A disabled heir

[Principessa]

Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm) (25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or der Märchenkönig ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, and Duke in Swabia. He was the elder son of Maximilian II of Bavaria and Marie of Prussia, Crown Prince and Princess of Bavaria, who became King and Queen in 1848 after the abdication of the former's father, Ludwig I, during the German Revolution. His parents intended to name him Otto, but his grandfather insisted that his grandson be named after him, since their common birthday, 25 August, is the feast day of Saint Louis IX of France, patron saint of Bavaria (with "Ludwig" being the German form of "Louis"). His full name was Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; English: Louis Otto Frederick William. His younger brother, born three years later, was named Otto. Like many young heirs in an age when kings governed most of Europe, Ludwig was continually reminded of his royal status. King Maximilian wanted to instruct both of his sons in the burdens of royal duty from an early age. Ludwig was both extremely indulged and severely controlled by his tutors and subjected to a strict regimen of study and exercise. Some point to these stresses of growing up in a royal family as the causes for much of his odd behavior as an adult. Ludwig was not close to either of his parents. As an adolescent, Ludwig became close friends with his aide de camp, Prince Paul, a member of the wealthy Bavarian Thurn und Taxis family. The two young men rode together, read poetry aloud, and staged scenes from the Romantic operas of Richard Wagner. The friendship ended when Paul became engaged in 1866 with a commoner. During his youth, Ludwig also initiated a lifelong friendship with his cousin Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, later Empress of Austria. Crown Prince Ludwig was in his 19th year when his father died after a three-day illness, and he ascended the Bavarian throne. Although he was not prepared for high office, his youth and brooding good looks made him popular in Bavaria and elsewhere.He continued the state policies of his father and retained his ministers. Ludwig was intensely interested in the operas of Richard Wagner.  But then Ludwig was brought down by conspirators, who claimed his mental health was bad. The degree to which these accusations were accurate may never be known. A team of psychiatrists diagnosed Ludwig with paranoia. Today, the claim of paranoia is not considered correct; Ludwig's behavior is rather interpreted as a schizotypal personality disorder and he may also have suffered from Pick's disease during his last years, an assumption supported by a frontotemporal lobar degeneration mentioned in the autopsy report.) Ludwig's only younger brother and successor, Otto, was considered insane, providing a convenient basis for the claim of hereditary insanity. At 4 am on 10 June 1886, a government commission including Holnstein and Gudden arrived at Neuschwanstein to deliver the document of deposition to the King formally and to place him in custody.That same day, the government under Minister-President Johann von Lutz publicly proclaimed Luitpold as Prince Regent. Eventually, the king decided he would try to escape, but he was too late. In the early hours of 12 June, a second commission arrived. The King was seized just after midnight and at 4 am was taken to a waiting carriage. On the afternoon of the next day, 13 June 1886, Dr. Gudden accompanied Ludwig on a stroll in the grounds of Berg Castle. They were escorted by two attendants. On their return, Gudden expressed optimism to other doctors concerning the treatment of his royal patient. Following dinner, at around 6 pm, Ludwig asked Gudden to accompany him on a further walk, this time through the Schloß Berg parkland along the shore of Lake Starnberg. Gudden agreed; the walk may even have been his suggestion, and he told the aides not to join them. His words were ambiguous (Es darf kein Pfleger mitgehen, "No attendant may come with [us]") and whether they were meant to follow at a discreet distance is not clear. The two men were last seen at about 6:30 pm; they were due back at 8 pm, but never returned. After searches were made for more than two hours by the entire castle staff in a gale with heavy rain, at 10:30 pm that night, the bodies of both the King and von Gudden were found, head and shoulders above the shallow water near the shore. The King's watch had stopped at 6:54. Gendarmes patrolling the park had neither seen nor heard anything unusual.Ludwig's death was officially ruled a suicide by drowning, but the official autopsy report indicated that no water was found in his lungs. Ludwig was a very strong swimmer in his youth, the water was approximately waist deep where his body was found, and he had not expressed suicidal feelings during the crisis. Gudden's body showed blows to the head and neck and signs of strangulation, leading to the suspicion that he was strangled, although no other evidence was found to prove this.Speculation exists that Ludwig was murdered by his enemies while attempting to escape from Berg. One account suggests that the king was shot.Another theory suggests that Ludwig died of natural causes (such as a heart attack or stroke) brought on by the cool water (12 °C) of the lake during an escape attempt.



