3 June

Archduke Charles of Inner Austria was born on 3 June 1540. As the third son of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna of Bohemia, he stood far enough from the imperial throne to be considered for dynastic alliances — first by his father, and later by his elder brother, the future Emperor Maximilian II. In retrospect, it’s curious to realise that Charles was proposed as a suitor to both Mary Stuart and—despite his devout Catholicism—Elizabeth I of England.

By nature, Charles seems to have been a rather amiable personality. He supported the arts and music, especially the renowned composer Orlando di Lasso. He also had a keen interest in the sciences and founded the University of Graz in 1585. One of his most enduring legacies was the establishment of a stud of grey horses of Andalusian origin at Lipizza (modern-day Lipica, Slovenia), which remains the breeding centre for these magnificent animals to this day.

After the failed marriage negotiations abroad, Charles wed a ‘next-door girl’ — his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, daughter of his sister. They had fifteen children, among them two Queens of Poland, a Queen of Spain, and the future Emperor Ferdinand II. Through Ferdinand — and because all other Habsburg lines eventually died out — Charles and Maria Anna became the progenitors of all subsequent members of the House of Austria.