Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria

Archduke Karl Ferdinand 1853

Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen (Vienna, 29 July 1818 – Gross Seelowitz (Židlochovice Castle), 20 November 1874) was the second son of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen (1771–1847) and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, and the maternal grandfather of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.

A son of the "hero of Aspern" he started a military career in Infantry Regiment 57 in Brno. Later he received command of a brigade in Italy and fought against the insurgents in Prague in 1848.
In 1859 he was a general in Moravia and Silesia and returned to Brno in 1860. He became a Lieutenant Field Marshal of the Austrian Army.

Marriage and children

In Vienna, on 18 April 1854, Karl Ferdinand married his first cousin, Elisabeth Franziska (1831–1903), archduchess of Austria, the widow of Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Este and duke of Modena (1821–1849), and the daughter of Joseph, archduke of Austria and palatine of Hungary.

They had six children :

1. Archduke Franz Joseph of Austria-Teschen (1855-1855)
2. Archduke Friedrich of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1856–1936), Supreme Commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I.
3. Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria-Teschen (1858–1929), married King Alfonso XII of Spain
4. Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria-Teschen (1860–1933), Admiral
5. Archduke Eugen of Austria-Teschen (1863–1954), Fieldmarshal
6. Archduchess Maria Eleonora of Austria-Teschen (1864-1864)