Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias

Names
	Baltasar Carlos de Austria y Borbón

Balthasar Charles
Balthasar Charles
Prince of Asturias; Prince of Portugal
	Portrait by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, c. 1642
Born	17 October 1629; Royal Alcázar, Madrid, Spain
Died	9 October 1646 (aged 16); Zaragoza, Spain
Names
Names
	Baltasar Carlos de Austria y Borbón
House	Habsburgs of Spain
Father	Philip IV of Spain
Mother	Elisabeth of France
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Balthasar Charles (17 October 1629 – 9 October 1646), Prince of Asturias, Prince of Girona, Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera, and Lord of Balaguer, Prince of Viana was heir apparent to all the kingdoms, states and dominions of the Spanish monarchy until his death.

Life and death[]

The only son of King Philip IV of Spain and his first wife, Elisabeth of France, he was baptized on November 4, 1629 in the Parish of San Juan, Madrid. His godparents were Infanta Maria Anna and Infante Charles, aunt and uncle of the newborn; Inés de Zúñiga y Velasco, Countess of Olivares (wife of the Count-Duke of Olivares) sat on a crystal throne during his baptism, which was said to be the most precious jewel she had seen.

The Countess of Olivares, who was also chief lady-in-waiting to the Queen, worked as a governess to the prince, which gave rise to comments about the control that the Count-Duke of Olivares had on the heir.

On 7 March 1632, he was sworn in before the nobility of Castile as "His Majesty's Heir" and "Prince of these kingdoms of Castile and Leon, and others that are subject to these Crowns, united and incorporated", in a ceremony held at the Monastery of San Jerónimo el Real of Madrid.

His father soon began diplomatic efforts to seek a bride: Archduchess Mariana of Austria, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III and his paternal aunt, Maria Anna, and therefore his cousin, being chosen; they were betrothed in 1646.^[1] Another cousin, the daughter of his mother's sister, Henrietta Maria and her husband, King Charles I of England, Mary, Princess Royal, was also proposed as a potential bride - but was turned down on grounds of religion.

After the Catalan revolt of 1640, Philip IV tried to win over Aragon to raise money and men for the new war front. One of the steps taken towards this end was to bring the Prince Balthasar Charles to be sworn as crown prince of the Kingdom of Aragón. The oath was held on 20 August 1645, when the prince was sixteen years old, in the Cathedral of the Savior, Zaragoza. This titled him as Prince of Gerona, Governor General of Aragon, Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera and Lord of the City of Balaguer. Meanwhile, on 13 November of that year, Balthasar Charles was also sworn as heir to the Kingdom of Valencia.

In April 1646, Philip IV, wanting his son to be sworn in as heir apparent to the throne of Navarre, as he had been in Aragon the previous year, moved with him from Madrid to Pamplona, where, after recognizing the privileges of the kingdom of Navarre, the ceremony was solemnly celebrated on 3 May 1646.

After the ceremony, the royal family moved to Zaragoza. On October 5, the eve of second anniversary of the death of Queen Elisabeth, Philip IV and Balthasar Charles attended Vespers that night in her memory. That evening, the prince was ill and the next day, Saturday October 6, he had to stay in bed while the king went to the funeral. The disease, smallpox, spread rapidly, and on Tuesday, October 9, at 8 in the morning, the Archbishop of Saragossa gave him the Last Sacraments. It is said that the Host was exhibited until 3 o'clock, when it became a general procession to the Convent of Jesus, which then proceeded to Our Lady of Cogullada and brought in procession to the altar of La Seo where it was surrounded by candles and prayers. At 9 pm that same day, October 9, Prince Balthasar Charles died. His remains were kept in Zaragoza until the night of October 16, when they were transferred to the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Following his death, his former bride-to-be married his father the king.^[1]

The king fell into a deep unease as noted in a letter his spiritual advisor, Sister Maria de Agreda: "The prayers did not lift the spirits of our Lord for the health of my son enjoying his glory. Not agreeing owed him or us otherwise. I'm in the state that you can judge, for I have lost a child I had, so that you you saw him, I really encouraged him much in the midst of all my cares [...] have offered to God this blow, which I confess I have pierced the heart and in this state do not know if dream or truth is what happens for me."

