Charles IV succeeded his brother Philip V as king of France and Navarre in 1322. The third son of Philip IV to inherit the French crown, he ruled for only six years. He continued efforts to recover alienated royal lands and strengthen control over appointments and revenue. Administrative and royal expenditure encouraged taxes and financial measures that provoked opposition.

His most consequential foreign dispute concerned the English king's possessions in southwestern France and the homage owed for them. The conflict at Saint-Sardos led Charles to confiscate Edward II's duchy of Aquitaine in 1324. French forces under Charles of Valois overran much of the territory. Edward's queen Isabella, Charles's sister, came to France to negotiate in 1325. Her son, the future Edward III, performed homage, but Isabella remained abroad and formed the alliance with Roger Mortimer that later overthrew her husband.

Charles's marriages repeatedly raised hopes of securing a male successor, but no son survived him. At his death in February 1328, his widow Jeanne d'Évreux was pregnant. Philip of Valois acted as regent pending the birth; when she delivered a daughter, he became Philip VI of France. Navarre passed separately to Jeanne, daughter of Louis X. Charles's death ended the direct Capetian male line. The competing claims that followed, including that of Edward III through Isabella, helped establish the dynastic dispute underlying the Hundred Years' War.