Charles I of Württemberg

Charles (German: Karl Friedrich Alexander, König von Württemberg; 6 March 1823, Stuttgart – 6 October 1891, Stuttgart) was the third King of Württemberg, from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.

Early life

He was born 6 March 1823 at Stuttgart, as HRH Charles Frederick Alexander, Crown Prince of Württemberg the son of William I, King of Württemberg (1781–1864) and his third wife (and first cousin) Pauline Therese of Württemberg (1800–1873).

He studied in Berlin and Tübingen.

Marriage and King of Württemberg

On 13 July 1846 he married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna of Russia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas I and Charlotte of Prussia. Charlotte was a daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She took the name Alexandra upon her marriage. Karl acceded to the throne upon his father's death in 1864.

The couple had no children, perhaps because of Karl's homosexuality.^[1] Karl became the object of scandal several times for his closeness with various men. The most notorious of these was the American Charles Woodcock, a former chamberlain whom Karl elevated to Baron Savage in 1888.^[2][3] 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.^[4]

In 1870, Olga and Karl adopted Olga's niece Vera Konstantinova, the daughter of her brother Grand Duke Konstantin.

Under Charles' leadership, Württemberg became, in 1871, part of the German Empire.

He died, childless, at Stuttgart on 6 October 1891, and was succeeded as King of Württemberg by his agnatic cousin, his sister's son, William II of Württemberg. He rests, together with his wife, in the Old Castle in Stuttgart.

Ancestry

Bibliography

For Karl's homosexuality 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

Notes

1. ^ Sabine Thomsen. Die württembergischen Königinnen. Charlotte Mathilde, Katharina, Pauline, Olga, Charlotte – ihr Leben und Wirken [The Queens of Wuerttemberg: Charlotte Matilde, Katharina, Pauline, Olga, Charlotte -- Their Lives and Legacies]. Silberburg-Verlag, 2006.
2. ^ Jette Sachs-Colignon. Königin Olga von Württemberg, Stieglitz, 2002.
3. ^ [Mann für Mann, Bernd-Ulrich Hergemöller, Pages 409, 410]
4. ^ See reference 1.