Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken

Charles II August
Duke of Zweibrücken
Duke Charles II/III August Christian of Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken
Spouse	Maria Amalia of Saxony
Issue
Karl August Friedrich
House	House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
Father	Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
Mother	Maria Franziska of Sulzbach
Born	29 October 1746(1746-10-29) Düsseldorf
Died	1 April 1795(1795-04-01) (aged 48) Mannheim
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Charles II/III August Christian (German: Karl II./III. August Christian) (October 29, 1746 – April 1, 1795) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1775 to 1795. He was the son of Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Maria Franziska of Sulzbach. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach.

Biography

Charles was born in Düsseldorf, as the eldest of five children born to Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach. He was an older brother of Amalie, Queen of Saxony and Maximilian, eventual King of Bavaria.

Rejected suitor

He wanted to marry Archduchess Marie Amalie, the eighth child of Empress Maria Theresa. He was well known in the Austrian court, and Marie Amalie was also in love with him. However, Maria Theresa deemed him of insufficient rank to marry an Archduchess. Moreover, she wanted to strengthen Austria's alliance with the House of Bourbon by marrying a daughter to either the King of Naples or Ferdinand, Duke of Parma. This was to be Marie Amalie, due to the death of another daughter, Maria Josepha.

Maria Amalie's older brother, Emperor Joseph, also favored the marriage of his sister and to Parma, who was the younger brother of his beloved wife, Isabella. So in 1769, Maria Amalie was married to Ferdinand against her will. This decision not only permanently embittered Charles against the Empress and Austria but also Marie Amalie against her mother.^[1]

Charles eventually married Maria Amalia, the sister of the Elector of Saxony.

Bavarian claims

Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, died without children in 1778. Charles Theodore, then Elector Palatine, was his heir. However, Charles Theodore would have to surrender the Palatine Electorate to succeed to the Bavarian title. Furthermore, he had only illegitimate children, who could inherit neither the Palatinate nor Bavaria. To get territory he could bequeath to his illegitimate children, Charles Theodore tried to exchange Lower Bavaria to Emperor Joseph in return for parts of the Austrian Netherlands.

Charles August was the next in line for Bavaria, and objected strenuously. He had the support of Frederick the Great of Prussia and of most of the German minor states. Thanks to his mother-in-law, this included Saxony.

The War of the Bavarian Succession was resolved without fighting; Charles Theodore succeeded in Bavaria. A second attempt to make the exchange in 1784 was also opposed by Charles August, again with Prussian support, and also failed. Charles Theodore outlived Charles August who died without a son, but Bavaria went to Charles August's brother, Maximilian Joseph.^[2]

Marriage

In Dresden in 1774, Charles married Maria Amalia of Saxony, daughter of Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony. They had one son who died in childhood. Upon his death the title of Duke of Zweibrücken was inherited by his brother Maximilian.

Charles August was the principal owner of the famous Karlsberg Castle. He died at Mannheim in 1795.

Ancestry

References

1. ^ Julia P. Gelardi. In Triumph's Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-312-37105-0, p. 183.
2. ^ Berenger, pp. 96–97.

Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken House of Wittelsbach Born: 29 October 1746 Died: 1 April 1795
Preceded by Christian IV	Duke of Zweibrücken 1775–1795	Succeeded by Maximilian

Persondata
Name	Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrucken
Alternative names	Karl III. August Christian, Herzog von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (German)
Short description	Duke of Zweibrücken, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler
Date of birth	October 29, 1746
Place of birth	Düsseldorf
Date of death	April 1, 1795
Place of death	Mannheim