[1] At a young age, Ferdinand IV took his father's place as Archduke of Austria.

[3][4] Ferdinand IV also shared the role of King of Hungary and Croatia with his father; his coronation took place on 16 June 1647 in Pressburg, present-day Slovakia.

[1][3] After the French attempted to modify the system of the election of King of the Romans, Emperor Ferdinand III took advantage of a recent decline in the prestige of France, and was able to install Ferdinand IV as King of the Romans, and de facto heir to the Holy Roman Empire in the 1653 imperial election.

He was crowned in Ratisbon (Regensburg, present-day south-east Germany) on 18 June 1653 after gaining the position on 31 May 1653.

[2] Upon the death of Ferdinand III, Leopold was elected as Holy Roman Emperor.