Fernando VI of Spain

Ferdinand VI

Portrait by Louis Michel Van Loo

King of Spain (more...)

Reign

9 July 1746 – 10 August 1759

Predecessor

Philip V

Successor

Charles III

Born

23 September 1713
Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Died

10 August 1759 (aged 45)
Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, Spain

Burial

Convent of the Salesas Reales

Spouse

Barbara of Portugal

Full name
Spanish: Fernando de Borbón y Saboya

Father

Mother

Religion

Signature

Full name
Spanish: Fernando de Borbón y Saboya

Royal styles of Ferdinand VI of Spain

Reference style	His Catholic Majesty
Spoken style	Your Catholic Majesty
Alternative style	Sir

Ferdinand VI (Spanish: Fernando VI; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759, the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the fourth son of the previous monarch Philip V and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy.

Born at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, Ferdinand endured a lonely childhood. His stepmother, the domineering Elisabeth Farnese, had no affection except for her own children, and looked upon Ferdinand as an obstacle to their fortunes. The hypochondria of his father left Elisabeth mistress of the palace.

Ferdinand was by temperament melancholic, shy and distrustful of his own abilities. When complimented on his shooting, he replied, "It would be hard if there were not something I could do." Shooting and music were his only pleasures, and he was the generous patron of the famous singer Farinelli, whose voice soothed his melancholy.

Ferdinand was married in 1729 to Infanta Barbara of Portugal, daughter of John V of Portugal and Mary Anne of Austria.

When he came to the throne, Spain found itself in the War of the Austrian Succession which ended without any benefit to Spain. He started his reign by eliminating the influence of the widow Queen Elisabeth of Parma and her group of Italian courtiers. As king he followed a steady policy of neutrality in the conflict between France and Britain, and refused to be tempted by the offers of either into declaring war on the other.

Prominent figures during his reign were the Marquis of Ensenada, a Francophile; and José de Carvajal y Lancaster, a supporter of the alliance with Great Britain. The fight between both ended in 1754 with the death of Carvajal and the fall of Ensenada, after which Ricardo Wall became the most powerful advisor to the monarch.

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Wikipedia