Charles XIII of Sweden
| Charles XIII & II | |
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Charles XIII of Sweden wearing the Order of Charles XIII in red
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| King of Sweden | |
| Reign | 6 June 1809 – 5 February 1818 |
| Predecessor | Gustav IV Adolf |
| Successor | Charles XIV John |
| King of Norway | |
| Reign | 4 November 1814 – 5 February 1818 |
| Predecessor | Christian Frederick |
| Successor | Charles III John |
| Born | 7 October 1748 |
| Died | 5 February 1818 (aged 69) |
| Spouse | Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp |
| Issue | Princess Louise Hedvig Prince Carl Adolf, Duke of Värmland Carl Löwenhielm (illegitimate) |
| House | Holstein-Gottorp |
| Father | Adolf Frederick |
| Mother | Louisa Ulrika of Prussia |
| Religion | Lutheran |
Charles XIII & II also Carl, Swedish: Karl XIII (7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden (as Charles XIII) from 1809 and King of Norway (as Charles II) from 1814 until his death. He was the second son of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, sister of Frederick II of Prussia.
Though known as King Charles XIII in Sweden, he was actually the seventh Swedish king by that name, as Charles IX (reigned 1604–1611) had adopted his numeral after studying a fictitious history of Sweden.
Prince Charles was appointed grand admiral when he was but few days old. He was described as a good dancer at the amateur theatre of the royal court. Reportedly he was not very close to his mother. The Queen preferred her youngest children, Sophie Albertine and Frederick Adolf.
Charles was, however, his father's favorite, and similar to him in personality. He was also described as close to his brother Gustav during their childhood.
Because of his position as the heir to the throne after his elder brother Gustav, he was early targeted as a useful tool for the opposition to his brother: already in the 1760s, the Caps (party) tried to use him against his brother the crown prince through his then love interest countess Brita Horn, daughter of the Cap's politician Adam Horn. This was in the critical period following the December Crisis (1768). Gustav, however, was always careful to prevent Charles from being used by the opposition, which came to its first test during the 1768 crisis, when Charles, ultimately, did not let himself be used by the Caps party. In 1770, he made a journey through Germany and France alone.
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