Charles II | |
---|---|
![]() Portrait of Charles II by Juan Carreño de Miranda, c. 1685 | |
King of Spain | |
Reign | 17 September 1665 – 1 November 1700 |
Predecessor | Philip IV |
Successor | Philip V |
Regent | Mariana of Austria (1665–1675) |
Born | Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Crown of Castile, Spain | 6 November 1661
Died | 1 November 1700 Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Crown of Castile, Spain | (aged 38)
Burial | |
Spouses | |
House | Habsburg |
Father | Philip IV of Spain |
Mother | Mariana of Austria |
Religion | Catholic Church |
Signature | ![]() |
Charles II of Spain[a] (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without children, leading to a European conflict over his successor.
For reasons that are still debated, Charles experienced extended periods of ill health throughout his life. As a consequence, who would inherit his throne was a prominent consideration in European politics from the moment he became king at the age of four. Historian John Langdon-Davies wrote that "...from the day of his birth, they were waiting for his death".[1]
The two main candidates were the Austrian Habsburg Archduke Charles, and 16-year-old Philip of Anjou, grandson of Maria Theresa of Spain and Louis XIV of France. Shortly before his death in November 1700, Charles named Philip his heir, but the acquisition of an undivided Spanish Empire by either France or Austria threatened the European balance of power. Failure to resolve these issues through diplomacy resulted in the 1701 to 1714 War of the Spanish Succession.
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