 Following the death of his father's first cousin, prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Hessenstein, he inherited the estate of Panker in Holstein in 1808.In 1814 he was appointed general field marshal, and in 1816 Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog.On 30 August 1766 at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Charles married Princess Louise of Denmark, his first cousin, the youngest daughter of his aunt, Princess Louise of Great Britain, and King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway, who died the same year.