Philip IV of Spain

Philip IV of Spain
King Philip IV (by Diego Velázquez, c. 1644)
King of Spain (more) King of Spain 1621–1665 King of Naples 1621–1665 King of Sardinia 1621–1665 King of Sicily 1621–1665 Duke of Milan 1621–1665 Duke of Lothier 1621–1665 Duke of Brabant 1621–1665 Duke of Limburg 1621–1665 Duke of Luxemburg 1621–1665 Margrave of Namur 1621–1665 Count Palatine of Burgundy 1621–1665 Count of Flanders 1621–1665 Count of Hainaut 1621–1665 Count of Artois 1621–1659 Prince of Piombino 1628–1634
Reign	31 March 1621 – 17 September 1665
Predecessor	Philip III
Successor	Charles II
King of Portugal and the Algarves
Reign	31 March 1621 – 1 December 1640
Predecessor	Philip II
Successor	John IV
Born	(1605-04-08)8 April 1605 Valladolid, Spain
Died	17 September 1665(1665-09-17) (aged 60) Madrid, Spain
Burial	El Escorial
Consorts	Elisabeth of France Mariana of Austria
Issue see details...	Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias Maria Theresa, Queen of France Margaret Theresa, Holy Roman Empress Philip Prospero, Prince of Asturias Charles II of Spain
House	Habsburg
Father	Philip III of Spain
Mother	Margaret of Austria
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Philip IV of Spain (Spanish: Felipe IV; 8 April 1605 – 17 September 1665) was King of Spain (as Philip IV in Castille and Philip III in Aragon) and Portugal as Philip III (Portuguese: Filipe III). He ascended the thrones in 1621 and reigned in Spain until his death and in Portugal until 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the arts, including such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the challenging period of the Thirty Years' War.

On the eve of his death in 1665, the Spanish Empire had reached approximately 12.2 million square kilometers (4.7 million square miles) in area but in other respects was in decline, a process to which Philip contributed with his inability to achieve successful domestic and military reform.

Philip IV was born in Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife, Margaret of Austria. In 1615, at the age of 10, Philip was married to 13-year-old Elisabeth of France, although the relationship does not appear to have been close; some have even suggested that Olivares, his key minister, later deliberately tried to keep the two apart to maintain his influence, encouraging Philip to take mistresses instead. Philip had seven children by Elisabeth, with only one being a son, Balthasar Charles, who died at the age of sixteen in 1646. The death of his son deeply shocked the king, who appears to have been a good father by the standards of the day. Elisabeth was able to conspire with other Spanish nobles to remove Olivares from the court in 1643, and for a brief period she held considerable influence over Philip; by the time of her death, however, she was out of favour, following manoeuvering by Olivares' successor, Luis de Haro.