Charles XII of Sweden

Timeline

1. 1682–1697Tre Kronor palace, Stockholm · StockholmBorn at the Tre Kronor palace in Stockholm, the only surviving son of Charles XI. From childhood he accompanied his father on military reviews and received strict Lutheran and equestrian training. His mother died in 1693. His father died on 5 April 1697; a regency led by his grandmother Hedvig Eleonora lasted about seven months, after which the parliament declared the fifteen-year-old of age, making him the first Swedish monarch to directly inherit absolute rule.
2. 1697–1700Narva · EstlandIn 1700 Denmark, Saxony–Poland and Russia formed an anti-Swedish alliance. Charles first landed in Zealand and forced Denmark to sign the Treaty of Travendal; he then marched east and, under cover of snow and wind, routed with about ten thousand men the Russian army besieging Narva, which outnumbered him several times over. Peter I briefly sought peace, which he refused. The battle established his military reputation and shifted the war's focus to Poland.
3. 1701–1718Fredrikshald · HaldenAfter 1701 he struck Augustus II with all his might, and in 1704 he installed Stanisław as king of Poland. In 1708 he marched against Russia, was decisively defeated at Poltava in 1709, and fled wounded south to the Ottoman Empire. After returning he twice attacked Norway, and on 30 November 1718 was killed by a headshot while besieging Fredriksten fortress. Sweden's absolute monarchy and Baltic hegemony collapsed in its wake.