Charles II, Duke of Brunswick

Charles II
Duke of Brunswick
Reign	16 June 1815 – 9 September 1830
Predecessor	Frederick William
Successor	William
Full name
Charles Frederick German: Karl Friedrich
House	House of Brunswick-Bevern
Father	Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Mother	Princess Marie of Baden
Born	30 October 1804(1804-10-30) Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Died	19 August 1873(1873-08-19) (aged 68) Geneva, Switzerland

Charles II (German Karl II.; 30 October 1804, Brunswick – 18 August 1873, Geneva), Duke of Brunswick, ruled the Duchy of Brunswick from 1815 until 1830.

Biography

Charles was the eldest son of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. After the death of his father in 1815, Charles inherited the Duchy, but since he was still underage, he was put under the guardianship of George, the Prince Regent of the United Kingdom and Hanover. When Charles neared his 18th birthday, a dispute over the date of his majority erupted; Charles claimed majority at age 18, while George considered the age of majority to be 21 years. A compromise was made, and Charles reached his majority at age 19, and took over government on 30 October 1823.

In 1827, Charles declared some of the laws made during his minority invalid, which caused a dispute with Hanover. The German Confederation finally had to intervene in this conflict and ordered Charles to accept all the laws from his minority, which he did.

Charles' administration was considered corrupt and misguided. When in 1830 the July Revolution broke out, Charles happened to be in Paris; he fled home to Brunswick, where he announced his intention to suppress all revolutionary tendencies by force of arms. But on 6 September, he was attacked by stone throwers while riding home from the theater; on the next day, a large mob tried to break into the palace. Charles fled; the palace was completely destroyed by fire. When Charles' brother, William, arrived in Brunswick on 10 September, he was received joyfully by the people. William originally considered himself only his brother's regent, but after a year declared himself ruling duke. Charles made several desperate attempts to depose his brother by diplomacy and by force, but they were unsuccessful. None of the other European monarchs wanted to support Charles.

Charles spent the rest of his life outside of Germany; mostly in Paris and London. While he lived in London he engaged in a high profile feud with the publisher Barnard Gregory due to articles published about the Duke in The Satirist.^[1] After the war between France and Germany broke out, he moved to Geneva, where he died in 1873. He left his considerable wealth to the City of Geneva. Charles never married.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 30 October 1804 – 16 October 1806: His Serene Highness Duke Charles Frederick of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
• 16 October 1806 – 16 June 1815: His Highness The Hereditary Duke of Brunswick
• 16 June 1815 – 9 September 1830: His Highness The Duke of Brunswick
• 9 September 1830 – 18 August 1873: His Highness Charles, Duke of Brunswick

Ancestors

See also

Charles was on the losing side of the Opera game, a famous chess game against Paul Morphy.

References

1. ^  Boase, G. C. (1885–1900). "Gregory, Barnard". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 15, p. 281-285

Charles II, Duke of Brunswick House of Brunswick-Bevern Cadet branch of the House of Welf Born: 30 October 1804 Died: 18 August 1873
Regnal titles
Preceded by Frederick William	Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1815-1830	Succeeded by William VIII

Persondata
Name	Charles Ii, Duke Of Brunswick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 October 1804
Place of birth	Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Date of death	19 August 1873
Place of death	Geneva, Switzerland