Charles II, Duke of Brunswick (German: ''Karl II.''; 30 October 1804 – 18 August 1873), ruled the
Duchy of Brunswick from 1815 until 1830.
Biography
Charles was born in
Brunswick, the eldest son of
Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
. In April 1808, his mother,
Princess Marie of Baden (1782–1808), died shortly after giving birth to a stillborn daughter when Charles was only three years old. Charles and his younger brother
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, went to live with their maternal grandmother,
Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (20 June 1754 – 21 June 1832) was a Hereditary Princess of Baden by marriage to Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden. She was the daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Henriette Karolin ...
, in
Glückstadt, while his father raised a volunteer corps, the
Black Brunswickers
The Brunswick Ducal Field-Corps (german: Herzoglich Braunschweigisches Feldcorps), commonly known as the Black Brunswickers in English and the ''Schwarze Schar'' (Black Troop, Black Horde, or Black Host) or ''Schwarze Legion'' (Black Legion) in G ...
, to fight with the Austrians against Napoleon. In the Autumn of 1809, to avoid capture the duke had conducted a remarkable fighting march across Germany and escaped to Britain with his troops; on his arrival in London he sent for his sons who then lived with their paternal grandmother,
Princess Augusta of Great Britain
Princess Augusta Frederica of Great Britain (31 July 1737 – 23 March 1813) was a British princess, granddaughter of George II and the only elder sibling of George III. She was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüt ...
at
Blackheath Blackheath may refer to:
Places England
*Blackheath, London, England
** Blackheath railway station
**Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England
*Blackheath, Surrey, England
** Hundred of Blackh ...
and later at
Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
. The young princes were treated as celebrities in London, with William being given the honour of laying a foundation stone for
Vauxhall Bridge in 1814.
After the death of his father in 1815, Charles inherited the
Duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
, but since he was still underage, he was put under the
guardianship of
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, the
prince regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
of the United Kingdom and
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. When Charles neared his 18th birthday, a dispute over the date of his
majority
A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
that same year attempted to intervene in this matter and ordered Charles to accept the new constitution from his minority. Charles disregarded it, and continued governing as his father had. He did not have his decrees cosigned, but continued as an absolute monarch, as the Guelphs had been for more than 1,000 years.
The ownership of the printing presses ultimately won the battle as the popular opinion was turned against their monarch. Charles's administration was maligned as being corrupt and misguided. When in 1830 the
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
broke out, Charles happened to be in Paris. He hurriedly returned to
Brunswick, where he announced his intention to suppress all revolutionary tendencies by force. But on 6 September, he was attacked by stone throwers while riding home from the theatre; on the next day, a large mob tried to break into the palace. Charles fled and the palace was completely destroyed by fire. When Charles's brother,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, arrived in Brunswick on 10 September, he was received joyfully by the people. William originally considered himself only his brother's regent, but after a year declared himself ruling duke. Charles made several desperate attempts to depose his brother by diplomacy and by force, but they were unsuccessful. Charles reportedly had agreements from the French King to send a mercenary army to retake the duchy.
Charles continued to be active in his office as ruling prince in exile. He filed many protests against Hanover, against his brother, and against Prussia's annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover after the 1866
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
. In his later letters he predicted communism would take the lands from the Prussians.
Charles spent the rest of his life outside of Germany, mostly in Paris and London. While he lived in London he engaged in a high-profile feud with the publisher
Barnard Gregory
Barnard Gregory (1796–1852) was a British journalist, publisher and actor. He published ''The Satirist'' from 1831 to 1849. He used this paper to publish the scandals of residents of London and often blackmailed his targets. Several articles th ...
due to articles published about the Duke in ''
The Satirist
''The Satirist, or the Censor of the Times'' was a controversial 19th-century British newspaper which featured reports of scandals involving well known residents of London. It was published by Barnard Gregory, who faced multiple libel charges ...
''.
After the
war between France and Germany broke out, he moved to
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
, where he died in the
Beau-Rivage Hotel in 1873, aged 68.
Brunswick Monument
In his
will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
drawn up on 5 March 1871, Charles left his entire estate to the city of Geneva with a single stipulation: that a
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
be built for him in Geneva "in a prominent position and worthy", that it should feature statues of his father, Frederick William, and his grandfather,
Charles William Ferdinand
Charles William Ferdinand (german: Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand; 9 October 1735 – 10 November 1806) was the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a military leader. His titles are usually shortened to Duke of Brunswi ...
, and that it should imitate the style of the 14th century
Scaliger Tombs in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
. Accordingly, a design was chosen by the Swiss architect
Jean Franel. Sited on the Quai du Mont-Blanc, it is built in three storeys of white marble with a hexagonal canopy over a
sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
bearing a recumbent figure of the duke. At the projecting corners are marble statues of six notable ancestors of the
House of Guelph
The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse ...
by various sculptors, and a bronze
equestrian statue
An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...
of Duke William by the French sculptor
Auguste Cain
Auguste Nicolas Caïn (10 November 1821 – 6 August 1894) was a French sculptor in the Animaliers school, known for his portrayals of wild and domesticated animals.
Life
Caïn was born in Paris, and studied under Rude, Guionnet, and Pier ...
was originally mounted at the top of the spire. The monument stands on a platform 65 meters long and 25 meters wide and is guarded by marble
chimeras and lions, also by Cain.
The monument was unveiled on 14 October 1879; however, earthquake damage resulted in the removal of the equestrian statue to an adjacent plinth in 1883 and the top of the spire was rebuilt with a crown in 1890. The duke's estate amounted to 24 million
Swiss Franc
The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...
s, two million of which were expended on the monument, the remainder was spent on a number of new public buildings, for example the
Grand Théâtre.
Legacy
A contemporary obituarist referred to the Duke as "that painted, bewigged Lothario, whose follies, eccentricities, and diamonds made him the talk of Europe." During his lifetime he sued several newspaper publishers for libel when they alleged that, among other things, he solicited homosexual encounters. However, in 1849 he won a defamation case for the publication of an article by a newspaper, ''The Weekly Dispatch'', in 1830, after sending a manservant to procure archive copies of the edition from the publishers and the British Museum. No copies now survive, although given the Duke's other legal cases, the nature of the libel may be assumed. However this case (''Brunswick v Harmer'') established a precedent in
English defamation law, as the ruling was interpreted by courts to allow defamation plaintiffs to sue if there was a “new publication” of the original libel. It was used, for example, in 2009 to decree that internet company
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
, who made historical libels available on their web pages, could be liable for damages. The multiple publication rule was finally curtailed in the UK by ''
The Defamation Act 2013''.
Ancestors
See also
Charles was on the losing side of the
Opera game
The Opera Game was an 1858 chess game, played at an opera house in Paris. The American master Paul Morphy played against two strong amateurs: the German noble Karl II, Duke of Brunswick, and the French aristocrat Comte Isouard de Vauvenargues. I ...
, a famous
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
game against
Paul Morphy.
References
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 15, p. 281-285
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 02, Duke of Brunswick
Charles 02
House of Brunswick-Bevern
Protestant monarchs
German Lutherans
1804 births
1873 deaths
Modern child rulers
Nobility from Braunschweig
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary