Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
1769 – 1824 · Generation XVIII · Grand Duke of Tuscany (r. 1790–1801 & 1814–1824) · Habsburg-Lorraine
Ferdinand (1769 – 1824). Grand Duke of Tuscany (r. 1790–1801 & 1814–1824). Second son of Leopold II. He tried to steer a small state through the revolutionary storm by accommodation: in 1792 he became the first monarch to formally recognise the French Republic, and after Britain and Russia coaxed him into the First Coalition he gave it only passive support, becoming the first member to withdraw when he declared Tuscany neutral in 1795. Even so, republicans drove him to Vienna in 1799, and in 1801 Napoleon forced him off his throne so that Tuscany could be handed over as the new Kingdom of Etruria. In compensation he ruled Salzburg as prince-elector and then Würzburg as duke and grand duke, until Napoleon’s fall restored him to Florence, where his son Leopold succeeded him.
One of 20 people of Habsburg-Lorraine (from 1736) in this archive. Maria Theresa’s marriage carried the inheritance into a new name, which its heirs still bear.
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 → Maria Theresa → Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor → Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Parents
- Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (1747 – 1792)
- Maria Luisa of Spain (1745 – 1792)
Siblings
- Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768 – 1835)