Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
1685 – 1740 · Generation XV · Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1711–1740) · Austrian Habsburgs
Charles (1685 – 1740). Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1711–1740). Married Elisabeth Christine in 1708. Last male-line Habsburg; his Pragmatic Sanction secured his daughter Maria Theresa's inheritance. Before the imperial crown he fought for another entirely: proclaimed “Charles III” of Spain against the Bourbon Philip of Anjou, he spent six years in the peninsula, holding effective rule only in Catalonia, until his brother’s death called him back to Vienna. The peace settlement cost him Spain but gave Austria Naples, Milan, Sardinia, and the Netherlands; he mourned the loss ever after, keeping Spanish ceremonial and dress at court. Victory over the Ottomans in 1716–1718 carried his rule to the lower Danube. Yet the powers whose signatures he collected for his daughter’s succession — paying, among other prices, the closure of his Ostend trading company — reneged, and his death ignited the War of the Austrian Succession.
One of 23 people of Austrian Habsburgs (1527–1740) in this archive. The Vienna line, which held the Holy Roman crown almost without a break.
Line of descent: Rudolf I of Germany → Albert I of Germany → Albert II, Duke of Austria → Leopold III, Duke of Austria → Ernest, Duke of Austria → Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor → Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor → Philip I of Castile → Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles II, Archduke of Austria → Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor → Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor → Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor.
Parents
- Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640 – 1705)
- Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg (1655 – 1720)
Siblings
- Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678 – 1711)
- Maria Anna of Austria (1683 – 1754)
Partners
- Married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1691 – 1750) in 1708 — one child together
Children
- Maria Theresa (1717 – 1780)
Life
- 1685 — Born
- 1708 — Married Elisabeth Christine
- 1740 — Died