Editing Charles XV (section)

===Reign===
[[File:Carl XV of Sweden c 1870.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of Charles XV in coronation robes]]
As Crown Prince, Charles's brusque manner had led many to regard his future accession with some apprehension, yet he proved to be one of the most popular of Scandinavian kings and a constitutional ruler in the best sense of the word. His reign was remarkable for its manifold and far-reaching reforms. Sweden's existing municipal law (1862), ecclesiastical law (1863) and criminal law (1864) were enacted appropriately enough under the direction of a king whose motto was: ''Land skall med lag byggas'' – "With law shall the land be built".<ref name=EB1911/> Charles also helped [[Louis De Geer (1818-1896)|Louis De Geer]] to carry through his reform of the [[Parliament of Sweden]] in 1866. He also declared the freedom of women by passing the law of [[legal majority]] for unmarried women in 1858 – his sister [[Princess Eugenie of Sweden|Princess Eugenie]] became the first woman who was declared mature.<ref>{{cite web|url=    https://snl.no/Karl_4%2F1826-72
|title= Karl 4 – 1826–72|publisher= Store norske leksikon|author=  Erik Opsahl|access-date= September 1, 2016}}</ref>

Though known as King Charles XV (15th) in Sweden (and also on contemporary Norwegian coins<ref>[http://www.nrk.no/programmer/tv/kvitt_eller_dobbelt/1.6314451 Example]</ref>), he was actually the ninth Swedish king by that name, as his predecessor [[Charles IX of Sweden|Charles IX]] (reigned 1604–1611) had adopted a numeral according to a fictitious history of Sweden.<ref>Article [https://runeberg.org/nfbm/0500.html Karl] in [[Nordisk familjebok]]</ref>

Charles, like his father Oscar I, was an advocate of [[Scandinavianism]] and the political solidarity of the three northern kingdoms, and his friendship with [[Frederick VII of Denmark]], it is said, led him to give half promises of help to Denmark on the eve of the [[Second Schleswig War|war of 1864]], which, in the circumstances, were perhaps misleading and unjustifiable. In view, however, of the unpreparedness of the Swedish army and the difficulties of the situation, Charles was forced to observe a strict neutrality.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|wstitle=Charles XV.|volume=5|last=Bain |first=Robert Nisbet |authorlink=Robert Nisbet Bain|page=932|short=1}}</ref> On behalf of Charles, [[Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek]], Dutch diplomat in Japan, concluded a "Vänskaps-, handels- och sjöfartstraktat" ("Friendship, Trade and Maritime Treaty") between Sweden-Norway and Japan on 11 November 1868 (see the [[Treaty of Yokohama]]). The treaty opened [[Hakodate]], [[Yokohama]], [[Nagasaki]], [[Kobe]] and [[Osaka]] to trade for Swedish and Norwegian traders (Article 3). The treaty also gave Sweden-Norway the opportunity to send consuls to the newly opened ports, where they were given the right to exercise jurisdiction over Swedes and Norwegians ([[consular court|consular jurisdiction]]).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=eRswEAAAQBAJ&dq=dirk+de+Graeff+van+Polsbroek+meiji&pg=PT27 Sweden, Japan, and the Long Second World War: 1931–1945, by Pascal Lottaz, Ingemar Ottosson]</ref> 

Plagued by ill-health for the last years of his life, Charles succombed to [[abdominal tuberculosis]] in [[Malmö]] on 18 September 1872.<ref>{{cite book|author=Cronholm, Neander N. |title=A History of Sweden from the Earliest Times to the Present Day|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924071200822|year=1902}} ch 41 pp 289–99</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindqvist |first=Herman |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1371246021 |title=Oscar II: den konungsligaste av alla kungar |date=2022 |publisher=Albert Bonniers förlag AB |isbn=978-91-0-018884-9 |location=Stockholm |pages=128 |language=sv |oclc=on1371246021}}</ref>
[[File:Carl XV(III) & Louise coronation medal 1860.jpg|thumb|Coronation medal for Charles and Louise 1860]]

He was followed on the thrones of both Norway and Sweden by his brother, crowned Oscar II.