Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans

Ferdinand IV was made and crowned King of Bohemia in 1646, King of Hungary and Croatia (Habsburg)|Croatia] in 1647, and King of the Romans on 31 May 1653. He also served as Duke of Cieszyn.

Early life

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.

Ferdinand had been the hope of the Habsburg dynasty during the final stages of the Thirty Years' War. According to his father Emperor Ferdinand III's succession plan, he was expected to lead the Habsburg monarchy into a period of stability after the Peace of Westphalia.
At a young age, Ferdinand IV took his father's place as Archduke of Austria. In 1646, Ferdinand IV became King of Bohemia, sharing the role and that of Duke of Cieszyn with his father Emperor Ferdinand III. He was crowned on 5 August 1646. Ferdinand IV also shared the role of King of Hungary and Croatia with his father; his coronation took place on 16 June 1647 in Pressburg, present-day Slovakia.
After the French attempted to modify the system of the election of King of the Romans, Emperor Ferdinand III took advantage 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 in the 1653 imperial election. He was crowned in Ratisbon on 18 June 1653 after gaining the position on 31 May 1653. However, Ferdinand IV unexpectedly died of smallpox in Vienna on 9 July 1654. Prior to his death, it was planned that he would marry Philip IV of Spain's daughter Maria Theresa of Spain, his cousin. Upon the death of Ferdinand III, Leopold was elected as Holy Roman Emperor.