Charles I of Württemberg

Charles (Karl Friedrich Alexander; 6 March 1823 – 6 October 1891) was King of Württemberg from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891. Charles I married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia in 1846 and ascended to the throne in 1864. Despite their marriage, the couple had no children, likely due to Charles' homosexuality. Charles was involved in several scandals, including a close relationship with American Charles Woodcock. In 1870, the couple adopted Olga's niece, Vera Konstantinovna. Charles I aligned with Austria during the Austro-Prussian War but later sided with Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, joining the new German Empire in 1870. He died childless and was succeeded by his nephew, William II.

Early life
Charles was born on 6 March 1823 in Stuttgart as the only son of King William I and his third wife Pauline Therese (1800–1873). As the king's eldest son he became Crown Prince of Württemberg. His father's first wife was Princess Caroline Augusta, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. After their 1814 divorce, without issue, he married his first cousin, Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Catherine died in 1819 after having two daughters, Princess Marie Friederike Charlotte of Württemberg (wife of Alfred, Count von Neipperg) and Princess Sophie of Württemberg (wife of King William III of the Netherlands). From his parents marriage, he had two sisters, Princess Catherine (who married Prince Frederick of Württemberg) and Princess Augusta (wife of Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach).

His paternal grandparents were King Frederick I of Württemberg and Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (a daughter of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, elder sister to King George III). His grandmother's younger sister, Princess Caroline married King George IV. His maternal grandparents were Duke Louis of Württemberg and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg.

Charles studied in Berlin and Tübingen.

Reign
Charles acceded to the throne of Württemberg upon his father's death on 25 June 1864 and was crowned on 12 July 1864. More liberal-leaning than his father, he replaced Chief Minister Joseph von Linden with Karl von Varnbüler, and restored freedom of the press and association on 24 December 1864 followed by universal suffrage introduced for the People's Deputies of the Second Chamber on 26 March 1868.

In relation to foreign policy, after siding with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, he moved closer to the Kingdom of Prussia. Following the Battle of Sadowa, he enacted a secret military treaty with Prussia (which became public in 1867) and recognized the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866. Nevertheless, an anti-Prussian attitude was officially represented by the Court, the government and the people.

Because of the alliance, Württemberg took Prussia's side in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871. At the end of October 1870 the king withdrew to Friedrichshafen and in October 1870, signed one of the November treaties, joining the North German Confederation which began on 1 January 1871 and renamed itself the German Empire. He was represented at the Palace of Versailles at the Proclamation of the German Empire by his cousin, Prince August of Württemberg.

The King showed a tendency to withdraw into private life in other ways, going around the country and, later, spending time in Nice. In doing so, he was accused of having neglected the obligations incumbent on him as a constitutional body, including by having up to 800 unsigned documents accumulate in one case. On the one hand, it was a nuisance for the administration, but on the other hand it was also convenient for the government who was largely able to rule without interference from the King.

As a result of Württemberg being a Federal State of the German Empire since 1871, there were considerable restrictions on its sovereignty. Württemberg lost its previous international position, but gained greater security both internally and externally. Postal and telegraph services, financial sovereignty, cultural maintenance and railway administration remained in Württemberg hands, and the Kingdom of Württemberg also had its own military administration.

Personal life
On 18 January 1846, he became engaged in Palermo to the 23-year-old Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia (a daughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia and sister to William I, German Emperor). Olga's grandmother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, was the younger sister of Charles' grandfather, King Frederick. They married on 13 July 1846 at Peterhof Palace in Petergof, Saint Petersburg. The young couple moved to Stuttgart, and from 1854 until Charles' accession in 1864, lived at the Crown Prince Palace (Kronprinzenpalais) built between 1846 and 1850 at state expense on Königstraße, corner of Schloßplatz (which was demolished in c. 1962). For their summer residence, the crown prince couple stayed at Villa Berg, which had been designed by Christian Friedrich von Leins according to their own ideas and is considered one of the first Renaissance Revival style buildings in Germany.

The couple had no children, perhaps because of Charles' homosexuality, and, in 1870, Olga and Charles I adopted Olga's niece Vera Konstantinovna, the daughter of her brother Grand Duke Konstantin.

After a stay at Bebenhausen Palace where he spent his autumns at Bebenhausen (and had tasked architect August Beyer (born 1834) with renovating the palace's rooms), he returned to Stuttgart on 3 October 1891, three days before his death on 6 October 1891. He was succeeded as King of Württemberg by his nephew, William II. His wife died a year later, on 30 October 1892, and was buried together with him in the Old Castle in Stuttgart.

Homosexuality
Charles I became the object of scandal several times for his closeness with various men. A first "intimate" long-standing "heart friendship" was with his adjutant general, Baron Wilhelm von Spitzemberg. Another friend was Richard Jackson of Cincinnati, the secretary of the U.S. Consulate. Charles' most notorious relationship was with the American Charles Woodcock, a 30-year-old he met in 1883. The King made Woodcock his chamberlain and even elevated him as to Freiherr Woodcock-Savage in 1888. Charles I and Charles Woodcock became inseparable, going so far as to appear together in public dressed identically. It was less the king's homosexuality than the fact that Woodcock used his position to exercise significant influence over the king's personnel decisions that became a scandal. This did not go unnoticed by the press, and together with the political establishment, headed by Prime Minister Hermann von Mittnacht, the King was put under intense pressure to give up Woodcock. In 1889, however, Charles found a new friend in Wilhelm Georges, the technical director of the royal theater. The relationship with Georges lasted until the King's death two years later.

Honours
• Württemberg:

• * Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1837

• * Grand Cross of the Friedrich Order

• * Founder of the Order of Olga, 27 June 1871

•  Russian Empire: Knight of St. Andrew, April 1829

•  Baden:

• * Grand Cross of the House Order of Fidelity, 1830

• * Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, 1830

•    Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, April 1841

•  Kingdom of Prussia:

• * Knight of the Black Eagle, 20 May 1841; with Collar, 1861

• * Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 22 September 1876

•  Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of St. Hubert, 1841

•  Austrian Empire: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1845

•  Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 19 September 1846

•  Grand Duchy of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 22 October 1848

•  Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, 17 October 1853

•  Kingdom of Hanover:

• * Knight of St. George, 1855

• * Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, 1855

• 🇧🇪 Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military), 17 July 1864

•  Kingdom of Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown, 1864

• 🇲🇨 Monaco: Grand Cross of St. Charles, 24 September 1865

•  French Empire: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, July 1867

• 🇸🇪 🇳🇴 Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Seraphim, 17 October 1879

•  Kingdom of Italy: Knight of the Annunciation, 13 April 1882

•  undefined: Knight of the Golden Fleece, 6 February 1888

• 🇩🇰 Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 23 June 1889

•  undefined: Stranger Knight Companion of the Garter, 23 April 1890