Charles XII of Sweden was the Swedish King for 21 years, reigning from 1697 to 1718. The Swedish legend remembers him most as a great military tactician and a ruthless ruler. We can learn much from the great kings of the past.

Life as a Prince

Not much is detailed about this legend before his ascension as a ruler. It is a fact that he was the only living son of the previous king, Charles XI. His mother was Ulrika Eleonora the Elder. He also spent seven months having a caretaker government, handpicked by Sweden’s previous ruler, before he came into full power.

The five men of the caretaker government had willingly given Charles his own throne and full power over Sweden. Despite Charles’ young age, he was already trained in the way of politics, courtesy of his father who had taken him often when on official business. He was an intelligent and brave young man who was devoted to his work. The people took to him so well, that there was no chance for a people rebellion.

Life as a King

Charles XII of Sweden became king at the tender age of fifteen. In 1700, a number of countries attempted to take advantage of this, assuming Sweden to be weak with such a young king. This was the start of the Great Northern War. However, they were quickly proved wrong in their assumptions as Charles had forced all but Russia to submit by 1706, proving to them his power as king.

Unfortunately, he then made the mistake of attempting to invade Russia. Besides suffering from the harsh weather, Peter the Great managed to destroy the supply train and the army that was on the way to join Charles. The resulting conflict cost Charles XII of Sweden most of his army. He was wounded himself and eventually fled to exile himself in the Ottoman Empire.

After a while, the ruler of that empire, Sultan Ahmet II, and his subjects grew tired of Charles and his constant scheming against the Russians. He was put under house arrest for a period of time, before leaving to return to Sweden.

The last effort made by the ruler to turn Sweden into an empire of power was an attempt to invade Norway. He led an army of forty thousand men in 1718 to the fortress of Fredriksten. It was there that Sweden’s legend finally fell in battle.

Interesting Facts about Charles XII of Sweden

• He is actually Charles VI, not XII. As was custom, he studied a made-up version of their history and chose the number “XII” himself.
• Charles XII of Sweden was sometimes considered to be as brave as to the point of stupidity.
• He was a practitioner of self-denial. He denied himself many of the pleasures in life, focusing only on leading armies and controlling his steady rise to power.
• This legend was considered by many to be emotionally frigid and quite ruthless on the battlefield.

The Death of the King

Charles XII of Sweden died on December 11, 1718, at Fredriksten. As the legend went, he had been inspecting trenches when he was shot in the right side of his head. The whole truth behind his death, however, remains a mystery until now. Despite many investigations of the battle site, no clues to his attacker could be found, neither from which side it had been fired from—the enemy’s or his own.