He fought under the Duke of Alba against William the Silent in 1568 and one year later under King Charles IX of France against the Huguenots. He was seriously wounded in the Battle of Moncontour and was treated in the castle of Havré by Ambroise Paré. Charles Philippe was a confidant of King Philip II and became a member of the Council of State in the Low Countries. In 1576 he tried in vain to stop the Sack of Antwerp. In 1577 he defected to the Union of Brussels and was awarded by the rebels with the post of Ambassador in England.