Charles was the second son of emperor Leopold I and his third wife Eleonore of Pfalz-Neuburg, as Holy Roman Emperor he was called Charles VI, as king of Hungary and Spain Charles III (1700-1713), as king of Bohemia Charles II. As a younger brother of Joseph I, Charles was predetermined in 1699 as a successor to the last Spanish Habsburg Charles II (1665-1700). However, after the sudden death of his elder brother he became the last living Habsburg. He was forced to give up Spain and its colonies but other territories of Spanish kings in Italy and the Netherlands remained in his possession. After winning a war against the Turks he acquired the rest of Hungary, Banat, northern Serbia and Lesser Wallachia. Under his rule, the Habsburg monarchy spread over the largest territory. Charles was brought up by Jesuits and his policy was influenced by so-called Spanish council. His priority was enforcing the succession of his daughters and promulgation of the Pragmatic Sanction in 1713 (a document which abolished male-only succession and declared indivisible his lands). During his reign, Baroque reached its peak in the monarchy. Thanks to writer Alois Jirásek, this historical period is considered as a period of “darkness”.

In the circumscription of the last Habsburg ducat of 1740 there is a long list of Charles‘ titles: Charles VI, by God’s will Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Spain, Hungary and Bohemia / Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Count of Tirol.