He was the last of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty, physically disabled and mentally retarded and disfigured (partly through possession of mandibular prognathism). His mother was his regent during much of his reign. Though exiled by the king's illegitimate brother John of Austria, she returned to the regency after his death.
During his reign Spain continued its decline that had begun under his increasingly incompetent Habsburg ancestors. However, a peace treaty with Portugal in 1668 ceded Ceuta to Spain.
In 1679, Charles married Marie Louise (1662_1689), daughter of Philippe I of Orléans, the only brother of Louis XIV. He had a second marriage to Maria Anna of Bavaria, Princess of Neuborg and sister of the Empress. However, neither marriage produced any heirs. Charles named Philip Bourbon of Anjou as his successor, provoking the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Habsburg King CarlosII of Spain was sadly degenerated with an enormous misshapen head.
In 1675 Carlos was presented with a decree to prolong the powers of his mother on the grounds of his own incapacity.
CarlosII suffered one further disability, politically more significant than all the rest: his inability to consummate his marriages was evident from his birth.
Philip II (of Spain) (1527-1598), Habsburg king of Spain (1556-1598), who ruled the country at the height of its power and influence and used that power in the service of the Roman Catholic Church and the Counter-Reformation.
Philip was born in Valladolid on May 21, 1527, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal and was educated by Roman Catholic clergymen, whose influence shaped his policies as king.
Before succeeding to the throne of Spain upon his father's abdication in 1556, Philip had already received the duchy of Milan (1540), the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily (1554), and the Netherlands (1555) from his father.
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