Baltasar Carlos of Spain

Handwritten reply from Philip IV in the form of a marginal note on the condolence letter of the Countess of Salvatierra on the death of Prince Baltasar Carlos, who had died four nights earlier. The king expresses his grief in very personal and moving words ( [...] qué golpe a ssido este, y qué dolor padezco [...] )

Baltasar Carlos of Spain (Spanish: Baltasar Carlos de Austria) (* October 17, 1629 - October 9, 1646 ), Infante of Spain from the House of Austria , was Prince of Asturias from 1632 to 1646 .

Life

Baltasar Carlos was the son of King Philip IV of Spain and his first wife, Isabella of Bourbon . Since he was the only male child from Philip's first marriage, he was considered the heir to the throne . Baltasar Carlos died in 1646, presumably of smallpox , and was buried in Chapel 9 of the Pantheon of the Infants in the Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial . He was succeeded to the throne by his half-brother Charles II, born in 1661 from the second marriage of Philip IV to Maria Anna of Austria .

effect

Historically, Baltasar Carlos has not played a major role. However, since he was the only male descendant of the king at the time of his death, his death was not only a personal catastrophe for the king, from which he recovered very slowly, but also a serious setback for the hopes of the whole country.

Portraits

The young prince has been portrayed several times by the eminent Spanish painter Diego Velázquez . The empathetic and sensitive portraits that Velazquez created, along with those of his later-born half-sister Margarita (including Las Meninas ), are among the most beautiful child portraits of the Baroque .