Charles Henri's claim to inherit Lorraine was therefore disputed, and rule of the duchy had been obtained by his father's younger brother through French intervention.

He was attached to the household of le Grand Dauphin along with his two nieces, the Princess of Epinoy and Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine, future Abbess of Remiremont.

Two years later, the last Habsburg king of Spain, Charles II, died and was replaced by Louis XIV's grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou.

The Prince of Vaudémont accepted the new king as sovereign of Lombardy, but he was not trusted: Saint Simon suggests he passed on military information to the enemy.

After the Battle of Turin, the French and Spanish were forced to withdraw from Italy, and Charles Henri signed a treaty with the Imperial commander, Prince Eugene of Savoy, putting Lombardy under Austrian rule.