Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat

Who was Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat?

Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat was the son of Charles of Gonzaga-Nevers of Rethel, Nevers, Mantua and Montferrat, and Maria Gonzaga. He followed his grandfather Charles I, Duke of Mantua in 1637 as rulers of these lands, the first 10 years under regency of his mother Duchess Maria. Charles sold the Duchies of Nevers and Rethel in 1659 to Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the factual Regent of France, and they became part of France.

On November 7, 1649, Charles II married Isabella Clara of Austria, a daughter of Leopold V, Archduke of Austria, and thus into the imperial family. The marriage was an act of diplomacy and they had only one child, his successor Ferdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat. The relationship between husband and wife effectively ended, and Charles continued a relationship with a noblewoman Margherita della Rovere, and also had affairs with men including the castrato Atto Melani. In his book "The Last Medici" Harold Acton records that his death occurred in the midst of lascivious intercourse.