Editing Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (section)

==Early life and career==
[[File:Vivien Charles Albert of Bavaria.jpg|thumb|left|The young Charles Albert, 1717–1719, [[Joseph Vivien]], [[Royal Castle, Warsaw|Royal Castle]] in [[Warsaw]]]]
Charles (Albert) ({{langx|de|Karl Albrecht}}) was born in [[Brussels]] and the son of [[Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria]], and [[Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska]], daughter of King [[John III Sobieski]] of Poland.<ref name="KG">{{Cite book |last=Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-ZqtB6DmXEC |title=Künker Auktion 108 – Bayern und das Haus Wittelsbach, Eine bedeutende Spezialsammlung – p. 59 |publisher=Numismatischer Verlag Künker |id=GGKEY:PTBHSKFT0ZC}}</ref>

His family was politically divided during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], and he spent many years under [[house arrest]] in [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]]. The royal family had left Brussels and returned to [[Munich]] in 1701. His father, Maximilian Emanuel, fled to the [[Spanish Netherlands]] after he had been defeated at the [[Battle of Blenheim]] in August 1704, and Charles and his siblings stayed with their mother, the acting [[Regent]], in Munich. In May 1705, after a stay in [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], the Austrian authorities refused to allow the Electress to return to [[Electorate of Bavaria|Bavaria]] and forced her into exile, which lasted ten years. Maximilian Emanuel went also into exile to [[Compiègne]] after on 29 April 1706, an [[Imperial ban]] was imposed on him, as he again had been defeated at the [[Battle of Ramillies]] a few days earlier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Max Emanuel. Der Blaue Kurfürst 1679–1726. Eine politische Biographie |url=https://sites.google.com/site/nocsapubul/home/max-emanue-ugitnhbl1aj7 |last=Ludwig Hüttl |publisher=Google Sites |access-date=1 April 2020}}</ref> Only in 1715 was the family reconciled. After reaching his [[Age of majority|majority]] in August 1715, Charles undertook an educational tour to Italy from 3 December 1715 to 24 August 1716. In 1717, he served among Bavarian auxiliaries in the [[Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718)|Austro-Turkish War]].<ref name="zei">{{Cite web |title=Weibliche Regentschaft in Krisenzeiten. Zur Interimsregierung der bayerischen Kurfürstin Therese Kunigunde (1704/05) |url=http://www.zeitenblicke.de/2009/2/kaegler |last=Britta Kägler |date=30 June 2009 |publisher=Zeitenblicke |access-date=12 January 2020}}</ref><ref name=heb/>

On 5 October 1722, Charles married [[Archduchess]] [[Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress|Maria Amalia of Austria]], whom he had met at the imperial court in Vienna. She was the youngest daughter of the late Emperor [[Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph I]] and his wife, [[Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]. Bavaria had renounced all claims to the throne via the marriage, but it provided the legal basis to the inheritance of certain Austrian possessions.

In 1725, Charles visited [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] during the wedding celebrations of [[Louis XV of France]] and established a personal contact with the French court.<ref name="Kraus1988">{{Cite book |last=Andreas Kraus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nijFf7ML_boC&pg=PA513 |title=Das alte Bayern: Der Territorialstaat vom Ausgang des 12. Jahrhunderts bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts / in Verbindung mit Dieter Albrecht ....  |publisher=C.H.Beck |year=1988 |isbn=978-3-406-32320-1 |pages=513–}}</ref>

In 1726, after his father had died, Charles became Duke of Bavaria and [[Elector Palatine]]  and thus one of the [[prince-electors]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and he also inherited a debt of 26 million [[guilders]].<ref name="Junkelmann2000">{{Cite book |last=Marcus Junkelmann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ciCo8m3gtj4C |title=Kurfürst Max Emanuel von Bayern als Feldherr |publisher=Herbert Utz Verlag |year=2000 |isbn=978-3-89675-731-9}}</ref> He maintained good relations with both his Habsburg relatives and France, continuing his father's policies.

In 1729, he instituted the knightly [[Royal Order of Saint George for the Defense of the Immaculate Conception|Order of St George]] and ordered the beginning of the construction of the [[Rothenberg Fortress]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mit uns muss man rechnen, 200 Jahre Bayerischer Oberster Rechnungshof, Die Zerrüttung der Staatsfinanzen in Bayern im 18. Jahrhundert |url=https://www.orh.bayern.de/images/files/ORH/Geschichte/Staatliche_Archive_Bayerns_Ausstellung_38_ORH.pdf |last=Genoveva Rausch |publisher=Staatliche Archive Bayerns |access-date=12 January 2020 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417082153/https://www.orh.bayern.de/images/files/ORH/Geschichte/Staatliche_Archive_Bayerns_Ausstellung_38_ORH.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="bio" />