Oct 4, 2022
King Charles II of Spain’s Facial Recreation is Bizarre, History of The Inbred King
Due to a recent lifelike facial recreation of King Charles II of Spain, I thought it was a perfect time to dive into the story of this uniquely bizarre royal. From his severely inbred family tree, weird marriages, odd disfigurements and maybe the most bizarre of all — his autopsy. We’ll be looking into all of this & more today in “King Charles II of Spain’s Facial Recreation is Bizarre, History of The Inbred King”.
Introduction to “The Bewitched” King Charles II of Spain!
If you’ve never heard of King Charles II of Spain you may want to grab a seat and get ready for an interesting and weird history lesson. This King was bizarre in every way imaginable! We’ll be taking a look into the strange life of King Charles II of Spain.
I’m going to start off by giving you a few bizarre facts surrounding the Inbred King, just to give you an idea of where this is heading
5 Weird Facts about Charles II of Spain
Painting of King Charles II of Spain!
1. His First Wife Thought He Was Disgusting
As with most royal marriages throughout history, Charles’ marriage to Marie Louise was about gaining power, not about love. In fact, she was so repulsed by his disfigured appearance she wrote that “the Catholic King is so ugly as to cause fear and he looks ill.” Still, the marriage went forward.
2. King Charles Couldn’t Attend His Own Wedding
As stated above Charles and Marie Louise didn’t get married because they were in love with each other, far from it. But the truth is, King Charles didn’t even bother attending his own wedding.
Instead, Louis Armand I, a cousin of Marie Louise, stood in for King Charles II. This is known as a proxy marriage, and the practice was not uncommon at the time.
3. King Charles II Couldn’t produce a Successor!
Most likely due to severe inbreeding, Charles was sterile. He had no children with either of his two wives, so in his will, Philip of Anjou was named as his successor. Regarding lineage, Philip was so far from the Spanish throne that a huge dispute arose over who actually had the right to it. That dispute became the War of Spanish Succession.
4. King Charles II of Spain’s DNA was Deficient!
Computer modeling of King Charles II of Spains appearance!
Having children with relatives causes genetic problems for the children due to how the genes interact with each other. Normally, if one parent gives a gene that is deficient, the corresponding gene from the other parent cancels it out.
However, inbred children will often inherit the same deficient genes from both parents. In the case of King Charles II a full 25% of his genes were duplicates, meaning that one-quarter of his genes were the same from both parents.
5. King Charles II Autopsy results were bizarre beyond belief!
After his death the doctor who carried out his autopsy stated King Charles II body,
“Did not contain a single drop of blood
His heart was the size of a peppercorn
His lungs corroded
His intestines rotten and gangrenous
He had a single testicle that was black as coal,
His head was full of water.”
The House of Hapsburg
It’s possible there has never been another royal house as powerful as the House of Hapsburg. This immensely powerful family provided kings that reigned over vast territories that included Bohemia, Hungary, Portugal, Croatia, Germany, Spain, and, of course, Austria.
In the reign of the 16th century’s Charles V, with European kingdoms and colonies stretching to the Americas, it was said his was “the empire on which the sun never sets.”
Habsburg Spain dissolved on November 1, 1700, following the death of its last, and probably the most infamous, ruler of all: Charles II of Spain. Although this king was granted the right to run a large and powerful kingdom, he is remembered as an infirm ruler, thanks to his many health disabilities and his poor intellect.
Modern Day Research into King Charles II of Spain!
Modern-day research has only confirmed what has been assumed for centuries, that both King Charles’s mental and physical condition were largely due to the extensive history of inbreeding which his royal family practiced for decades, if not centuries, before his birth. The Hapsburg family was famous for cousins marrying one another.
The Unfortunate Physical Appearance & Mental State of King Charles II
Charles II was not an attractive man to say the least. He had a prominently elongated skull and obtrusive jaw, features said to be typical for a Hapsburg. As he also happened to live in times when superstition was flourishing, his numerous deformities–his feebleness supposedly due to his congenital heart disease, were said to be caused by powers of evil. This led to Charles receiving the nickname of “The Bewitched”.
The unfortunate royal was born to King Philip IV and his second wife, Mariana of Austria. When Charles inherited the throne in September 1665, he was only four years old. He was the only legitimate heir, but because he was so young his mother took the role of regent. Due to his condition, he supposedly barely learned to read or write, and he never managed to obtain an education proper for a royal. He was spared from the court and did not have much knowledge in the affairs of governance.
Possibly Infantile in his Thoughts & actions throughout his life!
Several sources describe his behavior as infantile. Being weak, the king, was subject to the interest of various other rulers who attempted to impose their influence on the territory of Spain. Charles was allegedly easy prey, falling under the influence of those who surrounded him.
Writers Will and Ariel Durant note in their book The Story of Civilization that Charles II was, “short, lame, epileptic, senile, and completely bald before 35.” They also state that “he was always on the verge of death.”
The Family Tree of King Charles II of Spain is Full of Inbreeding!
The family Tree of the Spanish Hapsburgs!
Modern science has analyzed the genealogical data about Charles II, as well as that of many of his ancestors. It was a task undertaken by a group of Spanish scientists who examined the ancestry of the infirm king back through 16 generations. There is evidence that at least 11 marriages carried out within Charles II’s family during the 15th and 16th century were descended from a common ancestor, or “blood relatives.”
Within the research, it was also found out that Charles II, along with his grandfather Philip III, counted as the two family representatives who had the “highest inbreeding coefficients”.
Calculations further revealed that approximately half of the new-born babies within this dynasty, within the examined period, did not survive to see even their first birthday, many because because of the health defects from inbreeding.
The Death of King Charles II
Painting of King Charles II of Spain!
Charles II somehow survived for 38 years but five days before 39th birthday he passed away without leaving heir to the throne. The King had lived a life of immense suffering and near constant illness.
Because Charles II failed to produce an heir, the 16-year-old Philip, Duke of Anjou, grand-nephew of Charles II, was handed the throne.
The Autopsy of King Charles II
Possibly the most intriguing aspect of Charles II’s death was not the political crisis that followed, it was the insanely bizarre events of his final days and the condition of his dead body.
According to one source, shortly before his death, Charles had moments in which he insisted on unearthing the corpses of his dead relatives, so he could see them. What may be more shocking is how an autopsy allegedly describes the deceased body of the king himself.
The physician who carried out the autopsy of the king’s body reportedly noted that the corpse,
“did not contain a single drop of blood; 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.”
Conclusion to “King Charles II of Spain’s Facial Recreation is Bizarre, History of The Inbred King”
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All the information stated on this page about King Charles II can be found at links below.
