Charles II, Elector Palatine

Charles II, Elector Palatine
Charles II, Elector Palatine
Spouse(s)	Princess Wilhelmina Ernestine of Denmark
Noble family	House of Wittelsbach
Father	Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Mother	Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
Born	(1651-03-31)31 March 1651 Heidelberg
Died	Heidelberg

Charles II (German: Karl II.; 31 March 1651, Heidelberg – 26 May 1685, Heidelberg) was Elector Palatine from 1680 to 1685. He was the son of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine and Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel.

Rule

His short reign was not glamorous. He appointed his incompetent former tutor Paul Hachenberg as chief minister, leaving his half-siblings, the "Raugraves", out of favor. He brought back his mother from Kassel and paid her immense debts. Charles was of a weak and timid nature, marked by familial childhood experiences. He showed a superficial enthusiasm for military life. Charles was a strict Calvinist. In 1671, his aunt, Electress Sophia of Hanover, arranged his marriage to Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark, daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark. Their marriage was childless.

Upon his death, the Electoral Palatinate passed to the Catholic Neuburg branch of the family. The rival claims to the Palatinate of his sister, Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans, Louis XIV of France's sister-in-law, was the pretext for the French invasion of the Palatinate in 1688, which began the Nine Years War.

Ancestry

Charles II, Elector Palatine: ancestors in three generations

Charles II, Elector Palatine	Father: Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine	Paternal Grandfather: Frederick V, Elector Palatine	Paternal Great-grandfather: Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Louise Juliana of Nassau
		Paternal Grandmother: Elizabeth of England	Paternal Great-grandfather: James I, King of England
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Anne of Denmark
	Mother: Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel	Maternal Grandfather: William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel	Maternal Great-grandfather: Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Agnes of Solms-Laubach
		Maternal Grandmother: Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg	Maternal Great-grandfather: Philip Louis II, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Catharina Belgica of Nassau

Charles II, Elector Palatine House of Wittelsbach Born: 1651 Died: 1685
Regnal titles
Preceded by Charles I Louis	Elector Palatine 1680-1685	Succeeded by Philip William