Another heiress to the Spanish throne

[Vitruvius]

So in looking over some posts about the Spanish succession crisis of the late 17th century it struck me that there was another possibility beyond the ones commonly considered. The obvious solution is a surviving Balthasar Carlos or a different second (or third) marriage for Philip IV or something along those lines. This would continue the male Habsburg line in Spain an avoid the contest between Maria Theresa's French descendants (technically excluded by terms of her marriage contract and her father's will) and the the descendants of her younger sister Margaret Theresa.

But what if one of Philip IV's elder daughter's and survived? He had four daughters with Elizabeth of France before the birth of Balthasar Charles. For the sake of argument say Maria Eugenia (who lived the longest OTL) survives. She was born in 1625, four years before Balthasar Charles. She would have been just shy of her 21st birthday at the time of his OTL death. I suppose her being there could prevent his death but then again she could have been married and living elsewhere by 1646. Assuming he still dies she becomes heiress presumptive.

Her younger sister Maria Theresa probably still marries Louis XIV, if anything the marriage may be more likely since she would have no claim to the Spanish throne with an elder sister. Philip IV probably still remarries like OTL in a quest for a son and I don't see him having any better luck than OTL. I could see Maria Eugenia marrying either Leopold Wilhelm around 1644-45 or, as his second wife, Ferdinand III around 1647-1650. I want to say that the former is more likely as I'm not sure they'd wait until she was 20+ to find her a husband but Maria Theresa was 22 when she married Louis so I suppose either is possible.

Either way there is now a cadet line of Austrian Habsburgs with an indisputable claim to the Spanish throne. Maria Eugenia would be Leopold and Ferdinand's first cousin once-removed so they're actually less closely related than Ferdinand and his first wife Maria Ana (his first cousin) and Leopold and Margaret Theresa (who was both his niece and first and second cousin). Hopefully this bodes well for producing healthy offspring. Not great but better than OTL.

I assume Louis XIV still finds an excuse to attack Spain when Philip IV dies but beyond that what would be the affects on Spain with a more (but not totally) secure succession going into the late 1600s? The underlying problems are still there and if there still is a weak Charles II analogue to succeed Philip IV there could be a debilitating Regency before the Austrian branch accedes to the throne. Any chance that Philip IV bequeaths the Spanish Netherlands to Maria Eugenia a la Philip II and Isabella Clara Eugenia?

 

[isabella]

Maria Theresa was engaged to another before marrying Louis XIV, in what was likely a double match: she was promised to her cousin Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans (eldest son of Ferdinand III, born in 1633) and his sister Archduchess Maria Anna either to her brother Balthasar Carlos (her first bethrotal) or her father Philip IV (who Mariana eventually married). Obviously Balthasar died in 1646 then Ferdinand in 1654 and between the two deaths her position had already changed.
Maria Eugenia is eight years older than Ferdinand so a match between them is unlikely but not impossible... Leopold Wilhelm in OTL became Governor of the Spanish Netherlands in 1647, here can have it before with the Infanta's hand (but either of the Ferdinands is a more likely match for me). In any case Louis XIV will not have any valid excuse for attacking Spain after Philip IV's death (in OTL claimed Brabant for his wife using a law of that country for which a daughter of the first wedding inhereited before the son of a second. The law existed but was surely not applied to the succession of the rulers of Brabant. Here with an older sister from the same marriage Louis will be unable to use something like that). With Maria Eugenia already married and mother, Maria Theresa's wedding to Louis is likely (they will be easily engaged earlier) and without Maria Theresa's frequent status as heiress presuntive her renounce to all her rights on Spain will be likely compensate with much less money than OTL and so is possible who her dowry will be fully paid.

 

[Kynan]

Possible Scenario: Maria Eugenia of Austria, Infanta of Spain was the elder daughter and eventual heiress of Philip IV of Spain. Born in 1625 to the King of Spain and Elisabeth of France, Maria Eugenia was the 1 of 3 surviving children to the royal couple, who underwent 8 pregnancies. After her mother's death in 1644, talks between Spain and Austria grew for a match between the 19 year old Spanish Princess and the 11 year old Austrian Archduke Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans. While this had not been the first potential engagement for Maria Eugenia, various childhood illnesses and a delayed puberty. Thus, at 19 she had only, as her mother had written to a friend prior to her death, been a "woman" for 8 months. However, the marriage prospects changed in 1646 at the death of her Aunt and brother within months of each other. Thus, as a way to strengthen the ties between Hapsburg Austria and Hapsburg Spain, Maria Eugenia was married not to Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans but Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor. Their marriage was celebrated in 1647 and Maria Eugenia arrived in Vienna in May, at the same time that Maria Eugenia's father remarried to Eleonora Gonzaga, who would bare him 7 children, of which 2 daughters survived.

Maria Eugenia of Spain, Holy Roman Empress -circa 1648-

The imperial couple would be affectionate, if not exactly in love. Their first child wouldn't come until 1652, with the birth of Maria Josepha of Austria, Archduchess of Austria. A surprisingly healthy child, she was followed, in 1654, by a stillborn sister. A brother named Philip Charles of Austria, Archduke of Austria followed in 1656, only to die 3 months after his birth. Again pregnant in 1657, Maria Eugenia was left a widow at age 32 with the death of her husband. Giving birth in January of 1658 to Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor's posthumous daughter Anna Maria of Austria, Archduchess of Austria. As a widow, there was talk of her remarriage due to her youth. Philip IV, hoping the situation for his daughter might continue, suggested Maria Eugenia marry her stepson, the newly risen Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Dowager Empress herself vetoed this match and offered to broach a marriage between him and her half sister, Maria Theresa of Spain (b.1648) which was undergone in 1659. She herself married, in 1660, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, brother of her deceased husband. After a dispensation was granted, the two began what would be a short but vibrant love affair, ending in the birth of Maria Eugenia's final child, Charles of Austria, Archduke of Austria.

