Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VI & III
Emperor Charles VI, in the regalia of the Order of the Golden Fleece (by Martin van Meytens)
Holy Roman Emperor Duke of Teschen 1711–1722 King of Naples 1707–1735 King of Sardinia 1708–1735 King of Hungary 1711–1740 King of Croatia 1711–1740 King of Bohemia 1711–1740 Archduke of Austria 1711–1740 Holy Roman Emperor 1711–1740 King of Germany 1711–1740 Duke of Luxembourg 1714–1740 Count of Namur 1714–1740 Duke of Brabant 1714–1740 Duke of Limburg 1714–1740 Duke of Lothier 1714–1740 Duke of Milan 1714–1740 Count of Flanders 1714–1740 Count of Hainaut 1714–1740 King of Sicily 1720–1735 Duke of Parma and Piacenza 1735–1740 Duke of Guastalla 1735–1740
Reign	12 October 1711 – 20 October 1740
Coronation	22 December 1711, Frankfurt
Predecessor	Joseph I
Successor	Charles VII
Born	(1685-10-01)1 October 1685 Hofburg Palace, Vienna
Died	20 October 1740(1740-10-20) (aged 55) Palais Augarten, Vienna
Burial	Imperial Crypt
Spouse	Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Issue Detail	Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress Archduchess Maria Anna Archduchess Maria Amalia
Full name German: Karl Franz Joseph Wenzel Balthasar Johann Anton Ignaz
House	Habsburg
Father	Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Charles VI (1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740; German: Karl VI.) succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (as Charles II), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Charles III), and King of Serbia, Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711. He unsuccessfully claimed the throne of Spain as Charles III following the death of its ruler, and Charles's relative, Charles II of Spain, in 1700. He married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, by whom he had his two children: Maria Theresa, born 1717, the last Habsburg sovereign, and Maria Anna, born 1718, Governess of the Austrian Netherlands.

Four years before the birth of Maria Theresa, faced with his lack of male heirs, Charles provided for a male-line succession failure with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. The Emperor favoured his own daughters over those of his elder brother and predecessor, Joseph I, in the succession, ignoring the decree he had signed during the reign of his father, Leopold I. Charles sought the other European powers' approval. They exacted harsh terms: Britain demanded that Austria abolish its overseas trading company. In total, Great Britain, France, Saxony-Poland, the Dutch Republic, Spain,Venice,States of the Church,Prussia,Russia, Denmark,Savoy-Sardinia,Bavaria, and the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire recognised the sanction. France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria and Prussia later reneged. Charles died in 1740, sparking the War of the Austrian Succession, which plagued his successor, Maria Theresa, for eight years.