Otto (German: Otto Wilhelm Luitpold Adalbert Waldemar)(27 April 1848 – 11 October 1916), was the son of Maximilian II and his wife, Marie of Prussia, and the younger brother of Ludwig II  Otto was King of Bavaria from 1886 until 1913. However, he never actively ruled because of alleged severe mental illness. His uncle, Luitpold, and his cousin, Ludwig, served as regents. Ludwig deposed him in 1913, a day after the legislature passed a law allowing him to do so, and became king in his own right. Otto and Ludwig were often seen together during the early years of Ludwig's reign, but they became estranged over time. Ludwig was shy and introverted and eventually became a recluse. Otto was cheerful, outgoing and extroverted until the Franco-Prussian War. After the Franco-Prussian War, Otto became very depressed and anxious, which worried his family. Otto had spells during which he slept poorly for days and acted out, followed by periods of time during which he was perfectly normal and lucid. His illness progressively grew worse. Ludwig was horrified because he had been counting on Otto to marry and have a son who could eventually inherit the throne. Otto was placed under medical supervision, and reports about his condition were sent by spies working for the Prussian Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. Doctors reported that Otto was mentally ill in January 1872. From 1873, he was held in isolation in the southern pavilion of Nymphenburg Palace. His attending physician was Dr. Bernhard von Gudden, who later diagnosed Otto's brother, Ludwig, as mentally ill without bothering to examine him and without asking him a single question, which raises questions about his competence and his motives. Both Ludwig and Otto despised Prussia, and their uncle, Luitpold, and Gudden supported Prussia's rise to dominance. Some contemporaries believed that Gudden's diagnoses of Otto and Ludwig were motivated by political considerations and that more could and should have been done to help and treat Otto. Some contemporaries also believed that Bismarck did not want Ludwig or Otto to remain in power and decided to replace the brothers with their malleable uncle, Luitpold During Corpus Christi Mass in 1875 in the Frauenkirche in Munich, Otto, who had not attended the church service, rushed into the church wearing hunting clothes and fell on his knees before the celebrant, Archbishop Gregor von Scherr, to ask forgiveness for his sins. The High Mass was interrupted, and the prince did not resist when he was led away by two church ministers. Otto was then moved to Schleissheim Palace and was effectively held prisoner there, much to his dismay. Gudden made no effort to treat him; it is possible that Otto was heavily drugged. Otto's last public appearance was his presence at the side of his brother at the King's parade on 22 August 1875, at the Marsfeld in Munich. From 1 June 1876, he stayed for a few weeks in the castle at Ludwigsthal in the Bavarian Forest. In the spring of 1880, his condition worsened. In 1883, he was confined under medical supervision in Fürstenried Palace near Munich, where he would remain for the rest of his life. The palace had been specially converted for his confinement. Ludwig occasionally visited him at night and ordered for no violence to be used against him.In 1886, the senior royal medical officer wrote a statement declaring that Otto was severely mentally ill. It has been claimed that Ludwig had a schizotypal personality disorder[citation needed] and that Otto suffered from schizophrenia. It has also been persuasively argued that Otto's problems were the result of contracting syphilis, which would also account for his physical problems, particularly the paralysis from which he suffered in later years. When King Ludwig II was deposed by his ministers on 10 June 1886, his uncle Luitpold took over the rule of the Kingdom of Bavaria and led the affairs of state in Ludwig's place as regent. Only three days later Ludwig II died under unknown circumstances, and Prince Otto succeeded him as King of Bavaria on 13 June 1886 in accordance with the Wittelsbach succession law. Since Otto was unable to lead the government due to his mental illness (officially it was said: "The King is melancholic"), Prince Regent Luitpold also reigned for him. He did not understand the proclamation of his accession to the throne, which was explained to King Otto at Fürstenried Palace the next day after his accession. He thought his uncle Luitpold was the rightful king. Shortly thereafter, the Bavarian troops were sworn in the name of King Otto I and coins were minted with his portrait.Luitpold kept his role as Prince Regent until he died in 1912 and was succeeded by his son Ludwig, who was Otto's first cousin. By then, it had been obvious for some time that Otto would never emerge from seclusion or be mentally capable of actively reigning. Almost as soon as Ludwig became regent, elements in the press and larger society clamoured for Ludwig to become king in his own right.Accordingly, the constitution of Bavaria was amended on 4 November 1913 to include a clause specifying that if a regency for reasons of incapacity lasted for ten years, with no expectation that the King would ever be able to reign, the Regent could end the regency, depose the King and assume the crown himself with the assent of the legislature. The following day, Prince Regent Ludwig ended the regency and proclaimed his own reign as Ludwig III. The parliament assented on 6 November, and Ludwig III took the constitutional oath on 8 November. King Otto was permitted to retain his title and honours for life.Otto died unexpectedly on 11 October 1916 from a volvulus (an obstruction of the bowel).

