Philip IV of Spain

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Philip IV of Spain

Spanish and Portuguese Royalty House of Habsburg Charles I Children    Felipe, Prince of Asturias (future Philip II)    Infanta Maria, Holy Roman Empress    Infanta Juana, Crown Princess of Portugal    Infante Juan (natural son)    Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Florence, Duchess of Parma (natural daughter) Philip II (I of Portugal) Children include    Carlos, Prince of Asturias    Infanta Isabella, Archduchess of Austria    Infanta Catalina, Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Savoy    Felipe, Prince of Asturias (future Philip III) Philip III (II of Portugal) Children include    Infanta Ana, Queen of France    Felipe, Prince of Asturias (future Philip IV)    Infanta Maria Ana, Holy Roman Empress    Infante Carlos    Cardinal-Infante Fernando Philip IV (III of Portugal) Children include    Baltasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias    Infanta Maria Theresa, Queen of France    Infanta Margarita, Holy Roman Empress    Infante Carlos (future Charles II) Charles II

Philip IV (Felipe IV), (April 8, 1605 – September 17, 1665) was King of Spain from 1621 to 1665 and also King of Portugal until 1640. The eldest son of Philip III and his wife Margarita of Austria, Philip IV was born at Valladolid. He was known as the Planet King, after the Sun, the fourth planet in the astronomy of the time.

His reign, after a few years of inconclusive successes, was characterized by political and military decay and adversity. He has been held responsible for the decline of Spain, which was mostly due, however, to organic causes largely beyond the control of any one ruler. Philip certainly possessed more energy, both mental and physical, than his diffident father. His handwritten translation of Francesco Guicciardini's texts on political history still exists, and he was a fine horseman and keen hunter.

His artistic taste is shown by his patronage of his court painter Diego Velázquez; his love of letters by his favoring Lope de Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and other immortal dramatists. He is credited, on fairly probable testimony, with a share in the composition of several comedies. He also commenced the building of the Buen Retiro palace in Madrid, parts of which still remain near the Prado.

His good intentions were no avail to governance, however. Feeling himself not yet qualified to rule when he ascended to the throne at age 16, he allowed himself to be guided by the most capable men he could find. His favourite, Olivares, was a far more honest and capable man than his predecesssor the Duke of Lerma, and better fitted for the office of chief minister than any Spaniard of the time, perhaps. Philip, however, lacked the confidence to free himself from Olivares' influence once he did come of age. With Olivares' encouragement, he rather busied himself with frivolous amusements. By 1643, when disasters falling on all sides led to the dismissal of the all-powerful minister, Philip had largely lost the power to devote himself to hard work. After a brief struggle with the task of directing the administration of the most extensive and worst-organized multi-national state in Europe, he sank back into indolence and let other favourites govern.

His political opinions were those he had inherited from his father and grandfather. He thought it his duty to support the House of Habsburg and the cause of the Roman Catholic Church against the Protestants, to assert his sovereignty over the Dutch, and to extend the dominions of his family. The utter exhaustion of his people in the course of perpetual war, against the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, was seen by him with sympathy but he considered it an unavoidable misfortune, since he could not have been expected to renounce his legitimate rights, or to desert what he viewed as the cause of God, the Church and the House of Hapsburg.

He was idealised by his contemporaries as the model of Baroque kingship. Outwardly he maintained a bearing of rigid solemnity, and was seen to laugh only three times in the course of his entire public life. But, in private, his court was grossly corrupt. Victorian historians prudishly attributed the early death of his eldest son, Baltasar Carlos, to debauchery, encouraged by the gentlemen entrusted by the king with his education. This shocked the king, but its effect soon wore off. Philip IV died broken-hearted in 1665, expressing the pious hope that his surviving son, Carlos, would be more fortunate than himself. On his death, a catafalque was built in Rome to commemorate his life.

Contents 1 Ancestors 2 Family 2.1 Siblings 2.2 Children 3 In fiction 4 References

[edit] Ancestors

Philip's ancestors in three generations

Philip IV of Spain	Father: Philip III of Spain	Father's father: Philip II of Spain	Father's father's father: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
			Father's father's mother: Isabella of Portugal
		Father's mother: Anna of Austria	Father's mother's father: Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
			Father's mother's mother: Maria of Spain
	Mother: Margarita of Austria	Mother's father: Charles II, Archduke of Austria	Mother's father's father: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
			Mother's father's mother: Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
		Mother's mother: Maria Anna of Bavaria	Mother's mother's father: Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
			Mother's mother's mother: Anna of Austria

[edit] Family

[edit] Siblings

• Anne of Austria (1601–1666), who became Queen of France;
• Maria Anna of Spain (1606–1646), who became Holy Roman Empress;
• Ferdinand, who became Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands

[edit] Children

With Elizabeth of Bourbon (or Elisabeth of France, 1603–1644, daughter of Henry IV of France) — married 1615 at Burgos

• Infanta Maria Margaret (Maria Margarita)(1621)
• Infanta Margaret Maria Catherine (Margarita Maria Catalina) (1623)
• Infanta Maria Eugenia (1625–1627)
• Infanta Isabella Maria Theresa (Isabel Maria Teresa) (1627)
• Baltasar Carlos, Prince of the Asturias (1629–1646)
• Infanta Maria Anna Antonia (Mariana or Maria Ana Antonia) (1636)
• Maria Theresa of Spain (1638–1683), queen consort of France as first wife of Louis XIV of France

With Mariana of Austria (or Marie-Anne of Austria, 1634–1696) — in 1649

• Margaret of Spain (July 12, 1651 – March 12, 1673), first wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
• Infanta Maria Ambrosia de la Concepción (1655)
• Felipe Próspero (1657–1661).
• Infante Thomas Charles (Tomas Carlos) (1658–1659)
• Charles II of Spain (1661–1700)

With Maria Calderon{a}

• John of Austria the Younger {1629 – 1679}

[edit] In fiction

The novel The king Amaz'd by the Spanish novelist Gonzalo Torrente Ballester is an ironical portrait of the early years of Philip IV's reign. The movie El rey pasmado, based on the novel, was directed by Imanol Uribe and features Gabino Diego as Philip in his early reign.

[edit] References

The best accounts of Philip IV will be found in the Estudios del reinado de Felipe IV, by Don Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (Madrid, 1889), and in the introduction by Don F rancisco Silvela to his edition of the Cartas de Sor María de Ágreda y del rey Felipe IV (Madrid, 1885–1886).

Spanish Habsburgs Born: April 8, 1605; Died: September 17, 1665
Preceded by: Philip II/III	King of Spain, Naples, and Sicily Duke of Brabant, Guelders, Limburg, Lothier and Luxembourg Count of Burgundy, Flanders, Hainaut and Namur 1621–1665	Succeeded by: Charles II
	King of Portugal 1621–1640	Succeeded by: John IV
	Count of Artois 1621–1640	to France }}
Preceded by: Prince Felipe de Habsburgo	Prince of Asturias 1605-1621	Succeeded by: Prince Baltasar Carlos de Habsburgo

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.