Who were Charles I and II? A look at their sometimes-turbulent reigns

 King Charles III has been crowned in a coronation ceremony on Saturday. 

It got us wondering: Who were the other two "Charleses" who’ve served as king? Well, they didn't exactly have the calmest reigns. Here’s what we found:

Charles I: According to the British Royal Family’s website, the first Charles to ascend the throne did so in 1625. His reign, which ended in his beheading in 1649, was rather tumultuous

“It is clear that Charles was not a successful ruler,” the site says.

Charles, a patron of the arts, also had "a stubborn belief that kings are intended by God to rule," according to Encyclopedia Brittanica.

He oversaw what became the English Civil Wars and married a Roman Catholic, with financial issues leading to tensions with Parliament. He ended up dismissing Parliament in its entirety in 1629 and ruled without it for 11 years. 

Twenty years later, the army decided he must be put on trial and executed. Charles was charged with treason, but did not recognize the legality of the High Court. On the scaffolding where his execution took place, Charles called himself "a martyr of the people."

He was not buried at Westminster Abbey, but at Windsor, "to avoid public disorder," according to the Royal Family site.  

Charles II: After the death of his father, Charles was invited to Scotland and proclaimed king. He fled to France when the Scots were defeated by English forces in 1651. After England and Scotland were united again, he was invited back to London to sit on the throne.

Known as the "Merry Monarch," Charles was "tall, handsome, sharp of mind, impeccably attired and charming," according to Royal Museums Greenwich.

He married Portugal's Catherine of Braganza, but the two spoke no common language and he continued to carry on affairs with a variety of mistresses, fathering at least 14 illegitimate children.

The devastating Great Fire of London in 1666 — which took out most of the city — and the Great Plague of London from 1665 to 1666 — in which at least 68,000 people succumbed to bubonic plague — occurred during his rule.

His later reign was "taken up mainly with attempts to settle religious dissension," according to the Royal Family site. 

He died of a stroke in 1685 and had no legitimate heirs.