Charles zi Britannia

Charles Di Britannia ( シャルル・ジ・ブリタニア or Sharuru Ji Buritania in Japanese) is the main antagonist of the series, though his role is minimal compared to that of his children.

Character outline
Charles Di Britannia is the 98th emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire and Lelouch Lamperouge's father. He installs his children in important positions throughout the Empire to see their true abilities.

A strong proponent of Social Darwinism, Charles views equality and justice as an evil that must be dispelled and encourages social battle to maintain evolution within society. As such, he publicly supports inequality and calls for competition and fighting, so as to create progress, even proclaiming the death of his son, Clovis La Britannia, as a demonstration of Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress. In the seventh episode of the second season, he reiterate his viewpoints by saying that the traditional morals of not murdering, not deceiving others, not stealing, and remaining faithful are lies used by the weak to defend themselves, and that survival of the fittest is the only truth, which he considers Britannia's duty to show the world. Despite openly supporting warfare, he views it as an ineffective tool compared to diplomacy and bargaining.

First season
Charles' appearances in the first season are minimal. In a flashback, Lelouch questions why the Emperor did not try to protect his mother, Marianne Vi Britannia. Irritated and considering his son to be nothing without him, the Emperor sends both Lelouch and his sister, Nunnally, to Japan as political hostages.

He makes a number of short appearances throughout the season, displaying apparent knowledge of Lelouch's activities, particularly in relation to his Geass usage. He also claims to be speaking to Clovis after his death, though he may not have been speaking literally.

Second season
In another flashback in the second season, Lelouch is brought before the Emperor by Suzaku Kururugi. Suzaku requests a position within the Knights of Rounds as a reward for capturing him, which the Emperor grants because he is impressed with Suzaku's willingness to sacrifice his friendship with Lelouch to begin his quest to change Britannia from within. He then uses his previously unknown Geass ability to rewrite Lelouch's memories and suppress his Geass power. He apparently does the same to the students of Ashford Academy.

Because Suzaku is the only one of the Knight of Rounds who knows of Zero's identity and Geass, the Emperor trusts him enough to lead him to The Sword of Akasha, a temple above the clouds and skies designed as a weapon against "the gods". C.C. suggests that V.V. is the one who granted Charles his Geass, though the specific nature of their alliance and contract is unknown; it seems to be related to the "gods" that they seek to defeat. The Emperor playfully refers to V.V. as "older brother." General Bartley suspects that the Emperor's action might cause the end of the world.

Geass
Though the exact nature of the Emperor's Geass is unclear, he possesses the apparent power to either rewrite a victim's memories or implant false ones. He may also seal the ability of another Geass user. When active, Geass sigils appear in both of his eyes. C.C. suggests that it was V.V. who bestowed Charles with his ability. C.C. is able to negate the effects of his power when it is used on Lelouch.