Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria

Charles Theodore
Charles Theodore, as painted by Anna Dorothea Therbusch in 1763
Elector Palatine
Reign	31 December 1742 – 30 December 1777
Predecessor	Charles III Philip
Elector of Bavaria Count Palatine of the Rhine
Reign	30 December 1777 – 16 February 1799
Predecessor	Maximilian III Joseph
Successor	Maximilian IV Joseph
Born	(1724-12-11)11 December 1724 Drogenbos, Brussels, Austrian Netherlands
Died	16 February 1799(1799-02-16) (aged 74) Munich Residenz, Bavaria
Burial	Theatine Church, Munich
Spouse	Countess Palatine Elisabeth Augusta of Sulzbach Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este
House	House of Wittelsbach
Father	John Christian, Count Palatine of Sulzbach
Mother	Maria Henriette de La Tour d'Auvergne

Charles Theodore (German: Karl Theodor; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) reigned as prince-elector and count palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as prince-elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777 to his death. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Sulzbach, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach.

Charles Theodore was of the Wittelsbach house Palatinate-Sulzbach. His father was Johann Christian, who later became Count Palatine of Sulzbach. His mother was Marie-Anne-Henriette-Leopoldine de La Tour d'Auvergne, margravine of Bergen op Zoom, a grandniece of Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne. Charles Theodore was born in Drogenbos near Brussels and educated in Mannheim.

Charles Theodore was margrave of Bergen op Zoom from 1728 onwards. He then succeeded his father as Count Palatine of Sulzbach in 1733 and inherited the Electoral Palatinate and the duchies of Jülich and Berg in 1742, with the death of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine. To strengthen the union of all lines of the Wittelsbach dynasty Charles III Philip had organized a wedding on 17 January 1742 when his granddaughter Elizabeth Augusta was married to Charles Theodore and her sister Maria Anna to the Bavarian prince Clement.