Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

Charles I of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (4 September 1560 – 16 December 1600), Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke in Bavaria, Count to Veldenz and Sponheim was the Duke of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld from 1569 until 1600.

Charles I
Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
Charles I, Count Palatine by Rhine
Born	(1560-09-04)4 September 1560 Neuburg an der Donau
Died	16 December 1600(1600-12-16) (aged 40) Birkenfeld
Burial	Meisenheim
Spouse	Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg ​ ​ (m. 1590)​
Issue Detail	George William, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Sophie, Countess of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein Frederick of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Christian I, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler
House	Wittelsbach
Father	Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Mother	Anna of Hesse

Ealy life and ancestry

Charles was born in Neuburg in 1560, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, as the youngest son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken by his wife, Anna of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.

Biography

After his father's death in 1569, Charles and his brothers partitioned his territories: Charles, as the youngest son, received only the Palatine share on the Rear County of Sponheim, a small territory around Birkenfeld.

Charles I is the founder of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld. He was a prince of a relatively unimportant state, and his chief fame is that the Dukes and later Kings of Bavaria descended from him.

Marriage and issue

Charles married Duchess Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1 January 1570 – 15 August 1649), member of the House of Welf, the daughter of William VI, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, by his wife, Princess Dorothea of Denmark, on 23 February 1590.

Together, they had the following children:

1. George William (6 August 1591 – 25 December 1669)
2. Sophie (29 March 1593 – 16 November 1676), married to Crato VII of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein (14 November 1582 – 11 October 1641)
3. Frederick (29 October 1594 – 20 July 1626)
4. Christian (3 November 1598 – 6 September 1654)

Death

Charles died in Birkenfeld in 1600, aged 40. He was interred, alongside his wife, in the Schlosskirche Meisenheim, Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate.^[1]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

16. Louis I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken 8. Alexander, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken 17. Johanna of Croÿ 4. Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken 18. Kraft VI, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim 9. Margarete of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein 19. Helene of Württemberg 2. Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken 20. Louis II, Landgrave of Lower Hesse (= 24) 10. William I, Landgrave of Lower Hesse 21. Mechthild of Württemberg-Urach (= 25) 5. Elisabeth of Hesse 22. William IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 11. Anna of Brunswick 23. Elizabeth of Stolberg-Wernigerode 1. Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld 24. Louis II, Landgrave of Lower Hesse (= 20) 12. William II, Landgrave of Hesse 25. Mechthild of Württemberg-Urach (= 25) 6. Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse 26. Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg 13. Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 27. Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin 3. Anna of Hesse 28. Albert III, Duke of Saxony 14. George, Duke of Saxony 29. Sidonie of Poděbrady 7. Christine of Saxony 30. Casimir IV Jagiellon 15. Barbara Jagiellon 31. Elisabeth of Austria