Charles II a surprise marriage

I always thought that if Charles II were to marry a Spanish Infanta and sire heirs that they would of course be in line for the Spanish throne. Assuming there are enough children/grandchildren to spare, he might want to place one on the Spanish throne (after conversion). The English would need some backing from the continent, and the French would be the most natural allies. Assuming that the English heir is senior to Louis XIV's heirs in the line of succession, I imagine that a marriage of the English (let's call him Duke of Cambridge) to a French princess (if there is one), or of the Duke of Anjou to and English princess would attempt to fight Austria and the Netherlands for the Spanish throne.

Austria would still likely attempt to claim the throne due to Archduke Charles being the senior claimant based on the Salic Law.

Does anyone else see the possibility of a Anglo-French alliance in a war of Spanish succession?
 
I think it is possible, though Was the Duke of Anjou senior in the line of succession to any issue of Charles II and Margaret Theresa?
 
True so who are other options then, if we go with Kynan's margaret dying in the esrly 1670s

Well, the French might be willing to waive a chance at getting a queen in if they can try to get one of Minette's daughters or the eldest daughter of the duc de Bourbon (the OTL Princesse de Conti - who was considered briefly for James II) to marry Charles II's son, that said, I'd say marrying Charles II and his son and heir to French princesses won't go over well. An interesting third match for Charles might be Liselotte of the Palatinate - she's from a family that's French leaning, Protestant - to assauge the fears of another Catholic queen (her Catholicism OTL was worn lightly, since any sermon longer than ten minutes made her yawn and longer than fifteen sent her to sleep) - and it would give England an in into German affairs - although Charles II was reportedly against the idea of German princesses in general.
 
Well, the French might be willing to waive a chance at getting a queen in if they can try to get one of Minette's daughters or the eldest daughter of the duc de Bourbon (the OTL Princesse de Conti - who was considered briefly for James II) to marry Charles II's son, that said, I'd say marrying Charles II and his son and heir to French princesses won't go over well. An interesting third match for Charles might be Liselotte of the Palatinate - she's from a family that's French leaning, Protestant - to assauge the fears of another Catholic queen (her Catholicism OTL was worn lightly, since any sermon longer than ten minutes made her yawn and longer than fifteen sent her to sleep) - and it would give England an in into German affairs - although Charles II was reportedly against the idea of German princesses in general.

Alright interesting, so if that marriage does go ahead, if there is issue from it, might we see a potential struggle over the succession re potential catholic leaning son versus potential protestant leaning one?
 
I think it is possible, though Was the Duke of Anjou senior in the line of succession to any issue of Charles II and Margaret Theresa?

Based on male-preference primogeniture (in Castile/Navarrre), the Dauphin and his son, the Duke of Burgundy and eventually Louis XV (born in 1710) are ahead of the Duke of Anjou as heirs to the Spanish throne. However, the result would be a dynastic union between France and Spain. The line of succession to the Spanish throne in 1701 was as follows. The reason Anjou was chosen was to prevent the dynastic union, Louis XIV was also a grandchild of Philip III giving the Bourbons a more firm claim on the Spanish throne. If Philip IV's daughter, Infanta Margarita Theresa marries into the English Royal family and has heirs, than those children would be at the head of the succession, however. Below is a list of succession to the Spanish from 1701, after the death of Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria.

Louis, Dauphin of France 1661-1711 (grandson of Philip IV)
Louis, Duke of Burgundy 1682-1712 (great-grandson of Philip IV)
Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou 1683-1746 (great-grandson of Philip IV)
Charles, Duke of Berry 1686-1714 (great-grandson of Philip IV)
King Louis XIV of France 1638-1715 (grandson of Philip III)
Philippe II, Duke of Orleans 1674-1723
Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans 1695-1719
Louise Adelaide d'Orleans 1698-1743
Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans 1700-1761
 
Alright makes sense. I presume the children of marguerite Theresa would be at the head of the succession as Louis wife had renounced her rights.

Would the children or a son be raised in Spain?
 
Alright makes sense. I presume the children of marguerite Theresa would be at the head of the succession as Louis wife had renounced her rights.