[CyrilSebastian]

Prince Francois of Orleans, Count of Clermont     
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3INBnLAhKiQ

[CyrilSebastian]

The physical and mental feebleness of Don Carlos of Spain was the reason the sons of King Philip II's cousin Maximilian II, the later Emperor Rudolph II and Archduke Ernest were summoned to the Spanish court to be brought up there and groomed as potential successors.

[Principessa]

The physical and mental feebleness of Don Carlos of Spain was the reason the sons of King Philip II's cousin Maximilian II, the later Emperor Rudolph II and Archduke Ernest were summoned to the Spanish court to be brought up there and groomed as potential successors.

Carlos, Prince of Asturias, also known as Don Carlos (8 July 1545 – 24 July 1568), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Philip II of Spain. His mother was Maria Manuela of Portugal, daughter of John III of Portugal. Carlos was known to be mentally unstable and was imprisoned by his father in early 1568, dying after half a year of solitary confinement. His imprisonment and death were utilized in Spain's Black Legend. His life inspired the play Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller and the opera Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi.

Carlos was born in Valladolid, Spain on 8 July 1545 to double first cousins Philip of Spain and María Manuela of Portugal. His paternal grandfather, Emperor Charles V, was the reigning king of Spain. Carlos's mother Maria died four days after the birth of her son from a hemorrhage she had following the birth

Carlos was born with unequal leg length and lordosis, resulting in his shoulders and stance being asymmetrical. His physical abnormalities and behavioral issues are often attributed to inbreeding as he was a member of the House of Habsburg and the House of Aviz Carlos had only four great-grandparents instead of the typical eight,[5] and his parents had the same coefficient of relationship, 25%, which is equivalent to them being half siblings. He also had only six great-great-grandparents, instead of the maximum 16; his maternal grandmother and his paternal grandfather were siblings, his maternal grandfather and his paternal grandmother were also siblings, and his two great-grandmothers were sisters.[

Following the death of his mother, Carlos was raised by his paternal aunts, Maria and Joanna, until their marriages in 1548 and 1552. His childhood was "emotionally deprived": Philip II spent long periods abroad and, after Joanna's departure, Carlos endured a marked lack of affection. According to the courtier Gamiz, Carlos was spoiled and prone to tantrums.

Carlos began exhibiting violent behavior at a young age, often directing his aggression towards servants and animals His conduct and character gained notoriety at court, drawing the attention of foreign ambassadors. It is unclear whether he had any intellectual disabilities, or whether his intellectual ability was impaired by the 1562 brain injury

In 1559, Carlos became engaged to Elizabeth of Valois, eldest daughter of King Henry II of France. However, to hasten the reconciliation between Spain and France, Elizabeth married Philip instead. Three other brides were then suggested for the Prince: Mary, Queen of Scots; Margaret of Valois, youngest daughter of Henry II of France; and Anna of Austria, who was a daughter of Philip's cousin, Emperor Maximilian II and Philip's sister Maria. Although it was agreed in 1564 that Carlos should marry Anna, the marriage was continually postponed by Philip, much to Carlos's frustration.[25] Anna would later become Philip's fourth wife.

