Charles (german: Karl Friedrich Alexander; 6 March 18236 October 1891) was

King of Württemberg King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.

Early life

Charles was born on 6 March 1823 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

as the son of King

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

and his third wife Pauline Therese (1800–1873). As the king's eldest son he became Crown Prince of Württemberg. He studied in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

and

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

Marriage and King of Württemberg

On 13 July 1846 Karl married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna of Russia, the daughter of Tsar Nicholas I and

Charlotte of Prussia Alexandra Feodorovna ( rus, Алекса́ндра Фёдоровна, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈfjɵdərəvnə), born Princess Charlotte of Prussia (13 July 1798 – 1 November 1860), was empress consort of Russia, Empress of Russia as the wife of Em ...

. (Charlotte was a daughter of

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, w ...

and of

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. The couple's happy, though short-lived, marriage produced nine chil ...

; she took the name Alexandra Feodorovna upon her marriage into the Russian imperial family.) Karl acceded to the throne of Württemberg upon his father's death in 1864. Queen Olga and King Charles I of Württemberg

Queen Olga and King Charles I of Württemberg

The couple had no children, perhaps because of Karl's

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

.Sabine Thomsen. ''Die württembergischen Königinnen. Charlotte Mathilde, Katharina, Pauline, Olga, Charlotte – ihr Leben und Wirken'' he Queens of Wuerttemberg: Charlotte Matilde, Katharina, Pauline, Olga, Charlotte – Their Lives and Legacies Silberburg-Verlag, 2006. Karl became the object of scandal several times for his closeness with various men - most notoriously with the American Charles Woodcock, a former chamberlain whom Karl elevated to Baron Savage in 1888. Karl and Charles became inseparable, going so far as to appear together in public dressed identically. The resulting outcry forced Karl to renounce his favorite. Woodcock returned to America, and Karl found private consolation some years later with the technical director of the royal theater, Wilhelm George. In 1870, Olga and Karl adopted Olga's niece Vera Konstantinovna, the daughter of her brother Grand Duke Konstantin.

Politics

He sided with Austria in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866, but after the

battle of Sadowa A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

concluded a secret military treaty with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

, and took part on her side in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–'71, joining the new

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

at the close of 1870. He died, childless, in

on 6 October 1891, and was succeeded as King of Württemberg by his sister's son, William II. He is buried, together with his wife, in the Old Castle in Stuttgart.

Honours

Arms

File:Royal Monogram of King Charles I of Württemberg.svg, Royal Monogram of King Charles I of Württemberg File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1817-1921.svg, Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg, 1817 File:Royal Monogram of King Charles I of Württemberg, Variant.svg, Royal Monogram of King Charles I of Württemberg, Variant

Bibliography

For Karl's

and other familiar issues: * Queen Olga of Württemberg. ''Traum der Jugend goldener Stern'', Reutlingen, Günther Neske, 1955 * Jette Sachs-Colignon. ''Königin Olga von Württemberg'', Stieglitz, 2002 * Paul Sauer. ''Regent mit mildem Zepter. König Karl von Württemberg'', Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt Stuttgart, 1999

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 01 of Württemberg 1823 births 1891 deaths 19th-century LGBT people 19th-century kings of Württemberg Extra Knights Companion of the Garter Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Kings of Württemberg LGBT heads of state LGBT people from Germany LGBT royalty German landowners Lieutenant generals of Württemberg Lieutenant generals of Prussia Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords Nobility from Stuttgart Protestant monarchs