Charles V. of Spain, as the nearest male heir, inherited from Maximilian the Austrian States.  He was the grandson of the late emperor, son of Philip and of Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and was born on the 24th of February, 1500.  He had been carefully educated in the learning and accomplishments of the age, and particularly in the arts of war.  At the death of his grandfather, Ferdinand, Charles, though but sixteen years of age, assumed the title of King of Spain, and though strongly opposed for a time, he grasped firmly and held securely the reins of government.

Joanna, his mother, was legally the sovereign, both by the laws of united Castile and Arragon, and by the testaments of Isabella and Ferdinand.  But she was insane, and was sunk in such depths of melancholy as to be almost unconscious of the scenes which were transpiring around her.  Two years had elapsed between the accession of Charles V. to the throne of Spain and the death of his grandfather, Maximilian.  The young king, with wonderful energy of character, had, during that time, established himself very firmly on the throne.  Upon the death of Maximilian many claimants rose for the imperial throne.  Henry VIII. of England and Francis of France, were prominent among the competitors.  For six months all the arts of diplomacy were exhausted by the various candidates, and Charles of Spain won the prize.  On the 28th of June, 1519, he was unanimously elected Emperor of Germany.  The youthful sovereign, who was but nineteen years of age, was at Barcelona when he received the first intelligence of his election.  He had sufficient strength of character to avoid the slightest appearance of exultation, but received the announcement with dignity and gravity far above his years.

The Spaniards were exceedingly excited and alarmed by the news.  They feared that their young sovereign, of whom they had already begun to be proud, would leave Spain to establish his court in the German empire, and they should thus be left, as a distant province, to the government of a viceroy.  The king was consequently flooded with petitions, from all parts of his dominions, not to accept the imperial crown.  But Charles was as ambitious as his grandfather, Maximilian, whose foresight and maneuvering had set in train those influences which had elevated him to the imperial dignity.

Soon a solemn embassy arrived, and, with the customary pomp, proffered to Charles the crown which so many had coveted.  Charles accepted the office, and made immediate preparations, notwithstanding the increasing clamor of his subjects, to go to Germany for his coronation.  Intrusting the government of Spain during his absence to officers in whom he reposed confidence, he embarked on shipboard, and landing first at Dover in England, made a visit of four days to Henry VIII.  He then continued his voyage to the Netherlands; proceeding thence to Aix-la-Chapelle, he was crowned on the 20th of October, 1520, with magnificence far surpassing that of any of his predecessors.  Thus Charles V., when but twenty years of age, was the King of Spain and the crowned Emperor of Germany.  It is a great mistake to suppose that youthful precocity is one of the innovations of modern times.