Charles (; 6 March 18236 October 1891) was the third King of Württemberg from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.

Born into the House of Württemberg, Charles was the only son of King William I and Queen Pauline Therese of Württemberg, and ascended to the throne upon his father's death in 1864. More liberal-leaning than his father, he restored freedom of the press and association in 1864, followed by an electoral reform in 1868 that expanded suffrage. In foreign policy, his early reign coincided with the turbulent years surrounding the unification of Germany, and Charles encountered many difficulties in his first years as king, as Austria and Prussia fought for supremacy over the German states. He initially aligned with Austria during the Austro-Prussian War but later sided with Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, reluctantly joining the new German Empire under Prussian dominance in 1870.

Charles I married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia in 1846. The couple had no children, likely due to Charles' homosexuality, and in 1870, the couple adopted Olga's niece, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna. In the later years of his reign, the king, increasingly tired of office, withdraw into private life. Charles was involved in several scandals due to his sexual orientation, including a close relationship with American Charles Woodcock. As he died childless, he was succeeded by his nephew, King William II.

Early life

Birth and family

thumb|left|[[Pauline Therese of Württemberg|Queen Pauline Therese with her son, Crown Prince Charles. Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1825.]]

Charles was born on 6 March 1823 in Stuttgart, the capital of the Kingdom of Württemberg, as the only son of King William I and his third wife Queen Pauline Therese (1800–1873). As the reigning king's eldest son he was heir apparent to the Kingdom of Württemberg from birth with the title of Crown Prince. The birth was celebrated with a 101–gun salute being fired and all the church bells in the city of Stuttgart ringing.

Indeed, the birth of the young heir to the throne had been long-awaited. Already in 1808, his father had married his first wife, Princess Caroline Augusta, a daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. After their 1814 divorce, without issue, King William had married his first cousin, Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Catherine died in 1819 after giving birth to two daughters, and the king then married his third wife, nineteen years his junior, to produce the necessary male heir. When his son was born 15 years after his first wedding, King William I was forty-two years old.

thumb|The family of [[William I of Württemberg|King William I depicted in 1841 for the 25th anniversary of his accession: King William I and Queen Pauline Therese (top), Princess Sophie (middle left), Crown Prince Karl (centre), Princess Marie (middle right), Princess Catharine (bottom left) and Princess Augusta (bottom right).]]

His paternal grandparents were King Frederick I of Württemberg and Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (a daughter of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, elder sister to King George III). His grandmother's younger sister, Princess Caroline married King George IV. His maternal grandparents were Duke Louis of Württemberg and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg.

From his father's first marriage, Charles had two half-sisters, Princess Marie Friederike Charlotte of Württemberg (future wife of Alfred, Count von Neipperg) and Princess Sophie of Württemberg (future wife of King William III of the Netherlands). From his parents marriage, he had two sisters, Princess Catherine of Württemberg (future wife of Prince Frederick of Württemberg) and Princess Augusta of Württemberg (future wife of Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach).

Upbringing and education

thumb|left|Portrait of Crown Prince Charles, by [[Franz Seraph Stirnbrand, 1835]]

The marriage of Charles' parents was unhappy, and was marred by King William I's numerous affairs, most notably with his longtime confidante and mistress, the German actress . Popular in Württemberg for her kindness and dedication to the poor but neglected by a husband nineteen years her senior, the queen bitterly withdrew from her husband, but at the same time adored and pampered her son. Queen Pauline Therese eventually left the court and settled in neighbouring Switzerland.

The young Crown Prince received his first education from private tutors at home. The studies were followed by longer study trips to the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Austria and throughout Germany. and also became acquainted with the Romantic poet Emanuel Geibel in Stuttgart. Olga was Charles' second cousin, as Olga's grandmother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, was the younger sister of Charles' grandfather, King Frederick. The wedding was celebrated in great splendour on 13 July 1846 at Peterhof Palace in Petergof outside of Saint Petersburg. On 23 September, they held their official entry into Württemberg's capital Stuttgart to great cheers from the population.

thumb|right|[[Kronprinzenpalais (Stuttgart)|Kronprinzenpalais, 1845]]

After their wedding, the young couple settled in Württemberg. During the first years of their marriage, Karl and Olga lived in the New Palace in Stuttgart, until in 1854 they could move into the Crown Prince's Palace (), built for them at state expense in a representative location at Königstraße, on the corner of the Schloßplatz. They lived there from 1854 until Charles' accession in 1864. The building was demolished in –1963).

thumb|right|[[Villa Berg]]

However, Olga was not enthusiastic about the new residence because, unlike the New Palace, it did not have direct access to a garden. As a consequence, for their summer residence, the crown prince couple stayed at Villa Berg, a newly built villa on the outskirts of city. It was designed for them by the German architect Christian Friedrich von Leins according to the couple's own ideas and is considered one of the first Renaissance Revival style buildings in Germany.

