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Charles (March 6, 1823 – October 6, 1891) was King of Württemberg from June 25, 1864 until his death in 1891.

Charles was born on March 6, 1823 in Stuttgart as the only son of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and his third wife Pauline Therese of Württemberg (1800–1873), one of the five children of Duke Ludwig of Württemberg and his wife, Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg. Her siblings included Maria Dorothea, Archduchess of Austria; Amelia, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen; Elisabeth Alexandrine, Princess of Baden, and Duke Alexander of Württemberg himself the founder of the Teck branch of the family.

As the king’s eldest son he became Crown Prince Charles 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, King Wilhelm I married his first cousin, Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.

Grand Duchess Catherine died in 1819 after having two daughters, Princess Marie of Württemberg (wife of Alfred, Count von Neipperg) and Princess Sophie of Württemberg (wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands).

From his parents marriage, he had two sisters, Princess Catherine (who married Prince Friedrich of Württemberg) and Princess Augusta (wife of Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach).

His paternal grandparents were King Friedrich I of Württemberg and Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (a daughter of Charles Wilhelm 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.

King Charles I married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia in 1846 and ascended to the throne in 1864, the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia (a daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and sister to Wilhelm I, German Emperor).

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.

King 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 sister’s son, as King Wilhelm II of Württemberg.