Balthasar Charles and the arts[]

The figure of Prince Balthasar Charles has endured over time because of the portraits made of him by Velázquez^[2] (for example, Prince Balthasar Charles on horseback and Prince Balthasar Charles hunter both in the Museo del Prado, Prince Balthasar Charles with a dwarf in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, or the Prince Balthasar Charles in the ring, from the private collection of the Duke of Westminster (London), among others) and Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo, of which the prince was a great patron ("Portrait of Prince Baltasar Carlos", dated 1635 (Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest) or "Prince Baltasar Carlos at 16 years' (Museo del Prado).

Moreover, many authors devoted their works to the young prince. For example, Diego de Saavedra Fajardo dedicates his most famous work, "Idea of a Christian Political Prince Represented in a Hundred Enterprises" (1640), to the Prince, while Baltasar Gracián dedicated to him, his work The Discreet (1646):

THE DISCREET / DE / LORENZO GRACIAN, / That public / DON Vincencio IVAN/ DE LASTANOSA. / AND / DEDICATED TO / HIS / SERENE HIGHNESS / Don Baltasar Carlos / Prince of Spain / Y / From the New World. / Licensed. / Printed in Huesca, by Iuan / Nogues, Year 1646

For his part, Quevedo dedicated to the late Prince his "Oath of His Royal Highness Prince Don Baltasar Carlos," 23 included in the Muse Clio, 1648 edition of the Spanish Parnassus. The poem was written on the occasion of the swearing in of Prince Balthasar Charles on 7 March 1632 and, even though unfinished, is a very interesting poem by circumstances and technique that is written.

Balthasar Charles with a court dwarf, by Velázquez, 1631
Balthasar Charles, 1633, with a sword, Marshall's baton and armour gorget.
Balthasar Charles, in his hunting attire, by Velázquez, 1635
Balthasar Charles, in his riding attire, by Velázquez, c. 1635
Balthasar Charles, in his hunting attire, by Martínez del Mazo, 1635
Prince Baltasar Carlos in the Riding School with the Count-Duke of Olivares outside Buen Retiro Palace, by Velázquez 1636
Balthasar Charles, by Velázquez 1640

Ancestry[]

showAncestors of Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b William Coxe (1864). History of the House of Austria ... 1218-1792. Bell. p. 349.
^ Diego Velázquez (3 January 2016). Complete Works of Diego Velázquez (Delphi Classics). Delphi Classics. p. 176.

External links[]

Media related to Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias at Wikimedia Commons

Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias at Find a Grave

Spanish royalty
Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias House of Habsburg Born: 17 October 1629 Died: 9 October 1646
Preceded by Philip	Prince of Asturias 1629–1646	Succeeded by Philip Prospero
Preceded by Philip	Prince of Portugal 1629–1640	Succeeded by Theodosius

[Coxe1864-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b William Coxe (1864). History of the House of Austria ... 1218-1792. Bell. p. 349.

[2] Diego Velázquez (3 January 2016). Complete Works of Diego Velázquez (Delphi Classics). Delphi Classics. p. 176.

[1]

[2]

show v t Infantes of Spain
The generations indicate descent from Carlos I, under whom the crowns of Castile and Aragon were united, forming the Kingdom of Spain. Previously, the title Infante had been largely used in the different realms.
1st generation	Felipe II
2nd generation	Carlos, Prince of Asturias Fernando, Prince of Asturias Diego, Prince of Asturias Felipe III
3rd generation	Felipe IV Infante Carlos Infante Fernando Infante Alonso
4th generation	Baltasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias Felipe Próspero, Prince of Asturias Carlos II
5th generation	None
6th generation	None
7th generation	Luis I Infante Felipe Pedro Fernando VI Carlos III Felipe I, Duke of Parma Infante Luis, Count of Chinchón
8th generation	Infante Felipe, Duke of Calabria Carlos IV Fernando I of the Two Sicilies Infante Gabriel Infante Antonio Pascual Fernando I, Duke of Parma¹
9th generation	Fernando VII Infante Carlos, Count of Molina Infante Francisco de Paula Infante Pedro Carlos, Infante of Portugal¹ Luis I of Etruria²
10th generation	Infante Antonio, Duke of Montpensier² Infante Carlos, Count of Montemolin¹ Infante Juan, Count of Montizón¹ Infante Fernando¹ Francisco de Asís, King Consort of Spain¹ Infante Enrique, Duke of Seville¹ Infante Sebastián, Infante of Portugal¹ Carlos II, Duke of Parma¹
11th generation	Alfonso XII Infante Gaetan, Count of Girgenti² Infante Antonio, Duke of Galliera¹ Infante Carlos, Duke of Madrid Infante Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime¹ Carlos III, Duke of Parma¹
12th generation	Infante Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies² Infante Ferdinand of Bavaria² Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera¹ Infante Luis Fernando of Orléans¹ Infante Jaime, Duke of Madrid¹ Roberto I, Duke of Parma¹
13th generation	Alfonso, Prince of Asturias Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona Infante Gonzalo Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria¹
14th generation	Juan Carlos I Infante Alfonso Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria¹
15th generation	Felipe VI
16th generation	None
¹ title granted by Royal Decree ² consort to an Infanta naturalized as a Spanish Infante