Life as heir to the throne

thumb|left|Crown Prince Charles. Photography by , 1850s.

Crown Prince Charles appeared to be well-prepared for his upcoming duties. With his admission to the Chamber of Lords in 1841 and the Privy Council in 1844, he became formally introduced to his future responsibilities. Olga later wrote her memoirs that end on her wedding day. Instead, Olga and Charles took Olga's niece, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna of Russia, the daughter of her brother Grand Duke Konstantin, in as a foster child in 1863, and she grew up with them from the age of 9. In 1870, Olga and Charles formally adopted Vera Konstantinovna. In 1874, they arranged a marriage for her to one of their relatives, Duke Eugene of Württemberg, who died prematurely three years later. Vera nonetheless remained in Württemberg, which she now considered her true home.

Reign

thumb|left|Portrait of Charles I, by [[Richard Lauchert, c. 1867]]

Charles acceded to the throne of Württemberg upon his father's death on 25 June 1864 and was enthroned on 12 July 1864. As expected, he proved more liberal-leaning than his father, and replaced the conservative Chief Minister Joseph von Linden with the liberal-conservative Karl von Varnbüler und zu Hemmingen. Freedom of the press and association were restored on 24 December 1864, and freedom of commerce and freedom of movement were also guaranteed. On 26 March 1868, this was followed by an electoral reform which introduced universal suffrage for the People's Deputies of the Second Chamber.

In relation to foreign policy, after siding with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, he moved closer to the Kingdom of Prussia. Following the Battle of Sadowa, he enacted a secret military treaty with Prussia (which became public in 1867) and recognized the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866. Nevertheless, an anti-Prussian attitude was officially represented by the Court, the government and the people.

Because of the alliance, Württemberg took Prussia's side in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871. At the end of October 1870 the king withdrew to Friedrichshafen and in October 1870, signed one of the November treaties, joining the North German Confederation which began on 1 January 1871 and renamed itself the German Empire. He was represented at the Palace of Versailles at the Proclamation of the German Empire by his cousin, Prince August of Württemberg.

The King showed a tendency to withdraw into private life in other ways, travelling around the country and, later, spending time in Nice. In doing so, he was accused of having neglected the obligations incumbent on him as a constitutional body, including by having up to 800 unsigned documents accumulate in one case. On the one hand, it was a nuisance for the administration, but on the other hand it was also convenient for the government who was largely able to rule without interference from the King.

As a result of Württemberg being a Federal State of the German Empire since 1871, there were considerable restrictions on its sovereignty. Württemberg lost its previous international position, but gained greater security both internally and externally. Postal and telegraph services, financial sovereignty, cultural maintenance and railway administration remained in Württemberg hands, and the Kingdom of Württemberg also had its own military administration.

Personal life

thumb|left|upright|Handwritten letter from King Charles to [[Charles Woodcock from 1887.]]

Already during Charles' lifetime, there was ample evidence of a homoerotic inclination of the king, who became the object of scandal several times for his closeness with various men. A first "intimate" long-standing "heart friendship" was with his adjutant general, Baron Wilhelm von Spitzemberg. Another friend was the American Richard Jackson of Cincinnati, the secretary of the U.S. Consulate.

thumb|right|[[Charles Woodcock reads in Nice to Queen Olga of Württemberg in the arm chair and two ladies-in-waiting]]

Charles' most notorious relationship was with the American Charles Woodcock, a 30-year-old he met in 1883. The King made Woodcock his chamberlain and even elevated him as to Freiherr von Woodcock-Savage in 1888. Charles I and Charles Woodcock became inseparable, going so far as to appear together in public dressed identically. It was less the king's homosexuality than the fact that Woodcock used his position to exercise significant influence over the king's personnel decisions that became a scandal. This did not go unnoticed by the press, and together with the political establishment, headed by Prime Minister Hermann von Mittnacht, the King was put under intense pressure to give up Woodcock.

In 1889, however, Charles found a new friend in Wilhelm Georges, the technical director of the royal theater. The relationship with Georges lasted until the King's death two years later. he returned to Stuttgart on 3 October 1891, three days before his death on 6 October 1891. He was succeeded as King of Württemberg by his nephew, William II. His wife died a year later, on 30 October 1892, and was buried together with him in the Old Castle in Stuttgart.

Honours

thumb|Coat of arms of King Charles encircled by the [[Order of the Garter.]]

Arms

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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

</gallery>

References

Citations

Bibliography

Primary sources

In fiction

  • Karl von Wurttemberg, King Charles of Wurttemberg, 1866 at Marshall University