Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, Prince of Asturias

Duke Joseph Ferdinand Leopold of Bavaria, also known as Infante Jose Fernando de Baviera y Austria, Prince of Asturias (28 October 1692 - 6 February 1699) was the son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (1679-1705, 1714-1726) and his first wife, Maria Antonia of Austria, daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, maternal granddaughter of King Felipe IV of Spain.

Before the War of the Spanish Succession, Joseph Ferdinand was the favored choice of the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Republic to succeed as the ruler of Spain, young Charles II of Spain chose him as his heir. The unexpected death of Joseph Ferdinand in 1699 at the age of six rendered the Anglo-French treaty inoperative and led to the Second Partition Treaty (1700), agreed upon by France, England, and the Netherlands; under its terms, Philip of Anjou was to receive the Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of Sicily and the Duchy of Milan, while the rest of the Spanish dominions were to go to Charles, son of Leopold I. But Leopold did not accept this treaty and Louis XIV of France broke the treaty, when he enthroned Philip in Spain.

Joseph, also known as Infante Joseph Ferdinand of Spain, was a result of extreme inbreeding within the Spanish Habsburg dynasty. Joseph Ferdinand's mother's (Maria Antonia of Austria) immediate pedigree was exceptionally loaded with nieces giving birth to children of their uncles. Maria Antonia was the daughter of Margarita Teresa of Spain and Emperor Leopold I. Margarita was Leopold's niece, daughter of his sister Marie-Anne of Austria and Philip IV of Spain, who were also an uncle-niece pair.

Joseph Ferdinand's great-uncle was the so-called Bewitched Charles II of Spain, who was the degenerated last Habsburg monarch of Spain, whom Joseph was destined to succeed, had he not himself predeceased Charles.

Ancestors