α CVn (Cor Caroli) is the constellation's brightest star, named by Sir Charles Scarborough in memory of King Charles I, the deposed king of Britain. Legend has it that α CVn was brighter than usual during the Restoration, as Charles II returned to England to take the throne. Cor Caroli is a wide double star, with a primary of magnitude 2.9 and a secondary of magnitude 5.6; the primary is 110 light-years from Earth. The primary also has an unusually strong variable magnetic field.
