Ferdinand of Austria, Prince of Asturias (December 4, 1571 - October 18, 1578) is the second son of the King of Spain Philip II and the first son of his marriage to the fourth wife Anna of Austria .
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Content
Biography
Birth
Ferdinand was Philip's second surviving son. It was preceded by Don Carlos , who was born of the first wife of Philip Maria of Portugal . But by the time Ferdinand was born in 1571, his elder brother, mentally unstable and unsuitable for the government, had been dead for three years.
For Philip, illness and the death of the firstborn were the cause of great concern about the inheritance of the throne. After Don Carlos, he had no other surviving sons from either of the two subsequent marriages — only two daughters, Isabella Clara Eugene and Catalina Micaela , from the third wife, Elizabeth Valois , who died in childbirth just like Mary of Portugal (his second the wife of the Queen of England, Mary I died childless).
In gratitude to the Lord for the birth of the long-awaited son, the prisoners were released.
Fatherly Attachment
After Ferdinand, the couple had four more children: Carlos Lorenzo in 1573, Diego in 1575, Philip in 1578 and Maria in 1580, the birth of which led to Anna's death from heart failure. Because of the obligations of their parents to the state and the customs of that era, children lived and grew up separately from their parents. In addition, this state of affairs could create a kind of indifference to their children in Philip and Anna, given the very high infant mortality of that time. Perhaps they were afraid to become closely attached to their children, and then remain inconsolable after they die.
Despite the Black Legend , in which Philip was portrayed as a monster, he was a very caring and affectionate father. He bought dolls, miniatures and toys for his children, and during his stay in Portugal in 1581–1582, he regularly wrote letters to older girls to learn about their health and academic success; letters have survived to the present. Returning from Portugal, he brought with him a lot of candy and jam.
Illness and death
In the summer of 1578, while in the city of Galapagar , Ferdinand became seriously ill with dysentery. The doctors were unable to agree on the method of the best treatment, and the king, who was in Madrid and constantly monitored his condition, advised his son to eat tortillas. Gradually, he recovered, but after three days he became worse and he died. He was six years old.
The title of Prince of Asturias was transferred to his younger brother Diego, but four years later he died of smallpox.
His younger brother, Infant Philip, was the only one of Anna’s children to have survived infancy. In 1598 he replaced his father on the throne of Spain.