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria -after his marriage in 1660-

Twice a widow, Maria Eugenia of Spain returned to Madrid in 1663 with her son, having to leave her daughters in the care of her sister, who agreed to raise them amongst her own children. Arriving after the death of what would be her father's final child, a son, Maria Eugenia began to set her son up as the future King of Spain. After her sister, Maria Victoria of Spain (b.1650), agreed to join a nunnery in 1665 due to her extreme levels of disability, the royal family was left with maria Eugenia, her son, her father, her stepmother and the youngest of the three Gonzaga Infantas, Maria Emmanuella of Spain (b.1651). After Maria Emmanuella's marriage in 1665 to Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, Maria Eugenia was set in place for her father's death. Her father's death in 1665 left a hole in the monarchy Maria Eugenia was quick to fill. Rising to the throne as Maria I of Spain, she made promises to the nobles that she would abdicate to her son the moment she felt him of an age to rule, then began her reign as Queen of Spain.

Maria Eugenia I of Spain -circa 1667-

The Queen of Spain, at age 40, was suddenly overrun with potential husbands. Still not badly aged, Maria Eugenia married the allure of a crown with the not terrible-looks only the Hapsburgs could bring. However, despite many earnest proposals, she would never remarry, claiming to forever miss her husband. Her daughters were another matter. Maria Josepha arrived in Toledo, where Maria Eugenia had moved the court, in 1668, after a request made by the Queen of Spain to the Holy Roman Emperor. Her younger daughter had, unfortunately died the previous year and thus could not join her sister. The Austrian Archduchess was actually quite a beautiful young woman and an asset to the court, and it was only a matter of time before she was married. Of course, it was another thing entirely to find her a husband and the former match made for her, Peter of Portugal, rose to the throne and married his brother's wife, Maria Francisca of Savoy. Another husband was proposed in the 9 years younger future Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II, King of the Romans. However, Maria Josepha herself told her mother no, arguing that this would make her a mockery in the Austrian court. Finally, upon the death of Henriette of England, a position opened up to her and in 1671 Maria Josepha of Spain married Philippe I de Bourbon, Duc d'Orleans. Their marriage would produce 4 children, of which 1 son and 2 daughters survived childhood.

Maria Josepha of Austria, Duchess of Orleans -circa 1684-

The marriage of her son in 1677 to the much older Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine. Their marriage was meant to be a safe match, while also bringing in a girl Maria Eugenia was sure would be grateful for her position and thus might be easy to control. However, Elizabeth Charlotte (Isabella Carlotta as Maria Eugenia referred to her) was not a young woman to be trifled with. Large and loud, her first child of 5 was born within a year of her marriage. The Infante Charles Diego of Spain was a large infant and promptly followed by two sisters and three brothers, all of whom survived infancy. With her son suddenly enamored with his new bride, Maria Eugenia was suddenly reminded of her promise to abdicate when her son was grown. However, she disagreed with their decision he was fit to rule and was backed by the Queen Dowager, who held a degree of respect at the court. Thus, the Queen ruled the last of her years until her death in 1683, with the birth of what would be her final grandchild, Maria Antonia of Spain.

 

[LincolnH]

The Maria Eugenia as Queen scenario seems to be making a fairly major butterfly: where is Mariana? Granted, knowing what we know, that's a comfortable butterfly. But a merely married Maria Eugenia doesn't seem (at least to me) to stop Philip IV from marrying again - so why Eleonor Gonzaga, rather than Mariana?

 

[Vitruvius]

The Maria Eugenia as Queen scenario seems to be making a fairly major butterfly: where is Mariana? Granted, knowing what we know, that's a comfortable butterfly. But a merely married Maria Eugenia doesn't seem (at least to me) to stop Philip IV from marrying again - so why Eleonor Gonzaga, rather than Mariana?

I kind of agree. My original thought was that Philip would still wed Mariana. He's definitely remarrying since he has no son and I just assumed he would still go for Mariana since she was engaged to his deceased son. All the same reasons he married her OTL really still exist. Of course it would probably be better if he didn't and instead married someone like Eleonora Gonzaga who is a little older and would bring some fresh blood, but for some reason those were never concerns for the Habsburgs OTL so I wasn't sure they would be here.

I'm not sure about Maria Eugenia remarrying to Leopold William, but he's only 43 she's only 32 so I guess it could work. I suppose to add some backstory to their love affair if we assume she was engaged to Leopold William when she left Spain but was scooped up by the recently widowed Ferdinand III for himself when she arrives in Austria I could see them pursuing the marriage after Ferdinand dies as fulfilling the original promise (or maybe if its more one-sided some unrequited love on her part).

It would be interesting if Philip had no son and she became Queen Regnant in 1665. It's all the more miraculous that Mariana and Philip with the odds against them can still produce a surviving son in the form of OTL Charles II while Eleonora and Philip fail to do so here. Bad luck I guess. But it's actually a neat little package, Maria Eugenia has a son and heir but no husband to interfere with her rule. She could play the courtship game the Elizabeth I did OTL and play potential third husbands off against each other.