Philip IV (Spanish: 'Felipe IV', 8 April 1605 – 17 September 1665) was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal (as Philip III, Portuguese: 'Filipe III') until 1640. Philip is remembered for 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 (1618-48). On the eve of his death in 1665, the Span...
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Philip IV (Spanish: 'Felipe IV', 8 April 1605 – 17 September 1665) was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal (as Philip III, Portuguese: 'Filipe III') until 1640. Philip is remembered for 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 (1618-48). On the eve of his death in 1665, the Spanish empire had reached its territorial zenith spanning almost 3 billion acres, but in other respects was already in decline, a process for which Philip's inability to achieve successful domestic and military reform is felt to have contributed.
Philip IV was born in Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife Margaret of Austria. Aged ten, he was married to Isabella of France in 1615, although the relationship does not appear to have always been close; some have even suggested that Olivares, his key minister, later...
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