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Charles I
King of Württemberg
Reign	25 June 1864 – 6 October 1891
Predecessor	William I
Successor	William II
Spouse	Olga Nikolaevna of Russia
Full name Karl Friedrich Alexander
House	House of Württemberg
Father	William I of Württemberg
Mother	Pauline Therese of Württemberg
Born	(1823-03-06)6 March 1823 Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg
Died	6 October 1891(1891-10-06) (aged 68) Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg
Religion	Lutheranism

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[edit]

He was born 6 March 1823 in 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[edit]

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, in 1871 Württemberg became a part of the German Empire.

He died, childless, in Stuttgart 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.

Arms[edit]

Royal Monogram of King Charles I of Württemberg

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg, 1817

Royal Monogram of King Charles I of Württemberg, Variant

Ancestry[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

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[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles I of Württemberg.

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.