Beginning in 1560, Carlos suffered recurrent feverish attacks, suspected to be caused by malaria. For the sake of his health, court physicians advised that the prince be moved to Alcalá de Henares. In 1561, Philip arranged for Carlos to be educated in the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares alongside his uncle, Juan of Austria, and cousin, Alexander Farnese

In April 1562, while at the University of Alcalá, Carlos sustained a severe head injury after falling down a staircase. Initially deemed non-threatening, his condition rapidly deteriorated; within ten days he was experiencing delusions and excruciating pain. Fearing for his son's life, Philip sought various remedies, consulting numerous physicians and resorting to placing the relics of Diego de Alcalá by the prince's bedside. By late May, Carlos's condition began to improve. While Philip credited the miraculous power of the Franciscan corpse, modern historians attribute the prince's recovery to either a trepanation of the skull performed by the anatomist Andreas Vesalius or the application of ointments by a Moorish doctor.[36] After his recovery, Carlos became even wilder, more unstable in his temper and unpredictable in his behaviour

Throughout 1567, Carlos exhibited escalating emotional instability, marked by violent episodes. One notable incident involved his command to set a house on fire after he was accidentally splashed with water thrown from a window of the house

Carlos often complained about his father's resistance to giving him positions of authority. Hoping to placate his son by increasing his sense of responsibility, Philip appointed Carlos president of the Council of State in 1567. However, the prince showed no interest in the Council or in familiarizing himself with political matters.

Although he initially promised Carlos rule over the Low Countries in 1559, Philip came to realize his son's inability to be trusted with positions of power. Consequently, instead of fulfilling his promise, Philip granted the position of Governor of the Netherlands to the Duke of Alba. Outraged at being robbed of his position, Carlos attempted to attack the duke but was quickly restrained.[50]

In the autumn of 1567, he made another attempt to flee to the Netherlands by asking John of Austria to take him to Italy. John asked for 24 hours to make his decision, during which he revealed Carlos's plan to Phillip who immediately denied permission for the trip.

After being denied Carlos attempted to shoot John of Austria. A servant had unloaded Carlos's gun while he lured John into his room. After Carlos discovered his gun was unloaded, he attacked John with bare hands. After hearing about the attack, Philip ordered that Carlos be confined in his room without contact to the outside world.

Just before midnight on 17 January 1568, Philip II, in armour, and with four councillors, entered Don Carlos' bedchamber in the Alcázar of Madrid where they declared his arrest seized his papers and weapons, and nailed up the windows.[54] Carlos threatened suicide, which then caused him to be banned from having knives or forks in his room.



In addressing public opinion and other European courts, Philip attempted to justify Carlos's imprisonment without revealing the prince's actual transgressions or mental state. This absence of transparency fueled idespread speculation that would later be weaponized by Philip's enemies. By July, Carlos's hunger strikes left him in an "appallingly thin" state. On 24 July 1568, the prince died in his room, probably as a result of starvation. His death was used as one of the core elements of the Spanish Black Legend in the Netherlands, which needed to justify a revolt against the king, which subsequently caused The Eighty Years' War. It was later claimed that he was murdered on the orders of King Philip, especially by William the Silent in his Apology, a 1581 propaganda work against the Spanish king.[61] The idea of the poisoning had been held by central and north European historians, based on the pieces of propaganda produced in the Netherlands, until the 20th century, while most Spanish and Italian historians kept claiming that evidence and documentation pointed at a death by natural causes.Modern historians now think that Don Carlos died of natural causes.


The idea of King Philip confining and murdering his own son later played a minor role in establishing the anti-Spanish Black Legendin England, and a major one in forming it in the Netherlands, Germany and central Europe. The propaganda created from it formed the basis for Friedrich Schiller's 1787 tragedy Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien.Schiller based his work on a novel written in 1672 by the French Abbé, César Vichard de Saint-Réal, which was also the source used by the English writer Thomas Otway for his play Don Carlos, Prince of Spain. In both works, romantic tragedies that combine nationalism and romantic love, Carlos incarnates the ideal of the romantic knight, noble and brave. He is presented as the lover of young Elizabeth of Valois, Philip's wife, as they both fight for freedom and for their love against a cruel, despotic, merciless, and far-too-old-for-Isabel Philip II and his court of equally cruel and despotic Spaniards. Finally, the hero is defeated by treason due to his excess of nobility Schiller's play was adapted into several operas, most notably Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlos (1867, also known under its Italian title, Don Carlo). Verdi's opera is probably the version of the story most familiar to modern audiences, as it is a mainstay of the operatic repertoire and is still frequently performed In it, Carlos is portrayed sympathetically as a victim of court intrigues, and little reference is made to his mental instability or violent tendencies.


