Charles II (german: Karl II.; 10 April 1651, in Heidelberg – 26 May 1685, in Heidelberg) was

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kin ...

from 1680 to 1685. He was the son of

Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine Charles Louis, Elector Palatine (german: Karl I. Ludwig; 22 December 1617 – 28 August 1680), was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia and sister of Char ...

, and

Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (20 November 1627 – 26 March 1686), was a German princess of the House of Hesse-Kassel and by marriage Electress Palatine during 1650–1657 as the first wife of Charles I Louis, although the validity of the divorce w ...

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 favour. 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 Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

. In 1671, his aunt, Electress Sophia of Hanover, arranged his marriage to

Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark and Norway ( da, Vilhelmine Ernestine; 20 or 21 June 1650 – 22 or 23 April 1706) was an Electress of the Palatinate. She was the third of five daughters of King Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunsw ...

, daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark. Their marriage was childless. Upon his death, the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

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 , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

's sister-in-law, was the pretext for the French invasion of the Palatinate in 1688, which began the Nine Years War.

Ancestry

References

1651 births 1685 deaths Nobility from Heidelberg House of Palatinate-Simmern Prince-electors of the Palatinate Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg {{Germany-noble-stub