Henry X | |
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Grand Duke of Luxembourg | |
Reign | 22nd September, 1650 - 6th July, 1669 |
Predecessor | Charles III |
Successor | John IV |
King of Bohemia | |
Reign | 9th August, 1668 - 6th July, 1669 |
Predecessor | Rudolph I (de facto, uncrowned) |
Successor | John IV |
Born | 30th November, 1597 Antwerp, Flanders |
Died | 6th July, 1669 Prague, Bohemia |
Spouse | Sophia Amalia of Alverdissen-Lippe |
House | Luxembourg-Limburg |
Father | Charles III |
Mother | Countess Palatine Susanna |
Henry X was Grand Duke of Luxembourg, titular Margrave of Brandenburg and briefly King of Bohemia during the 17th century. His reign was almost completely dedicated to the conduct of the Fifty Years War and attempts to end the horrifically destructive conflict.
52 years old when his father died, Henry already had had, and lost, a family; a tragedy which made him sullen and prone to fits of depression. On his coronation he declared his younger brother Wenceslaus his heir, removing any potential for intrigue or power struggles. This would have to be updated several times as he outlived his siblings and their children. Whilst this loss of Luxembourg heirs was concerning for many it allowed the crown and Grand Duchy to amass a considerable amount of land, especially as many of the extended Luxembourg family had been put into ex-bishoprics now secularised and made hereditary. In this way Henry was able to inherit Verdun and Metz, whilst other semi-independent Luxembourg-owned states were absorbed and redistributed to more pliant lesser nobility.
The War[]
Henry had inherited the Fifty Years War as it entered a lull. Almost all of the combatants were exhausted both in terms of funds and manpower. Not only that but much of Europe had erupted in revolt which hampered any attempt to wage war. The revolt in Holland was crushed by Henry's brother Charles of Utrecht but the same result could not be brought upon the French or Kalmar armies still circling.
He privately thought Rudolph II of Austria had been short-sighted in the extreme not to begin peace talks in 1646 following the victory over Aragon at the battle of Dronero and regularly described him, and indeed his son too, as the 'Viennese Fool'. He was more admiring of his enemies; Charles VII of France, the Aragonese general Count Ramon II of Barcelona and from the Svealandic forces Gustav III and Georg August of Mansfeld. He was certainly taking notes of Svealand's military organisation but had no opportunity to reorganise his own forces: " if such a small country can command such a formidable force, imagine what mighty Luxembourg could do?".
Svealand's capture of Regensburg in 1654 kicked off the final phase of the war with the Swiss also declaring war against Luxembourg after a poorly-disciplined Flemish army sacked Selesat. Luxembourg as a whole stayed remarkably competent at fending off the attacks of its enemies, even if it couldn't quite bring about any kind of decisive blow. Austria meanwhile took the brunt, from its own Lutheran populace, from Aragon raiding out from its array of fortresses in Provence and finally by Svealand; marshalling a semi-professional force to siege Vienna itself in late 1667. With this, Rudolph III finally capitulated.
Henry had already been engaged in peace talks which had begun in Münster and Bonn from October 1664. Whilst the willingness of the Austrians and their close allies to come to the table was tied up with the movements of the respective armies, Henry had been eager to engage with the Protestant states, privately agreeing with Christopher IV that they would respect each other's seizure of land during the war. In this way much of the final treaty was written and agreed upon before the opening of discussions in Copenhagen in March 1668.
In the reformed Imperial Diet later that year almost the first act of business was to settle the Crown of Bohemia and, looking to punish Austria for the ravaging of 1648-50, handed it to Henry with extra powers for the Prague Diet in terms of electing their own rulers. So in December 1668 Henry led a parade into Prague. The courtier and diarist Daniel Golle said this was the only occasion he ever saw Henry smile. He was crowned on Christmas Day 1668, set various plans in motion to pacify and consolidate Bohemia and then promptly died.
As agreed, he was succeeded by his younger brother John.
Family[]
Henry married Sophia Amalia of Alverdissen-Lippe in 1620. They would have six children though only one would survive to adulthood.
- Charles (1623-1630)
- Henriëtte (1625)
- Johanna (1628-1653)
- Henry (1630-1632)
- John (1631)
- Sophia Charlotte (1634-1640)
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