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Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (
Italian: Ferdinando IV, Granduca di Toscana;[1] 10 June 1835 – 17 January 1908) was the last
Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1859 to 1860.*
His first wife died on February 1859. Sometime later, he and his family were forced to flee
Florence on 27 April 1859, with the outbreak of a revolution inspired by the outbreak of the
Second Italian War of Independence as part of the
unification of Italy. The family took refuge in Austria. After the end of the war, Leopold II abdicated on 21 July and Ferdinand succeeded him as
Grand Duke. Ferdinand proved unable to return to Florence to claim his throne, and an elected Tuscan National Assembly formally deposed him only a month later, on 16 August, with Tuscany being merged into the
United Provinces of Central Italy. Ferdinand still hoped to recover his throne, as both
France and
Austria had promised to recognize his rights to it in the
Armistice of Villafranca. However, neither power was willing to take any steps to bring about his restoration;
Sardinia would annex Tuscany on 22 March 1860, and with Austria recognizing the new
Kingdom of Italy after the
Third War of Independence in 1866, Ferdinand's hopes to reclaim the throne were ended.
Subsequently Ferdinand and his family returned to Austria. While Ferdinand was allowed to keep the grand ducal title as a courtesy and retain his status as
grand master of all Tuscan orders of chivalry for his lifetime, his descendants could only bear the title of "Archduke/Archduchess of Austria"; the right to bear the title "Prince/ss of Tuscany" became restricted solely to family members born before 1866. In 1870 Ferdinand relinquished all dynastic rights to the defunct Grand Duchy for himself and his future heirs in favour of his second cousin, Emperor
Franz Joseph I, effectively ending the House of Habsburg-Tuscany's status as a sovereign cadet branch.[2][3]
Ferdinand died in
Salzburg in 1908, after spending the rest of his life in exile. Upon his death, his descendants were barred from using their Tuscan titles by Imperial decree.[4][5]
From his second marriage in
Frohsdorf on 11 January 1868 to Princess Alice "Alix" of Bourbon-Parma (
Parma, 27 December 1849 –
Schwertberg, 16 November 1935), daughter of Duke
Charles III of Parma:
Archduke
Leopold Ferdinand (1868–1935). He renounced his titles on 29 December 1902 and took the name Leopold Wölfling. He married three times, without issue.
Archduke
Josef Ferdinand (1872–1942). He married, firstly, Rosa Kaltenbrunner and, after divorcing her married, secondly Gertrud Tomanek, by whom he had issue. Both marriages were
morganatic.
^Full name:
Italian: Ferdinando Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovan Battista Francesco Luigi Gonzaga Raffaello Ranieri Gennaro,
German: Ferdinand Salvator Maria Joseph Johann Baptist Franz Ludwig Gonzaga Raphael Rainerius Gennarius
^Bernd Braun: Das Ende der Regionalmonarchien in Italien. Abdankungen im Zuge des Risorgimento. In: Susan Richter, Dirk Dirbach (Hrsg.): Thronverzicht. Die Abdankung in Monarchien vom Mittelalter bis in die Neuzeit. Böhlau Verlag, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2010, pp. 251-266
^ Andrea Borella (a cura di): Annuario della Nobiltà italiana, XXXIII edizione, 2015-2020, parte I, Teglio, marzo 2021, ISBN 978-88-942861-0-6
^Rivista Araldica, anno 1913, volume 11, pagina 381, Roma, Collegio Araldico: " Da informazione ufficiale assunta a Vienna togliamo quanto segue «A Sua Altezza I. R. il defunto Granduca Ferdinando IV di Toscana era stato permesso dall'Impero austro-ungarico e dagli Stati dell'Impero germanico, di conferire i tre Ordini toscani, inerenti alla Sovranità, che anche spodestato, rimase all'Augusto principe fino alla sua morte. Il titolo di Principe di Toscana fu solo autorizzato ai membri della famiglia granducale nati prima del 1866. Dopo la morte del Granduca (1908) tutti gli augusti figli del defunto dovettero solennemente rinunciare ad ogni qualsiasi diritto di cui personalmente ed eccezionalmente godeva il padre. Quindi il Gran Magistero dell'Ordine di S. Stefano per volontà di S. M. l'Imperatore e Re è terminato col defunto granduca, né più sarebbe accettato dagli augusti principi lorenesi" (in Italian)
Generations are numbered by male-line descent from the first archdukes. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished in 1919.
Generations are numbered from the children of
Francesco de' Medici, first
Grand Duke of Tuscany. Later generations are included but the grand duchy was abolished in 1860.