Would the children or a son be raised in Spain?

The children of Margarida Teresa would be junior in the line of succession, as she was younger than her half-sister Maria Teresa. The issue with the renunciation of Maria Teresa, was that the renunciation was on the condition of a dowry being paid to France. Also, in the eyes of legitimists one can abdicate, but cannot renounce the throne for their heirs and successors. France was willing to recognise Margarita Teresa's grandson, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria as King of Spain, so its not impossible that such an accommodation could be worked out. That being said, if the heir is the ruling house of one of the major powers, France will want territorial compensation.
 
The children of Margarida Teresa would be junior in the line of succession, as she was younger than her half-sister Maria Teresa. The issue with the renunciation of Maria Teresa, was that the renunciation was on the condition of a dowry being paid to France. Also, in the eyes of legitimists one can abdicate, but cannot renounce the throne for their heirs and successors. France was willing to recognise Margarita Teresa's grandson, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria as King of Spain, so its not impossible that such an accommodation could be worked out. That being said, if the heir is the ruling house of one of the major powers, France will want territorial compensation.

Hmm true. I presume to avoid a personal union a second son would be nominated? And perhaps married to a French bride?
 
The problem here is that if we go with Kynan's contribution then Margaret Teresa will only have two children as Queen of England. Sophia, the Princess Royal and Charles, the Prince of Wales.

Either Sophia inherits the throne as Queen of Spain and marries one of the other claimants to strengthen her own junior claim. Or we see the Prince of Wales inherit, renounce his claim to the English throne, convert to Catholicism as well as marry appropriately so that he can sit on the Spanish throne.

I'm not entirely sure if England can inherit Spain and sit on a personal union with the Spanish. The above scenarios that I mentioned seem to be the most likely outcome of the entire thing but we'd need to ask someone like Emperor Constantine if it'd be at all possible.
 
The problem here is that if we go with Kynan's contribution then Margaret Teresa will only have two children as Queen of England. Sophia, the Princess Royal and Charles, the Prince of Wales.

Either Sophia inherits the throne as Queen of Spain and marries one of the other claimants to strengthen her own junior claim. Or we see the Prince of Wales inherit, renounce his claim to the English throne, convert to Catholicism as well as marry appropriately so that he can sit on the Spanish throne.

I'm not entirely sure if England can inherit Spain and sit on a personal union with the Spanish. The above scenarios that I mentioned seem to be the most likely outcome of the entire thing but we'd need to ask someone like Emperor Constantine if it'd be at all possible.

Hmm what if we amended Kynan's work and had Margaret have two boys? Charles, Prince of Wales and Robert, Duke of Clarence?
 
I'd be fine with that. She could survive until her OTL death date of 1673 and have a second son. :)
 
That'd probably be fine. The only question we'd have left is the question of marriage. Who does Charles marry after Margaret Teresa's death? Someone mentioned Liselotte of the Palatinate earlier. Though I'm not sure if the jury's out on Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans yet.

We could also renew the earlier Anglo-Portuguese marriage plans by betrothing Infanta Isabel Luisa to the Prince of Wales. Sophia and Margaret's second son are a question though. A French marriage for Sophia maybe and an Austrian one for her younger brother? Or maybe the other way around for the children.
 
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That'd probably be fine. The only question we'd have left is the question of marriage. Who does Charles marry after Margaret Teresa's death? Someone mentioned Liselotte of the Palatinate earlier. Though I'm not sure if the jury's out on Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans yet.

We could also renew the earlier Anglo-Portuguese marriage plans by betrothing Infanta Isabel Luisa to the Prince of Wales. Sophia and Margaret's second son are a question though.
A French marriage for Sophia maybe and an Austrian one for her younger brother? Or maybe the other way around for the children.
Hmm Isabel Luisa for the prince of Wales makes sense. Whilst a French marriage for Robert/ Philip could make things easier there re the French issues when Carlos does die.
 
I have no clue what happened to my font sizes but I've fixed it.

Margaret Teresa's second son is more likely to be named Henry or James than Robert or Philip. Though I'm honestly not sure whether a French match would be ideal for Charles' second son or for Sophia. Charles would be more likely to favor a French match but a Hapsburg one should still be considered.
 
