Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria
| Ferdinand Charles | |
|---|---|
Portrait from the workshop of Sustermans | |
| Archduke of Further Austria | |
| Reign | 13 September 1632 – 30 December 1662 |
| Predecessor | Leopold V |
| Successor | Sigismund Francis |
| Regent | Claudia de' Medici (1632-1646) |
| Born | May 17, 1628 Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | December 30, 1662 (aged 34) Kaltern, County of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empire |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | Claudia Felicitas, Holy Roman Empress |
| House | Habsburg |
| Father | Leopold V, Archduke of Austria |
| Mother | Claudia de' Medici |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Ferdinand Charles (17 May 1628 – 30 December 1662) was the Archduke of Further Austria, including Tyrol, from 1632 to 1662. He was the firstborn son of Archduke Leopold V of Further Austria and Claudia de' Medici. Until 1646, his mother Claudia served as regent and de facto ruler. Ferdinand Charles was a patron of the arts with Italian opera performed at his court. Despite this, he was a poor ruler and lived an extravagant lifestyle, drained the treasury, and held illegal executions.
Aged eighteen, Ferdinand Charles married his cousin, the thirty year old Anna de' Medici. They had no sons, and the male line of his father died out soon after Ferdinand Charles' own death, aged thirty-four, of smallpox. His daughter Claudia Felicitas of Austria-Tyrol went on to marry Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.