Charles Stuart (22 October 16605 May 1661) was the first of four sons and eight children born from the marriage between the Duke of York (later King

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

& VII of Scotland) and his first wife,

Anne Hyde Anne Hyde (12 March 1637 – 31 March 1671) was the first wife of James, Duke of York, who later became King James II and VII. Anne was the daughter of a member of the English gentry— Edward Hyde (later created Earl of Clarendon)—and met ...

. He was styled

Duke of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge is a hereditary title of nobility in the British royal family, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city of Cambridge in England. It is heritable by agnatic, male descendants by pr ...

, but never formally created so, as he died before his first birthday. He was second in line to the English and Scottish thrones.

Life

Charles was born on 22 October 1660, as the first child of James, Duke of York (later King

James VII & II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

), and his wife

. Charles was styled as ''

'', a title that had never been granted until his birth. Charles was conceived seven months before his parents' marriage and if royal advisors and his paternal grandmother, Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

, had had their way, he could have been declared illegitimate. King Charles II, James's older brother, approved of the marriage and the wedding between James and Anne was held on 3 September 1660 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Charles was baptized on 1 January 1661 at Worcester House. Although Cambridge's father James was

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

, it seemed unlikely that he'd inherit the Crown, as Cambridge's uncle, the reigning Charles II, was still a young man who was capable of fathering children of his own. And though Charles II didn't end up having any legitimate children, Charles, Duke of Cambridge never ended up becoming King himself, as he died on 5 May 1661, before reaching the age of one, after becoming ill with

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

. He was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

the following day. The duke's death would be the first in a series of most of King James VII & II's legitimate children dying young. Three of his younger brothers, likewise short-lived, were also called Duke of Cambridge: James,

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

, and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

. His younger sisters,

Mary II Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Sh ...

and

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

, became Queens respectively.

Arms

During his short life, Charles bore a coat of arms, as a grandson of a British sovereign, consisting those of the kingdom, differenced by a ''label argent of five points ermine''.

References

Bibliography

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge, Duke of, Stuart, Charles 1660 births 1661 deaths 17th-century English nobility Nobility from London Dukes of Cambridge Courtesy dukes English princes Scottish princes House of Stuart Children of James II of England Burials at Westminster Abbey English royalty who died as children Scottish royalty who died as children Sons of kings Heirs apparent who never acceded