Taking what's been spoken of so far, I've thrown together a family tree. Thoughts?

Charles II of England (b.1630: d.1685) m. Catherine of Braganza (b.1638: d.1663) (a), Margaret Theresa of Spain (b.1651: d.1673) (b), Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans (b.1646: d.1696) (c)

1b) Sophia Stuart, Princess Royal (b.1668: d.1695) m. Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (b.1666: d.1732) (a)

1a) Margaret Theresa of Savoy (b.1687)

2a) Miscarriage (c.1688)

3a) Victor Charles of Savoy (b.1690: d.1692)

4a) Philip Ferdinand of Savoy (b.1691: d.1694)

5a) Miscarriage (c.1693)

6a) Anna Eleanora of Savoy (b.1694)​

2b) Margaret Stuart (b.1669: d.1669)

3b) Charles III of England (b.1671: d.1712) m. Isabel Luísa of Portugal (b.1669: d.1693) (a), Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (b.1676: d.1744) (b)

1a) James II of England (b.1689)

2a) Margaret Stuart, Princess Royal (b.1691)

3b) William Stuart, Duke of Clarence (b.1698)

4b) Henrietta Louisa Stuart (b.1700: d.1700)

5b) Eleanor Stuart (b.1701)

6b) Charles Stuart, Duke of Ross (b.1702)

7b) Augustus Stuart, Duke of Kent (b.1703: d.1705)

8b) Anne Stuart (b.1705)

9b) Henry Stuart (b.1706: d.1706)

10b) Robert Stuart, Duke of Kent (b.1709)

11b) Catherine Stuart (b.1711)​

4b) James Stuart, I of Spain (b.1673: d.1734) m. Maria Elisabeth of Austria (b.1680: d.1741) (a)

1a) Miscarriage (c.1697)

2a) Miscarriage (c.1698)

3a) Charles III of Spain (b.1700)

4b) Miscarriage (c.1701)

5b) Philip of Spain (b.1704: d.1709)

6b) Miscarriage (c.1707)

7b) Margaret Theresa of Spain (b.1710)​

5c) William Stuart, Duke of Kintyre (b.1676: d.1742) m. Anne Marie de Bourbon (b.1675: d.1700) (a)

1a) Mary Stuart (b.1693)​

6c) James Stuart, Duke of Ross (b.1679: d.1680)

7c) Henrietta Stuart (b.1681: d.1739) m. Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Burgundy and Dauphin of France (b.1682: d.1712) (a)

1a) Louis XV of France (b.1700)

2a) Louis Philippe, Duke of Burgundy (b.1702: d.1709)

3a) Louis Charles, Duke of Brittany (b.1705)

4a) Louis Jean, Duke of Aquitaine (b.1709)

5a) Louis Victor de Bourbon (b.1710: d.1710)​
 
Alright interesting tree :)

A query if he has two sons would Charles II feel the need to marry again?

Possibly not, but it helps the English court to have a Queen there to handle the more feminine tasks. Plus, if he wants to sure up relations with France, a marriage there would definitely help. There's also the factor that Charles II of England greatly enjoyed being married (at least to Catherine of Braganza), so he might want to take a third round at this.
 
Possibly not, but it helps the English court to have a Queen there to handle the more feminine tasks. Plus, if he wants to sure up relations with France, a marriage there would definitely help. There's also the factor that Charles II of England greatly enjoyed being married (at least to Catherine of Braganza), so he might want to take a third round at this.
Ah very true, so I suppose we'd not see a second marriage for his brother the duke of York then? Perhaps butterflies could see some of Yorks sons surviving? To negate the worry that having had three catholic queens might bring?
 
Ah very true, so I suppose we'd not see a second marriage for his brother the duke of York then? Perhaps butterflies could see some of Yorks sons surviving? To negate the worry that having had three catholic queens might bring?

I'd imagine James Stuart, Duke of York, would probably remarry. Even with 1 or 2 living sons, he is still going to be a man with a susceptibility to Catholicism and a penchant for women. I can see him having a domestic match the second time around, if just to offset the three foreign, Catholic matches.
 
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