Charles VIII of Sweden (in reality Charles II), Charles I of Norway, also Carl (Swedish: Karl Knutsson), was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and from 1467 to his death in 1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450).

Charles was the second Swedish king by the name of Charles (Karl). Charles VII is a posthumous invention, counting backwards from Charles IX (r. 1604–1611) who adopted his numeral according to a fictitious history of Sweden. Six others before Charles Sverkersson are unknown to any sources before Johannes Magnus's 16th century book Historia de omnibus gothorum sueonumque regibus, and are considered his invention. Charles was the first Swedish monarch of the name to actually use a regnal number as Charles II (later retrospectively renumbered VIII), on his queen's tombstone (1451) at Vadstena.

Karl Knutsson was born in October 1408 or 1409, at Ekholmen Castle, the son of Knut Tordsson (Bonde), knight and member of the privy council (riksråd), and Margareta Karlsdotter (Sparre av Tofta), the only daughter and heiress of Charles Ulvsson, Lord of Tofta. His father Knut was first cousin of Erik Johansson Vasa's father. King Charles died 14 May 1470. His first marriage, in 1428, to Birgitta Turesdotter (Bielke) (died 1436) gave him his daughter Kristina. His second marriage, in 1438, to Katarina Karlsdotter (Gumsehuvud) (died in 1450) produced his second daughter Magdalena, who married Ivar Axelsson (Tott). He also had two children by his third wife (and former mistress) Kristina Abrahamsdotter, Anna and Karl. His father was said by contemporary legends to descend from a younger brother of King Eric IX (Saint Eric). His mother, an important heiress, descended from Jarl Charles the Deaf and consequently from some ancient Folkunge earls of Sweden, as well as from Ingegerd Knutsdotter, a daughter of Canute IV of Denmark and Adela of Flanders.

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