Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), the youngest son of Louis VI of France and his second Queen consort Adélaide de Maurienne. His mother was Elisabeth de Courtenay, daughter of Renaud de Courtenay (died 1194) and Hawise du Donjon.
Peter first married Agnes I, via whom he obtained the three counties of Nevers, Auxerre, and Tonnerre. He was present at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. File:|thumb|200px|Peter II of Courtenay When his brother-in-law, the emperor Henry, died without sons in 1216, Peter was chosen as his successor, and with a small army set out from France to take possession of his throne.
Consecrated emperor at Rome, in a church outside the walls, by Pope Honorius III on 9 April 1217, he borrowed some ships from the Venetians, promising in return to conquer Durazzo for them.
But he failed in this enterprise, and sought to make his way to Constantinople by land. On the journey he was seized by the despot of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos Doukas, and, after an imprisonment of two years, died, probably by foul means.
Philip (died 1226), Marquis of Namur, who declined the offer of the crown of the Latin Empire
Robert of Courtenay (died 1228), emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople
Henry (died 1229), Marquis of Namur
Baldwin II of Constantinople (died 1273), emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople
Margaret, Marchioness of Namur, who married first Raoul d"Issoudun and then Henry count of Vianden
Elizabeth of Courtenay who married Walter count of Bar and then Eudes sire of Montagu
An unnamed daughter who married Tsar Boril of Bulgaria
Yolanda de Courtenay, who married Andrew II of Hungary
Eleanor, who married Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
Marie de Courtenay, who married Theodore I Lascaris of the Empire of Nicaea
Agnes, who married Geoffrey II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea
He had an illegitimate son:
Geoffrey, marquis of Lavaur (died 1229).
