Charles II, Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

Initially, he was educated in Vienna, and later in Freiburg im Breisgau jointly with his older brother Eitel Friedrich.

Later, he assisted to the Aulic Council in Vienna, where his father served as president; there, he gained the trust and friendship of Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria, (son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I) and went into his service to Tyrol, being able to established good connections with the Holy Roman Empire, which was seen in 1570 when he was appointed Supreme Captain and Governor in Alsace.

Under the rule of his father Charles I the possessions of the county of Zollern (who in the narrow sense where the districts of Sigmaringen, Böhringen, Haigerloch and Wehrstein) was still united.

In Munich on 18 January 1569 Charles II married firstly with Euphrosyne (1552 – 5 October 1590), a daughter of Frederick V, Count of Oettingen-Wallerstein.

They had fifteen children: In Sigmaringen on 13 May 1591, Charles II married secondly with Elisabeth (1567 – 8 May 1620), a daughter of Floris, Freiherr of Palant and Count of Cuylenburg, and widow of James III, Margrave of Baden-Hachberg.