Charles II of Spain

Charles II became king of Spain in 1665, aged three, the final monarch of a dynasty that had held the throne since 1516. He endured lengthy periods of ill health throughout his life for reasons historians still debate, and the question of succession shadowed European diplomacy from the start - one historian noted that "from the day of his birth, they were waiting for his death". Two candidates emerged: Charles of Austria and Philip of Anjou, the sixteen-year-old grandson of Louis XIV of France. Shortly before his death in November 1700, Charles named Philip his heir. The decision handed an undivided Spanish Empire to one claimant, threatened the balance of power across Europe, and triggered the War of the Spanish Succession that ran from 1701 to 1714.