Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł

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Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł

Karol Stanislaw Radziwill

Noble Family Radziwiłł
Coat of Arms Trąby
Parents Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł
Urszula Franciszka Wiśniowiecka
Consorts Maria Karolina Lubomirska
Teresa Karolina Rzewuska
Children none
Date of Birth February 27, 1734
Place of Birth Nieśwież
Date of Death November 21, 1790
Place of Death Biała
For other people to use this name see: Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł

Prince Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł (Lithuanian: Karolis Stanislovas Radvila) (1734-1790) was a Polish-Lithuanian szlachcic. Voivod of Vilnius and the starost of Lwów. He is frequently referred to by his idiolect Panie Kochanku (Sir Beloved), to distinguish him from the other members of his family who used this name.

Throughout his life, Radziwiłł held many posts in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1752 he was the Master Swordbearer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On August 3, 1757, he was awarded with the Order of the White Eagle and was among the first recipients of the decoration. From 1762 he was the voivod of Vilnius. In 1767 he became Marshal General of the Radom Confederation and the following year, Marshal of the Bar Confederation. After its fall in 1772 he emigrated, but returned to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1777 and assumed all his previous posts after pledging loyalty to the King of Poland Stanisław August, whom he had previously opposed.

During the Four-Year Sejm between 1788 and 1792 he was one of the most notable opponents of reforms, the king and the Familia faction.

Radziwiłł was the wealthiest magnate in Poland in the second half of the 18th century, and one of the richest in Europe. His properties included 16 cities, 683 villages and 25 voivodeships. Of his life, legends abounded and Radziwiłł was featured in novels and poems. On the one hand, he was shown as a drunkard and a degenerate reveller, on the other, as a flamboyant character, a noble favourite, the best representative of sarmatism, and a great patriot. He was popular among the poorer szlachta and today remains one of the symbols of his epoch.