Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans

Ferdinand IV (8 September 1633 – 9 July 1654) was made and crowned King of Bohemia in 1646, King of Hungary and Croatia in 1647, and King of the Romans on 31 May 1653. He also served as Duke of Cieszyn.

Ferdinand IV by Frans Luycx

Born in Vienna on 8 September 1633, and baptised as Ferdinand Franz, Ferdinand IV was the eldest son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Maria Anna, the daughter of Philip III of Spain.[1] At a young age, Ferdinand IV took his father's role as Archduke of Austria.[2] In 1646, Ferdinand IV became King of Bohemia as he shared the role with his father Emperor Ferdinand III. He was crowned on 5 August 1646, and also shared the role of Duke of Cieszyn with Ferdinand III.[3][4] Ferdinand IV also shared the role as King of Hungary and Croatia with his father; his coronation took place on 16 June 1647 in Pressburg, present-day Slovakia.[1][3]

After the French attempted to modify the system of the election of King of the Romans, Emperor Ferdinand III made an opportunity of a recent decline in the prestige of France, and was able to install Ferdinand IV as King of the Romans, and de facto heir to the Holy Roman Empire. He was crowned in Ratisbon (Regensburg, present-day south-east Germany) on 18 June 1653 after gaining the position on 31 May 1653.[5] However, Ferdinand IV unexpectedly died of smallpox in Vienna on 9 July 1654, and was later succeeded by his brother Leopold I as King of the Romans.[1] Prior to his death, it was planned that he would marry Philip IV of Spain's daughter Maria Theresa of Spain, his cousin.[2] Upon the death of Ferdinand III, Leopold I was elected as Holy Roman Emperor.[5]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans

16. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[6] 8. Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria[7] 17. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary[6] 4. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor[8] 18. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria[9] (= 20, 30) 9. Maria Anna of Bavaria[7] (= 15, ≠ 5) 19. Anna of Austria[9] (= 21, 31) 2. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor 20. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria[10] (= 18, 30) 10. William V, Duke of Bavaria[11] 21. Anna of Austria[10] (= 19, 31) 5. Maria Anna of Bavaria[8] (≠ 9, 15) 22. Francis I, Duke of Lorraine[12] 11. Renata of Lorraine[11] 23. Christina of Denmark[12] 1. Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans 24. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor[13] 12. Philip II of Spain[14] 25. Isabella of Portugal[13] 6. Philip III of Spain[15] 26. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor[16] 13. Anna of Austria[14] 27. Maria of Austria[16] 3. Maria Anna of Austria 28. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (= 16) 14. Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria[17] (= 8) 29. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (= 17) 7. Margaret of Austria[15] 30. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (= 18, 20) 15. Maria Anna of Bavaria[17] (= 9, ≠ 5) 31. Anna of Austria (= 19, 21)

References

1. "Ferdinand IV (King of Bohemia)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
2. "Ferdinand IV: Vain hopes". The World of the Habsburgs. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
3. Bernard Bolingbroke Woodward; William Leist Readwin Cates (1872). Encyclopedia of Chronology: Historical and Biographical. Longmans, Green and Company. p. 512.
4. The Annals of Europe, Or Regal Register; Shewing the Succession of the Sovereigns, ... Together with the Bishops and Popes of Rome, Etc. F. Newbery. 1779. p. 165.
5. J. P. Cooper (20 December 1979). The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 4, The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, 1609-48/49. CUP Archive. p. 419. ISBN 978-0-521-29713-4.
6. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Karl II. von Steiermark" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 352 – via Wikisource.
7. Eder, Karl (1961), "Ferdinand II.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 83–85; (full text online)
8. Eder, Karl (1961), "Ferdinand III.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 85–86; (full text online)
9. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 20 – via Wikisource.
10. Sigmund Ritter von Riezler (1897), "Wilhelm V. (Herzog von Bayern)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 42, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 717–723
11. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Anna von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 23 – via Wikisource.
12. Cartwright, Julia Mary (1913). Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590. New York: E. P. Dutton. pp. 536–539.
13. Kurth, Godefroid (1911). "Philip II" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
14. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Philipp III." . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 120 – via Wikisource.
15. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Anna von Spanien" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 23 – via Wikisource.
16. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (Königin von Spanien)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 151 – via Wikisource.
17. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Margaretha (Königin von Spanien)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 13 – via Wikisource.

Regnal titles
Preceded by Ferdinand III	King of Germany 1653–1654 with Ferdinand III	Succeeded by Ferdinand III
	King of Bohemia 1646–1654 with Ferdinand III
	King of Hungary and Croatia 1647–1654 with Ferdinand III
Preceded by Elizabeth Lucretia	Duke of Cieszyn 1653–1654 with Ferdinand III