Charles1
/tʃɑːlz
/1The name of two kings of England, Scotland, and Ireland:
1.1 Charles I (1600–49), son of James I, reigned 1625–49. His reign was dominated by the deepening religious and constitutional crisis that resulted in the English Civil War 1642-9. After the battle of Naseby, Charles tried to regain power in alliance with the Scots, but his forces were defeated in 1648 and he was tried by a special Parliamentary court and beheaded.
1.2 Charles II (1630–85), son of Charles I, reigned 1660–85. Charles was restored to the throne after the collapse of Cromwell’s regime and displayed considerable adroitness in handling the difficult constitutional situation, although continuing religious and political strife dogged his reign.
Charles2
/tʃɑːlz/1The name of four kings of Spain:
1.1 Charles I (1500–58), son of Philip I, reigned 1516–56, Holy Roman emperor (as Charles V) 1519–56. His reign was characterized by the struggle against Protestantism in Germany, rebellion in Castile, and war with France (1521–44). Exhausted by these struggles, Charles handed Naples, the Netherlands, and Spain over to his son Philip II and the imperial Crown to his brother Ferdinand, and retired to a monastery.
1.2 Charles II (1661–1700), reigned 1665–1700. He inherited a kingdom already in a decline which he was unable to halt. His choice of Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, as his successor gave rise to the War of the Spanish Succession.
1.3 Charles III (1716–88), reigned 1759–88. He improved Spain’s position as an international power through an increase in foreign trade, and brought Spain a brief cultural and economic revival.
1.4 Charles IV (1748–1819), reigned 1788–1808. During the Napoleonic Wars he suffered the loss of the Spanish fleet, destroyed along with that of France at Trafalgar in 1805. Following the French invasion of Spain in 1807, Charles was forced to abdicate.
Charles3
/CHärlz
/1The name of two European kings.
1.1 Charles VII (1403–61), king of France 1422–61. At the time of his accession, much of northern France was under English occupation. After the intervention of Joan of Arc, however, the French experienced a dramatic military revival, and the defeat of the English ended the Hundred Years War.
1.2 Charles XII (also Karl XII /kärl/) (1682–1718), king of Sweden 1697–1718. In 1700, he initiated a war against Denmark, Poland-Saxony, and Russia. Initially successful, he embarked on an expedition into Russia in 1709 that ended in the destruction of his army and his internment.
Charles4
/tʃɑːlz/1The name of seven Holy Roman emperors:
1.1 Charles I see Charlemagne.
1.2 Charles II (823–877), reigned 875–877.
1.3 Charles III (839–888), reigned 881–887.
1.4 Charles IV (1316–1378), reigned 1355–1378.
1.5 Charles V Charles I of Spain (see Charles2).
1.6 Charles VI (1685–1740), reigned 1711–40. His claim to the Spanish throne instigated the War of the Spanish Succession, but he was ultimately unsuccessful. He drafted the Pragmatic Sanction in an attempt to ensure that his daughter succeeded to the Habsburg dominions; this triggered the War of the Austrian Succession after his death.
1.7 Charles VII (1697–1745), reigned 1742–45.