Charles III of Spain

Full name
	Spanish: Carlos Sebastián de Borbón y Farnesio; Italian: [Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)

Charles III
Charles III
	File:Charles III of Spain high resolution.jpg Portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs, c. 1761
King of Spain (more...)
	10 August 1759 – 14 December 1788
Predecessor	Ferdinand VI
Successor	Charles IV
King of Naples and Sicily
	15 May 1734 – 6 October 1759
Coronation	3 July 1735, Palermo Cathedral
Predecessor	Charles VI
Successor	Ferdinand IV & III
Duke of Parma and Piacenza
	29 December 1731 – 3 October 1735
Predecessor	Antonio Farnese
Successor	Charles VI
Born	20 January 1716; Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain
Died	14 December 1788 (aged 72); Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain
Burial	El Escorial
Spouse	Maria Amalia of Saxony
Issue; Detail	Infanta Maria Josefa; Maria Luisa, Holy Roman Empress; Infante Philip, Duke of Calabria; Charles IV of Spain; Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies; Infante Gabriel; Infante Antonio Pascual; Infante Francisco Javier
Full name
Full name
	Spanish: Carlos Sebastián de Borbón y Farnesio; Italian: [Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
House	Bourbon
Father	Philip V of Spain
Mother	Elisabeth Farnese
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature	Charles III's signature

Charles III (20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was a king of Spain and the oldest son of Philip V and Elisabeth Farnese. He ruled Spain from 1759 until his death in 1788. After he died, his son, Charles IV, became king. He was also the king of Naples and Sicily from 1734 until 1759. In those places he was known as Charles VII of Naples and Charles V of Sicily. He was the builder of the Palace of Caserta as well as the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Real Albergo dei Poveri in Naples.

Charles III grew up in Madrid. When he was 16 years old, he went to live in Parma, a city in Italy. He ruled that city, and the nearby city of Piacenza as their Duke from 1731 until 1734. In 1738 he married the Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony. They had 13 children. Only 8 of them lived to be adults.

Charles III Of Spain Media

Portrait of Elisabeth Farnese
Elisabeth with her eldest son Charles.
Charles de Bourbon (1716-1788), futur Carlos III
Dorothea Sophia of Neuburg, duchess of Parma.jpg

Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, mother of Elisabeth Farnese and Charles's guardian and regent of Parma
El Futuro Carlos III de España a caballo en Nápoles.jpg

Charles of Bourbon near Naples (1734)
Tanucci Bernardo 01.jpg

Bernardo Tanucci, who aided Charles in his conflict with the Holy See
Charles's wife Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, whom he married in 1738, dressed in Polish attire, painted by Louis Silvestre

Sources

Lynch, John. "Charles III". Encyclopædia Britannica Online