fwo_1085809 - SPANISH NETHERLANDS - COUNTY OF FLANDERS - CHARLES II Liard 1687 Bruges

SPANISH NETHERLANDS - COUNTY OF FLANDERS - CHARLES II

(1661-1700)

Charles II (6/11/1661-1/11/1700) is the son of Philip IV of Spain and Marie-Anne of Austria. Last offspring of the Habsburgs of Spain and Austria, he has trouble standing up and suffers from many family flaws. He is king at the death of his father, at four years old, under the regency of his mother. He married Marie Louise d'Orléans (1662-1689), the daughter of Philippe d'Orléans, the niece of Louis XIV. His reign marks the reduction of Spanish power and the loss of many provinces: Franche-Comté, French Flanders. Charles, the great patient of Europe, died in 1700 without a direct heir and instituted Philippe, Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV, as heir to the throne of Spain. This is the beginning of the War of Spanish Succession (1700-1713).