show v t Infantes of Portugal
The generations indicate descent from Afonso I, and continues through the House of Aviz, the House of Habsburg through Infanta Isabel, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Spain, and the House of Braganza through Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Braganza.
1st generation	Sancho I
2nd generation	Afonso II Infante Pedro, Count of Urgell Infante Fernando, Count of Flanders
3rd generation	Sancho II Afonso III Infante Fernando, Lord of Serpa
4th generation	Dinis I Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre
5th generation	Afonso IV Infante Afonso, Lord of Leiria
6th generation	Pedro I
7th generation	Fernando I Infante João, Duke of Valencia de Campos Infante Dinis, Lord of Cifuentes
8th generation	Duarte I Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu Infante João, Constable of Portugal Infante Fernando
9th generation	Afonso V Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu Infante Pedro, Constable of Portugal Infante João, Prince of Antioch Cardinal-Infante Jaime of Coimbra Infante Diogo, Constable of Portugal
10th generation	João, Prince of Portugal João II Infante João, Duke of Viseu Infante Diogo, Duke of Viseu Manuel I
11th generation	Afonso, Prince of Portugal Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal and Asturias* João III Infante Luís, Duke of Beja Infante Fernando, Duke of Guarda Cardinal-Infante Afonso Henrique I (The Cardinal-King) Infante Duarte, Duke of Guimarães
12th generation	Afonso, Prince of Portugal Manuel, Prince of Portugal Filipe, Prince of Portugal João Manuel, Prince of Portugal Infante Duarte, Duke of Guimarães
13th generation	Sebastião I Diogo, Prince of Portugal and Asturias§ Filipe II§ Manuel, Hereditary Prince of Portugalƒ
14th generation	Filipe III§ Infante Carlos§ Cardinal-Infante Fernando§ Infante Alonso§
15th generation	Baltasar Carlos, Prince of Portugal and Asturias§ Teodósio, Prince of Brazil Afonso VI Pedro II
16th generation	João, Prince of Brazil João V Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja Infante António Infante Manuel, Count of Ourém
17th generation	Pedro, Prince of Brazil José I Infante Carlos Pedro III Infante Alexandre
18th generation	None
19th generation	José, Prince of Brazil João VI
20th generation	Francisco António, Prince of Beira Pedro I of Brazil & IV of Portugal Miguel I Infante Pedro Carlos#
21st generation	João Carlos, Prince of Beira Pedro II of Brazil‡ Infante Miguel, Duke of Braganzaƒ Infante Sebastião#
22nd generation	Pedro V¶ Luís I¶ Infante João, Duke of Beja¶ Infante Fernando¶ Infante Augusto, Duke of Coimbra¶ Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseuƒ◙ Infante Francisco Joséƒ◙ Infante Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganzaƒ◙
23rd generation	Carlos I¶ Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto¶ Infante Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganzaƒ Infante Henrique, Duke of Coimbraƒ
24th generation	Luís Filipe, Prince Royal¶ Manuel II¶ Afonso, Prince of Beiraƒ
* also an infante of Castile and León, Aragon, Sicily and Naples, § also an infante of Spain and an archduke of Austria, # also an infante of Spain, ‡ also an imperial prince of Brazil, ¶ also a prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke in Saxony, ◙ also a prince of Braganza, ¤ title removed in 1920 as their parents' marriage was deemed undynastic, ƒ claimant infante

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