Charles Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (1660–1661)

Charles Stuart (22 October 1660 – 5 May 1661) was the first of four sons and eight children born from the marriage between the Duke of York (later King James II of England & VII of Scotland) and his first wife, Anne Hyde. He was styled Duke of Cambridge, but never formally created so, as he died before his first birthday. He was second in line to the English and Scottish thrones.

Charles was conceived seven months before his parents' marriage and if royal advisors and his paternal grandmother, Queen Henrietta Maria, had had their way, he could have been declared illegitimate.^[1] King Charles II, James's older brother, approved of the marriage and the wedding between James and Anne was held on 3 September 1660 in London. Charles was born on 22 October 1660, shortly after his uncle became King, and baptized on 1 January 1661 at Worcester House. Charles died before reaching the age of one, after becoming ill with smallpox. He was buried in Westminster Abbey on 6 May 1661. The duke's death would be the first in a series of most of King James VII & II's legitimate children dying young. Three of his younger brothers, likewise short-lived, were also called Duke of Cambridge: James, Edgar, and Charles.

During his short life, Charles bore a coat of arms, as a grandson of a British sovereign, consisting those of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points ermine.^[2]

• Panton, Kenneth J. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5779-7.