Diego of Austria
Diego Felix of Austria ( Spanish Diego Félix de Austria ) (* 12. July 1575 in Madrid , † 21st November 1582 in Madrid) from the House of Habsburg , was as Spanish heir to the title Prince of Asturias .
Life
Diego was the third son of King Philip II of Spain (1527–1598) from his fourth marriage to Anna (1549–1580), daughter of the Roman-German Emperor Maximilian II.
On March 1, 1580, Diego was honored by the Cortes in Madrid as Prince of Asturias. In doing so he succeeded his brother Ferdinand , who died in 1578. The poet Cristóbal de Virués dedicated a sonnet to the Infante Don Diego, which he combined with the wish that the prince should follow his father's path. During his parents' trip to Portugal, which cost his mother her life in 1580, Diego stayed behind with his siblings in Madrid; his half-sisters Isabella and Katharina were entrusted with the care of the heir to the throne . In Philip's letters it becomes clear that he was very proud of Diego Félix, he emphasizes that his son learned the alphabet and dancing at the age of five. In 1582 Philip wrote that the Indian viceroy Francisco de Mascarenhas had sent an elephant to Europe as a gift to the heir to the throne. Philip also tried to ensure that his son learned the Portuguese language, which Philip II himself had only very poorly, so that he could speak to his subjects as the future king of Portugal.
Diego succumbed to smallpox at the age of 7 and was buried in Chapel 9 of the Pantheon of the Infants in the Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial . As Prince of Asturias, he was followed by his brother, who later became King Philip III.
The paintings
The painting of the Prince, a masterpiece by the painter Alonso Sánchez Coello from 1577, was acquired by Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein in 2006 for £ 2 million and is on loan from the National Gallery in London , which the Prince agreed to purchase of the picture negotiated.
literature
- Friedrich Edelmayer : Philipp II. (1527–1598): the biography of a world ruler . W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 2009, p. 180 ff.
- Pius Bonifatius Gams : The Church History of Spain . Academic printing and Verlagsanstalt, 1956, p. 232.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Friedrich Christoph Schlosser, Georg Ludwig Kriegk: World history for the German people , Volume 13, Varrentrapp, 1852, p. 202
- ^ Freiherr von Münch: Yearbook for Romance and English Literature , Ferd. Dümmler, 1860, p. 159
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Don Fernando |
Prince of Asturias 1578–1582 |
Philip |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Diego of Austria |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Diego Félix of Austria; Diego de Austria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prince of Asturias |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 12, 1575 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Madrid |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 21, 1582 |
| Place of death | Madrid |