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Carlos II of Spain (November 6, 1661 — November 1, 1700) was the last ruler of Habsburg Spain.

Born on November 6, 1661, King Carlos II was the only surviving son of King Felipe IV of Spain and Archduchess Mariana of Austria, who were uncle and niece.

Archduchess Mariana of Austria was the second child of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of King Felipe III of Spain and of Archduchess Margaret of Austria who was the daughter of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria and thus the paternal granddaughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I.

An Avunculate marriage, those between uncle and niece, or aunt and nephew, were unusual but not unknown; examples from this period include Maximilian of Bavaria and his niece Maria Anna in 1635, Prince Maurice of Savoy and Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy in 1642, while Carlos’s sister married her uncle Emperor Leopold in 1666.

King Carlos II of Spain is Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the war that followed his death, his reign has traditionally been viewed as one of managed decline. However, many of the issues he faced pre-dated his succession, while he left a Spanish Empire that remained largely intact.

For reasons still debated, Carlos experienced extended periods of ill health throughout his life. From the moment he became king at the age of three in 1665, the succession was a prominent consideration in European politics. Historian John Langdon-Davies summarised his life as follows: “Of no man is it more true to say that in his beginning was his end; from the day of his birth, they were waiting for his death”.

Although he married twice, neither union produced children, and on his death in November 1700, King Carlos II was succeeded by the 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, grandson of his elder half-sister Infanta Maria Theresa and King Louis XIV of France and Navarre.

However, the question of who inherited the crown was less important than the division of his territories, and failure to resolve the issue through diplomacy led to war in 1701.

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 Carlos 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.

The degree to which inbreeding was responsible for his ill-health is also unclear and disputed. Neither his elder sister, Infanta Margaret Theresa of Spain, or Archduchess Maria Antonia, the daughter of the marriage to her uncle Emperor Leopold, suffered the same health problems.

Based on contemporary accounts, King Carlos 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.

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 alleged 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 he was 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.

This is confirmed by a 1691 report submitted by an envoy from Ismail Ibn Sharif, Sultan of Morocco; sent to negotiate an exchange of prisoners, he was received by King Carlos II himself, who played a full part in the discussions.

Costanzo Operti, a Savoyard diplomat who held regular audiences with Carlos II during the Nine Years’ War, described him as affable and generous but shy and lacking self-confidence, characteristics noted by other foreign diplomats.