Charles II of Spain was born November 6, 1661, and became king in 1665 at the young age of three. His mother, Mariana of Austria, ruled as regent for 10 years until Charles was a teenager and able ...

But this a story of genetics as well as history, because historians have long assumed impressionistically that there was something rotten in the gene pool of the Spanish Hapsburgs. Here is an excerpt ...

Charles II of Spain, born in 1661, suffered a number of serious ailments throughout his life as the House of Habsburg, hellbent on keeping power, refused to marry outside of the family from 1550.

CHARLES II.; The Story of His Wanderings in Exile. Share full article. May 20, 1905. Credit... The New York Times Archives. See the article in its original context from May 20, 1905, Section ...