1443 and, on 6 June 1444, elected Archbishop of Lyon at the age of 11. This election followed the death of
Amedée de Talaru and the renunciation of
John III of Bourbon,
illegitimate offspring of his grandfather
John I, Duke of Bourbon. His office was confirmed by
Pope Eugene IV on 14 November 1446, after the death of
Geoffroy Vassal,
Archbishop of Vienne who the pope had first appointed in disregard of the
Pragmatic Sanction in 1444. Due to his age, Charles II's archiepiscopate was administered in succession by
Jean Rolin,
bishop of Autun, from 1446 to 1447, Du Gué,
bishop of Orléans, from 1447 to 1449, and John III of Bourbon,
bishop of Puy, from 1449 to 1466. At that time, he still maintained a good relationship with the King of France
Louis XI, showing greater gusto for navigating the intrigue of secular politics than displaying the piety expected of his religious position. On account of these proclivities, after the conflict surrounding the
League of the Public Weal in 1465, Louis XI sent Charles II with
Thibaud de Luxembourg,
Bishop of Mans as ambassadors to
Pope Paul II, recently elected in 1464. On 7 January 1469 Charles II signed a royal
letters patent as the king's adviser, at
Plessis-lèz-Tours, the latter's main residence near
Tours. As namesake, he was, along with
Joan of Valois, Duchess of Bourbon and
Edward of Westminster, godparent of the
Dauphin Charles VIII. When Louis XI ended the
Hundred Years' War in 1475, the archbishop assisted him in diplomatic matters while the king lives with Charles II at the Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire-lès-Senlis abbey near
Senlis. He arrives with Louis XI and his elder brother
John II of Bourbon on 19 August at
Picquigny to sign the
eponymous treaty. Later, on 16 October, he signed in the abbey a letters patent to reestablish peaceable relations with
Francis II, Duke of Brittany. Again, on 8 January 1476, as the head of the
King's Council, Charles II signs four letters patent, among them one concerning the liberty of the
Gallican Church at Château de Plessis-lèz-Tours. From 1472 to 1476, he was incumbent as the
papal legate at
Avignon though he only arrived there on 23 November 1473. On 23 May 1474
Pope Sixtus IV appointed his nephew
Giuliano della Rovere as
bishop of Avignon, and 2 years later as legate. to resolve this difficulty, the king welcomed Giuliano della Rovere at Lyon, so that Charles II accepted the loss of the Avignon legation. during the campaign following the death of
Charles the Bold. He was in 1486 the first
commendatory abbot of the Priory Notre-Dame de La Charité-sur-Loire. He was also a noted patron of the arts, lavishing money on
Lyon's cathedral: the Bourbon chapel there, which he sponsored from 1486 onward (it was continued after his death by his brother,
Peter II of Bourbon) was described as "one of the marvels of decorative art in the 15th century". He was also
Duke of Bourbon and
Auvergne for a short period of time in April 1488, succeeding his elder brother,
John II, when the latter died on 1 April. This prompted Charles II, as his brother's nearest heir, to claim the family inheritance in the
Bourbonnais and
Auvergne. The move was not tolerated by his younger brother, Peter, and Peter's wife,
Anne of France, the latter immediately taking possession of the Bourbon lands by force on 10 April. On 15 April, members of the King's Council sent by Anne to "console the Cardinal on the occasion of his brother's death", forced him to sign a renunciation of any claims to the Bourbon lands, in exchange for a financial settlement. Charles then died later in the same year in mysterious circumstances, following a sudden collapse in a private house in Lyons. His brief tenure of the title during the period 1 April – 15 April would, however, be posthumously confirmed in 1505, when
Charles de Montpensier acceded to the Duchy as Charles III. Charles had an illegitimate daughter, with Gabrielle Bartine, named Isabelle (d. 1497). She was legitimized by Charles VIII and later married Gilbert of Chantelot, lord of La Chaise (
Monétay-sur-Allier). ==In fiction==