Don Carlos is an opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed to a libretto in the French language by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry. It was based on a famous German play called "Don Carlos, Infante of Spain" by Friedrich Schiller. Schiller’s story is based on the true story of the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545-1568) who was promised that he could marry Elisabeth of Valois, but then his father,Philip II of Spain, changed his mind and married her himself. It was part of the peace treaty ending the Italian War of 1551-1559 between the Houses of Habsburg and Valois.