Charles II of Spain

Charles II (Carlos Segundo) of Spain (November 6, 1661 – November 1, 1700) was king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily, nearly all of Italy (except Piedmont, the Papal States and Venice), and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from Mexico to the Philippines. Charles was the only surviving son of his Habsburg predecessor, King Philip IV of Spain and his second Queen (and niece), Mariana of Austria, another Habsburg. His birth was greeted with joy by the Spaniards, who feared the disputed succession which could have ensued if Philip IV had left no male heir.

Assuring the Succession

In 1679, the 18-year-old Charles II married Marie Louise of Orleans (1662-1689), daughter of Philippe I of Orléans, the only brother of Louis XIV. He proved impotent and no children were born. Marie Louise became deeply depressed and morbidly obese and died at age 27, ten years after her marriage, leaving a distraught 28-year-old Charles. Still in desperate need of a male heir, the next year he married 23-year-old Maria Anna of Pfalz-Neuburg, a daughter of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine and sister-in-law of his uncle Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. However, this marriage was no more successful than the first.

Related Topics:
1679 - Marie Louise of Orleans - 1662 - 1689 - Philippe I of Orléans - Louis XIV - Impotent - Maria Anna of Pfalz-Neuburg - Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine - Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

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Towards the end of his life Charles became increasingly hypersensitive and strange, at one point demanding that the bodies of his family be exhumed so he could look upon the corpses. He reportedly wept upon viewing the body of his wife, Marie Louise.

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By the last two years of his 40-year life, he was virtually helpless: he was completely lame, bald, deaf, nearly toothless, and almost blind; he was also prone to epileptic fits.

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When Charles II died in 1700 the line of the Spanish Habsburgs died with him. He had named a grand nephew of his first wife, Philippe de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou (a grandson of the reigning French king Louis XIV), as his successor. He had named his blood cousin Charles (from the Austrian branch of the Habsburg dynasty) as alternate successor. The acceptance of the Spanish inheritance by the French provoked the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) which ended with a treaty that perpetually forbids the union of the Spanish and French thrones. The Bourbon dynasty (see House of Bourbon) founded by Philip V still sits on the Spanish throne in the person of Juan Carlos I of Spain (1975-present).

Related Topics:
1700 - Philippe de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou - War of the Spanish Succession - 1702 - 1713 - House of Bourbon - Juan Carlos I of Spain - 1975

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