The role of Carlos is portrayed by Canadian actor Mark Ghanimé in the CW show Reign. He was portrayed as a sexual deviant, who enjoyed being whipped, and showed interest in ruling Scotland with a crown matrimonial. Reign does hold true to the facts of brain damage, but instead of a fall, Don Carlos's head is impaled by a piece of wood from his "sex horse".Carlos is portrayed by Joseph Cuby as a 14 year old sadist betrothed to Princess Mariella (Francesca Annis) in the TV series Sir Francis Drake (1962) episode "Visit to Spain".

[Principessa]

Or did you meant Carlos II (Charles II) the son of Philip IV?

About Carlos of Spain according to Wikipedia:

Charles II of Spain (Carlos) (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, neither of his marriages produced children, and he died without a direct heir. He is now best remembered for his physical disabilities, and the War of the Spanish Succession that followed his death.

Born 6 November 1661, Charles was the only surviving son of Philip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria, who were uncle and niece. While European nobility commonly married within the same extended family to retain property, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs were unusual in the extent to which they followed this policy. Of eleven marriages contracted by Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, the vast majority contained some element of consanguinity, while Philip and Mariana were one of two unions between uncle and niece.This policy may also have been driven by limpieza de sangre or "blood purity" statutes enacted in the early 16th century, which remained in use until the 1860s.

Inter-marriage accentuated the so-called 'Habsburg jaw', a physical characteristic common in both Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs. One contemporary reported this was so pronounced in Charles that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing, leading to frequent stomach problems A 2019 study based on an analysis of Habsburg portraits concluded this feature was likely due to a recessive trait; however, in the absence of genetic material, such claims remain speculative

Whether his ill-health resulted from inbreeding remains disputed. Neither his elder sister Margaret Theresa of Spain, or Maria Antonia, daughter of the marriage to her uncle Leopold, had similar issues. Based on an analysis of contemporary accounts, modern researchers speculate Charles may have had combined pituitary hormone deficiency and distal renal tubular acidosis. However, other studies argue his issues were more likely due to a herpetic infection incurred as an infant, while his autopsy report showed symptoms associated with hydrocephalus. A 2021 study postulates his issues may have been the result of problems with his metabolism.After his birth, he was entrusted to the royal governess Mariana Engracia Álvarez de Toledo Portugal y Alfonso-Pimentel. Under her careful supervision, he survived childhood attacks of measles, chickenpox, rubella and smallpox, any one of which was then potentially fatal.He also had rickets, which left him unable to walk unaided until he was four and compelled him to wear leg braces until the age of five

The extent of his physical and mental disabilities is hard to assess, since very little is known for certain and much of what is suggested is either unproved or incorrect. While prone to illness, he was extremely active physically and contemporaries reported he spent much of his time hunting One often cited example of his alleged mental incapacity is the period he spent sleeping with his father's disinterred body; this was in fact done under instructions from Mariana, whose doctors advised this would help him produce an heir. Although reputedly subject to bouts of depression, his participation in government and reports from his council and foreign observers such as the French ambassador Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquess of Torcy, indicate his mental capacities remained intact.

Since Charles was a legal minor when Philip died on 17 September 1665, Mariana was appointed Queen Regent by the Council of Castile. The Spanish Empire remained an enormous global confederation, but its economic supremacy was increasingly challenged by the Dutch Republic and England, and its position in Europe destabilised by the expansionist policies of Louis XIV of France.Her ability to respond effectively to the challenges facing the Empire was hampered by an ongoing power struggle with Don Juan José de Austria, Charles's older illegitimate half-brother. In addition, enacting essential reforms was complicated since Spain was a personal union between the Crown of Castile and Crown of Aragon, each with very distinct political cultures and traditions. Infighting between those who ruled in Charles's name during his regency did little to help, but it is debatable how far they can be held responsible for long-term trends predating his reign. The monarchy proved remarkably resilient, and when Charles died, remained largely intact.

