Prince Francesco was born at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the capital of his father's grand duchy. The Medici family had been connected to Tuscany for over three centuries and had been its sovereign rulers since 1569. Little is known about his childhood, other than that he was raised alongside his brother Mattias. He was a Tuscan prince by birth and entitled to the style of Highness. His siblings included the future Duchess of Parma, Archduchess Anna of Austria and Grand Duke Ferdinando II, himself father of the penultimate Medici grand duke.
He pursued a military career.[2] Along with his mother and Mattias, he visited Austria in 1631 in order to meet his uncle the Emperor Ferdinand II. He fought in the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years' War but fled the scene. His elder brother, Grand Duke Ferdinando, reprimanded him for his conduct in a letter dated 14 July. He died from plague during the Siege of Ratisbon, 1634.[1]
Generations are numbered from the children of Francesco de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany. Later generations are included but the grand duchy was abolished in 1860.
