His father both made him Prince of Salerno and gave Maria of           
Hungary as his bride. In 1282 his father lost Sicily to the King of        
Aragon and, when his father tried to regain it, left the Prince of         
Salerno in charge of Naples. In 1284 the enemy's admiral, Ruggiero di      
Lauria, lured him out of Naples and he was captured. In 1285, while        
still imprisoned, his father died and it was only in 1288 that he was      
able to arrange his release with his promise of giving up his claims       
to Sicily. However, once realeased and installed as King of Naples,        
Pope Nicholas IV absolved him from this promise and so the war for         
Sicily continued.                                                          
Later, at the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302, he gave up his claim     
to Sicily for the lifetime of Frederick III of Aragon. Charles II then     
built a set of alliances, usually sealed with the marriage of one of       
his children. In this way increased or extended his control over           
Piedmont, Provence, Hungary, Athens, and Albania. Even though he was       
extremely pious and closely allied with the church, he ruled over an       
enlightened court, eliminating many of his father's harsh measures. By     
fostering trade, the arts, patronizing the university, and building        
monasteries and churches, he made Naples something of an European          
capital.   
 

Source: Leo van de Pas