Charles Zi Britannia
Age: 62 (season 1), 63 (season 2)
Date of Birth: August 4, 1955 a.t.b. (Leo)
Blood Type: AB
Nationality: Britannian
Height: 197 cm (6'6")
Weight: 108 kg (238 lbs)
Occupation: Emperor
Allegiance: Holy Britannian Empire
Position: 98th Emperor of Britannia
Charles Zi Britannia is the 98th emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire and Lelouch's father—alongside V.V., his twin brother. He functions as the primary antagonist throughout the series.
On the surface, Charles embodies cold intelligence and an unwavering belief in social Darwinism: only the strong deserve to rise, and the weak fall. He extends this philosophy everywhere, even to his own family. When Lelouch was grieving Marianne's death as a teenager, Charles offered nothing but harsh indifference. He operates without moral hesitation, casually ordering the deaths of political rivals and their families on his climb to power. As Emperor, he shows equal disregard for casualties—soldiers, civilians, enemies, it doesn't matter to him.
Yet this hardness didn't emerge from nowhere. Growing up, Charles witnessed constant bloodshed within his own family as relatives murdered each other over succession. He internalized the brutal lesson that power is survival; without it, you die. That trauma shaped his entire worldview: humanity's default is struggle and conflict, cooperation is a fantasy, and people are fundamentally untrustworthy.
Interestingly, despite this cynicism, Charles harbors a contradictory desire for a gentler world. During his final confrontation with Lelouch, he argues that the Ragnarok Connection—his grand plan—will create the peaceful future his daughter Nunnally deserves.
Charles originally possessed a Geass that allowed him to freely alter or erase memories through eye contact, and he could seal away other people's Geass abilities and even physical senses like sight. The power wasn't foolproof; immortals and people with sufficient willpower could resist or break the seals. He could activate it multiple times on the same person. Notably, his Geass Sigils appeared in both eyes, marking him as exceptionally experienced with the ability.
He later traded this Geass to V.V. in exchange for the Code of Immortality, making him unable to age or die from conventional means.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
