William Careless (Carlos)

William Careless, later Carlos
King Charles II and Colonel William Careless in the Royal Oak by Isaac Fuller
Born	c. 1610 Broom Hall, Brewood, Staffordshire
Died	1689 London
Buried	St. Mary the Virgin and St. Chad churchyard, Brewood.
Allegiance	Royalist
Rank	Colonel
Commands held	A troop and later a regiment of cavalry, the garrison of Tong Castle, officer of the Royal Guard,
Battles/wars	English Civil War, Bolton Massacre, Battle of Marston Moor, Battle of Worcester, Battle of the Dunes (1658)

Colonel William Careless (surname variants include Carelesse, Carless, Carles and Carlis) was a Royalist officer of the English Civil War. It has been estimated in various written sources that he was born c. 1620, however, it is more likely that he was born c. 1610. He was the second son of John Careless of Broom Hall, Brewood, Staffordshire. He is chiefly remembered as the companion of King Charles II when the fugitive monarch hid in the Royal Oak following his defeat at the Battle of Worcester. His surname was changed to Carlos, the Spanish for Charles, by order of Charles II. He died in 1689.

Careless was a member of a recusant Roman Catholic family of Royalist sentiments. After the outbreak of hostilities in 1642 Careless raised a troop of cavalry to fight for Charles I, which he commanded as a captain in the regiment of Thomas Leveson. This regiment was largely officered by men from the Catholic enclave of south Staffordshire. He was the captain of the Royalist garrison at Lapley House, Staffordshire, in 1643, and was appointed governor of Tong Castle, Shropshire, in April 1644. He appears to have rejoined his regiment to take part in Prince Rupert's campaign to relieve the siege of York. Careless (as William Carlis) has been listed as one of the two captains of Leveson's Horse present at the Bolton Massacre, an action controversial for the indiscriminate killing of Parliamentarian defenders and civilian inhabitants. His regiment then went on to fight as part of the right-wing cavalry, commanded by Lord Byron, at the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644. Following this serious Royalist defeat Careless is next recorded in his native area of the English Midlands, when in December 1644 he was captured in a skirmish with Parliamentarian forces near Wolverhampton. In April 1645 he was recorded as one of the prisoners that the Parliamentarians were holding in the High House, Stafford. After his release Careless served in Ireland, lived in Lower Germany (Netherlands) for a time and became an officer in the Spanish army. He returned to England in or before 1650, and spent nine months in and around his home in Brewood before once again taking up arms in the Royalist cause.