Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias

Ferdinand of Austria (Spanish Fernando de Austria; * December 4, 1571 in Madrid, † October 18, 1578 in Madrid) was a son of Philip II and was a Spanish heir to the title of Prince of Asturias.

Life

Ferdinand was the second son of King Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) from his fourth marriage to Anna (1549-1580), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II celebrate the birth of the heir Philip II issued a general pardon for all prisoners in Spain and India.

The birth of the heir to the throne shortly after the victorious Battle of Lepanto was seen as a sign of divine grace. The painter Titian was commissioned with an allegorical painting that emerged in the years 1572 to 1575 and was made ​​by personal instructions of the king and his court painter Alonso Sánchez drawings of Coello. In the background the destroyed Turkish fleet, Philip II sharer in the foreground his son, the heavenly messenger who is the Infante palm and laurel wreath. On a ribbon are the words MAIORA TIBI ( awaits larger ). The painting was Philip II in the Alcazar palace next to the equestrian statue of his father Charles V at the Battle of Miihlberg attach so as to justify the happy future of the Infante from the successes of the Father.

The careful education of the prince was his father immensely important. As Hofmeister Ferdinand acted Pedro Lopez de Ayala, Count of Fuensalida. On May 31, 1573 Ferdinand was worshiped as the Prince of Asturias by the Cortes, who swore in the Church of San Jeronimo in Madrid on the throne. Ferdinand died already 6 years old and was buried in the Pantheon of Infantes at the Escorial palace. When Prince of Asturias was succeeded by his brother Diego born in 1575.