Charles was the youngest son of Henri de Lorraine, Count of Harcourt and Marguerite Philippe du Cambout.

The youngest of six children, five sons and one daughter, his siblings included Louis, Count of Armagnac, Grand Squire of France and the bisexual Chevalier de Lorraine, lover of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans.

His other brothers were Abbots of Royaumont (Alfonse Louis) and Faron de Meaux (Raimond Bérenger).

Madame de Sévigné noted that he married Catherine for the fortune she had been left by her later husband.

He was created a knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit, the most prestigious military knighthood of the Ancien Régime, on 31 December 1688 at Versailles.