Charles XII, King of Sweden (1682-1718) on a battlefield, facing right in blue coat with large gold buttons, white belt with gold clasp, white gloves, holding the hilt of his sword in his left hand and his black tricorn hat under his left arm; soldiers on horses, tent and landscape background

Charles XII, son and successor of his father Charles XI and Ulrika Eleanora 'the Elder' of Denmark, is remembered as one of Sweden's greatest soldier Kings and was said to have been married to the Army. He came to the throne aged fifteen and his throne was dominated by the Great Northern War. Charles forced Denmark to make peace in August 1700, defeated Peter I the Great at Narva in November 1700, invaded Poland and declared Augustus II dethroned, secured the election in 1704 of Stanislas Leszczynski as King of Poland. In 1707, he launched a surprise attack on Peter the Great but his army was outnumbered having endured a bitter winter and the Swedes were heavily defeated at Poltava in 1709. The Swedes surrended at Prevolotjna and Charles escaped to Bender in the Crimea where he encouraged Sultan Ahmed III to declare war on Russia. After the Peace of the Pruth in 1711 between Russia and Turkey, Charles was an unwelcome guest and a Turkish army was sent in 1713 to remove him from his house. He was eventually taken prisoner but in 1714 he journied to Stralsund and defended it against the Prussians and the Danes until December 1715. When it fell, he escaped back to Lund in Sweden and proceeded to invade Norway. He was killed in the Swedish trenches while beseiging the fortress of Fredikssten. He was succeeded by his sister, Ulrika Eleanora.