Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (; 10 June 1835 – 17 January 1908) was the last

Grand Duke of Tuscany Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

from 1859 to 1860.

Biography

Born at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, he was the son of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies. His first wife died in February 1859. Sometime later, he and his family were forced to flee

on 27 April 1859, with the outbreak of a revolution inspired by the outbreak of the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

as part of the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

. 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 Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

. 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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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 Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

would annex Tuscany on 22 March 1860, and with Austria recognizing the new

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

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. The House of Habsburg-Tuscany continued to be recognised as a sovereign cadet branch of the House of Austria in the

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' () is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C. W. Ettinger in ...

and other similar genealogical publications and given precedence as such at the Austrian court. 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 Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, effectively ending the House of Habsburg-Tuscany's status as a sovereign cadet branch. Ferdinand died in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

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. The statement that the orders were no longer conferred is correct; however, the first series of the

sometimes erroneously attributed the title of Grand Master of the

Order of Saint Stephen The Order of Saint Stephen (officially ''Sacro Militare Ordine di Santo Stefano Papa e Martire'', 'Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr') is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order was created ...

of Tuscany and

Order of Saint Joseph The Order of Saint Joseph was instituted on 9 March 1807 by Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany during his reign as Grand Duke of Würzburg. It was transformed into a Tuscan Roman Catholic Dynastic Order in 1817. The constitution of the Orde ...

of Tuscany to some descendants, and put them in brackets to indicate that they were not entitled to it. Other publications published at the same time as the Almanach de Gotha, in particular the series of Gothaischen Genealogischen Hofkalenders and Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuc which later became the Genealogisches Handbuch der Fürstlichen Häuser, never made this mistake and correctly omitted these unfounded claims altogether.

Family and children

He married twice and had issue: From his first marriage in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

on 24 November 1856 to Princess

Anna of Saxony Anna of Saxony (23 December 1544 – 18 December 1577) was the heiress of Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and Agnes, eldest daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. Maurice's only son, Albert, died in infancy. Anna was the second wife of Willia ...

, (

, 4 January 1836 –

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, 10 February 1859), daughter of King John I of Saxony, was born: * Archduchess Maria Antonietta, Princess of Tuscany (Florence, 10 January 1858 –

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, 13 April 1883). She became Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Convent in the Hradschin in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Unmarried and without Issue. From his second marriage in Frohsdorf on 11 January 1868 to Princess Alice "Alix" of Bourbon-Parma (

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, 27 December 1849 – Schwertberg, 16 January 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. *Archduchess Louise (1870–1947). Married first King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and after divorcing him married second Enrico Toselli and had issue by both marriages. *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 Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

. * Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria (1874–1948). Married Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and had issue. *Archduke Heinrich Ferdinand (1878–1969). A major general in the Austrian army, morganatically married Maria Karoline Ludescher, and had issue - two sons and one daughter. *Archduchess Anna Maria (1879–1961). She married Johannes, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein; They had three sons and three daughters. Their granddaughter married Hans Veit, Count of Toerring-Jettenbach, son of Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark. *Archduchess Margareta Maria (1881–1965) *Archduchess Germana Maria (1884–1955) *Archduke Robert Ferdinand (1885–1895) *Archduchess Agnes Maria (1891–1945)

Honours

Ferdinand received the following awards:
Hof- und Staats-Handbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie
' (1908), Genealogy p. 5 *

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

: ** Grand Cross of the

** Grand Master of the Order of Saint Joseph, ''21 July 1859'' ** Grand Master of the

, ''21 July 1859'' ** Grand Master of the Order of Civil and Military Merit, ''21 July 1859'' * : ** Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

, ''1852'' ** Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, ''1891'' *

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

: ** Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, ''1886''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden
p. 6377
/ref> ** Knight of the

Order of Berthold the First The Order of Berthold the First () was a dynastic order in the Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as par ...

, ''1886'' * : Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert, ''1856'' * : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (civil), ''24 September 1856'' * : Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion, ''19 December 1856'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''26 January 1861'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Falcon, ''12 January 1864'' * : Knight of the Order of the Rue Crown, ''1856'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown, ''1882''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg'' (1896), "Königliche Orden
p. 28
/ref>

Ancestry

Notes

External links