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Thursday, November 1, 2012

[November 1] Charles II, king of Spain

Surnamed: "The Hexed" (El Hechizado)
Parents: Philip IV, king of Spain, and Mariana of Austria
Born: 6 November 1661
House: Habsburg-Spain
Spouse(s): (1) Marie Louise, daughter of Philippe I, duke of Orléans, and Henrietta of England, then (2) Maria Anna, daughter of Philip William, elector of the Palatinate, and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Predecessor: Philip IV
Reign: 1665 – 1700
Brief: Although he ruled a vast empire spanning all of Spain, the Low Countries, southern Italy, and much of the New World, the infamy of Charles II was his medical condition. Born with mandibular prognathism (the Habsburg Jaw) and unable to chew, Charles also suffered from an enlarged tongue and other ailments resulting from many generations of inbreeding. His mother, Mariana, ruled during much of his reign, from his minority through many period of poor health. The Spanish court vacillated between French and Austrian influences with Charles generally being ignored. By the end of his life, Charles lived in seclusion, becoming hypersensitive and easily angered. He resolved the succession of Spain on a French grand-nephew, Duke Philip of Anjou, before disappearing entirely from the public. When he died in 1700, the coroner was baffled at how he had lived for so long, finding little of substance left within the dead king's body. Charles II's death prompted the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701 which would last fourteen years as countries fought over the unmanageably large Spanish Empire.
Date of Death: 1 November 1700
Successor: Philip V

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
  • Richard, duke of Burgundy (921)
  • Henry I, duke of Bavaria (955)
  • Amadeus VII, duke of Savoy (1391)
  • John V, duke of Brittany (1399)
  • Alexander III, tsar of Russia (1894)

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