Alfonso IV d'Este (2 February 1634 – 16 July 1662) was
Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1658 until his death. He was the father of
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...
, consort of
James II of England
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...
.
Alfonso was born in
Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
, the eldest son of
Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena, and his first wife,
Maria Caterina Farnese.
He became Duke of Modena and Reggio after his father's death in 1658. Alfonso's health was poor and he suffered from
gout
Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
and
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. He died four years into his reign.
In 1655 he married
Laura Martinozzi,
Cardinal Mazarin's niece, thus strengthening his alliance with France. On Laura's sixteenth birthday, 27 May 1655, she was married to the Duke of Modena by proxy at the Palace of Compiègne, with the Count of Soissons standing in the place of the Duke of Modena. They had two children,
Maria and
Francesco
Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include:
People with the given name Francesco
* Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...
, who went on to become Queen of England and Duke of Modena respectively.
In 1659 the
Franco-Spanish War came to an end and Modena was rewarded with the town of
Correggio for supporting France.
He was succeeded by his two-year-old son, under the regency of his widow.
Ancestry
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Este, Alfonso 4
Hereditary Princes of Modena
1634 births
1662 deaths
Alfonso 4
Alfonso 4
Alfonso 4
17th-century Italian nobility
Alfonso 4