In August 1679 Don Juan brokered a match between Charles and the 17-year-old Marie Louise of Orléans, eldest niece of Louis XIV and daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans.The domestic political situation was transformed when Marie-Louise died in February 1689, shortly after the outbreak of war with France; based on the description of her symptoms, modern doctors believe her illness was almost certainly appendicitis. In August, Charles married Maria Anna of Neuburg by proxy, the formal wedding taking place in May 1690. His mother Mariana died on 16 May 1696 and Maria Anna took control of access to CharlesIt was now clear Charles's health was finally failing, and agreeing on a successor became increasingly urgent. The Nine Years' War showed France could not achieve its objectives on its own; the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick was the result of mutual exhaustion and Louis's search for allies in anticipation of a contest over the Spanish throne. Emperor Leopold refused to sign since it left the issue unresolved; he reluctantly did so in October 1697, but viewed it as a pause in hostilities  Although Charles was reportedly devoted to her, Marie Louise was blamed for the failure to produce a heir, while primitive fertility treatments gave her severe intestinal problems. here has been considerable debate as to whether Charles was impotent, and if so, the cause; based on private interviews with Marie Louise, he may have experienced premature ejaculation. The suggestion this resulted from inbreeding has not been proved, while a number of scientific studies dispute any linkage between fertility and consanguinity. His 2nd wife was partially selected because her family was famous for its fertility.  Despite these hopes, Maria Anna was no more successful in producing an heir than her predecessor, almost certainly because Charles was by now physically incapable of doing so; his autopsy later revealed his sole remaining testicle was atrophied  The question of the succession became increasingly urgent; since the Crown of Spain passed according to cognatic primogeniture, it could be inherited through the female line. This enabled Charles's sisters Maria Theresa (1638–1683) and Margaret Theresa to pass their rights to the children of their marriages with Louis XIV and Emperor Leopold. However, to prevent a union between Spain and France, Maria Theresa had renounced her inheritance rights on her marriage; in return, Louis was promised a dowry of 500,000 gold écus, a huge sum that was never paid In 1685, Leopold and Margaret's daughter Maria Antonia married Max Emanuel of Bavaria; she died in 1692, leaving one surviving son, Joseph Ferdinand. In October 1698, France, England and the Dutch Republic attempted to impose a diplomatic solution to the Succession on Spain and Austria, by the Treaty of the Hague or First Partition Treaty. This made Joseph Ferdinand heir to the bulk of the Spanish monarchy, with France gaining the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily and other concessions in Italy plus the modern Basque province of Gipuzkoa. Leopold's younger son Archduke Charles became ruler of the Duchy of Milan, a possession considered vital to the security of Austria's southern border The Spanish objected to their empire being divided by foreign powers without consultation, and on 14 November 1698, Charles II made Joseph Ferdinand heir to an independent and undivided Spanish monarchy. Maria Anna was appointed Regent during his minority, an announcement allegedly received by the Spanish councillors in silence. Joseph Ferdinand's death in 1699 ended these arrangements It t also left Louis XIV's eldest son, the Grand Dauphin, heir to the Spanish throne, once again implying union between Spain and France. In March 1700, France, England and the Dutch agreed an alternative; Archduke Charles replaced Joseph Ferdinand, with Spanish possessions in Europe split between France, Savoy and Austria. Charles reacted by altering his will in favour of Archduke Charles, but once again stipulating an undivided and independent Spanish monarchy

Most of the Castilian nobility disliked Maria Anna and her German courtiers and viewed a French candidate as more likely to ensure their independence. In September 1700, Charles became ill again; by 28 September he was no longer able to eat, and Portocarrero persuaded him to alter his will in favour of Louis XIV's grandson, Philip of Anjou. He died on 1 November 1700, at age 38. The autopsy records his "heart was the size of a peppercorn; his lungs corroded; his intestines rotten and gangrenous; he had a single testicle, black as coal, and his head was full of water." As suggested previously, these are indicative of hydrocephalus, a disease often associated with childhood measles, one of many illnesses contracted by Charles.

Philip was proclaimed King of Spain on 16 November 1700, and the War of the Spanish Succession formally began on 9 July 1701

[CyrilSebastian]

Principessa, I meant Don Carlos, the son of King Philip II of Spain.