Agustin Jeronimo de Iturbide y Huarte (30 September 1807 – 11 November 1866) was the titular Emperor of Mexico from 19 July 1824 to 10 April 1864, succeeding Agustin de Iturbide and preceding Maximiliano I of Mexico. Agustin was the son of Emperor Agustin I, and he served as a general of the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War.
Biography[]
Iturbide at the Battle of Contreras
Agustin Jeronimo de Iturbide y Huarte was born in Valladolid, Michoacan, New Spain in 1807, the son of Agustin de Iturbide. In 1822, he was made "Prince Imperial" of the First Mexican Empire when his father proclaimed himself Emperor of Mexico, and the family was forced to flee to Tuscany and to England after Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna overthrew the monarchy in a military coup. Agustin befriended Simon Bolivar while staying in South America, and he was allowed to return to Mexico when his family's banishment was lifted in 1831, although his father was executed during an attempt to return to power in Mexico a few years earlier. Iturbide served as an ambassador to the United States and to the United Kingdom before briefly serving in the Papal Army, and he decided to serve his country during the Mexican-American War. He became the colonel of the Celaya Regiment at the Battle of Contreras in 1847, rousing his men by telling them that his father was the father of Mexico's independence. Agustin approved of the creation of the Second Mexican Empire under Maximiliano I of Mexico, retaining the title of Prince Imperial while giving up his claim to the throne, and he died in New York City, New York, United States on 11 November 1866 at the age of 59.