Ferdinand VI of Spain

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Ferdinand VI, King of Spain

Spanish Royalty House of Bourbon Philip V Children Luis I Ferdinand VI Charles III Mariana Victoria, Queen of Portugal Philip, Duke of Parma Teresa, Dauphiness of France Infante Luis Antonia, Queen of Sardinia Luis I Ferdinand VI Charles III Children Infanta María Josefa Maria Luisa, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress Infante Felipe Charles IV    Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Infante Gabriel Infante Antonio Grandchild of cadet line Infante Pedro Carlos Charles IV Children Carlota Joaquina, Queen of Portugal and Brazil Infanta Maria Amelia Maria Luisa, Duchess of Lucca Ferdinand VII    Carlos, Count of Molina Maria Isabella, Queen of the Two Sicilies    Francis Paula, Duke of Cadiz Grandchildren of cadet lines    Carlos, Count of Montemolin    Juan, Count of Montizon Infante Fernando Francis, Duke of Cadiz, king-consort    Enrique, Duke of Sevilla Maria Cristina, Princess of Spain and Portugal Amelia, Duchess of Bavaria Ferdinand VII Children Isabella II Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier Isabella II Children Infante Ferdinand Isabella, Princess of Asturias Infanta Maria Christina Alfonso XII Infanta Maria de la Paz, Duchess of Bavaria Infanta Eulalia, Duchess of Galliera Alfonso XII Children Maria de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias Infanta Teresa, Duchess of Bavaria Alfonso XIII Infanta Maria de la Concepcion Infanta Maria del Pilar Infanta Maria de la Paz Infanta Marie Eulalia Infante Francis Alfonso XIII Children Alfonso, Prince of Asturias Jaime, Duke of Segovia Infanta Beatriz Infanta Maria Cristina Juan, Count of Barcelona Infante Gonzalo Grandchildren Alfonso, Duke of Cadiz Gonzalo, Duke of Aquitaine Infanta Pilar Juan Carlos I Infanta Margarita Infante Alfonso Great Grandchildren Don Francisco Luis, Duke of Anjou Dona Stephanie Juan Carlos I Children    Elena, Duchess of Lugo    Cristina, Duchess of Palma    Felipe, Prince of Asturias Grandchild Infanta Leonor [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ Edit]

Ferdinand VI, (September 23, 1713 – August 10, 1759), King of Spain from 1746 until his death, second son of Philip V, founder of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty (as opposed to the French Bourbons), by his first marriage with Maria Louisa of Savoy, was born at Madrid on September 23 1713.

His youth was depressed. His father's second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, was a domineering woman, who had no affection except for her own children, and who looked upon her stepson as an obstacle to their fortunes. The hypochondria of his father left Elizabeth mistress of the palace. Ferdinand was married in 1729 to Maria Barbara of Braganza, daughter of John V of Portugal and Mary Anne of Austria. The very homely looks of his wife were thought by observers to cause the prince a visible shock when he was first presented to her. Yet he became deeply attached to his wife, and proved in fact nearly as uxorious as his father.

Ferdinand was by temperament melancholy, shy and distrustful of his own abilities. When complimented on his shooting, he replied, "It would be hard if there were not something I could do." As king he followed a steady policy of neutrality in the conflict between France and England, and refused to be tempted by the offers of either into declaring war on the other. In his life he was orderly and retiring, averse from taking decisions, though not incapable of acting firmly, as when he cut short the dangerous intrigues of his able minister Zenón de Somodevilla y Bengoechea, Marquis of Ensenada by dismissing and imprisoning him. He was called Ferdinand the Learned for his refined pursuits.

Shooting and music were his only pleasures, and he was the generous patron of the famous singer Farinelli, whose voice soothed his melancholy. The death of his wife Maria Barbara, who had been devoted to him, and who carefully abstained from political intrigue, broke his heart. Between the date of her death in 1758 and his own on August 10 1759, he fell into a state of prostration in which he would not even dress, but wandered unshaven, unwashed and in a nightgown about his park. The memoirs of the count of Fernan Nuñez give a shocking picture of his deathbed.

External links

• [Ferdinand VI] from Joan's [Mad Monarchs series]