Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI marries again

Charles VI married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1707. They had four children, one son and three daughters, their son Leopold died as a child in 1716, and there were no further children after Maria Amalia was born in 1724. This necessitated the Pragmatic Sanction. Now, one thing I am curious about is this, say Elisabeth dies giving birth to Maria Amalia, Charles is now a widow with three daughters, but no sons. He is once again free to marry, who might he wed? Would he marry a British Princess to secure that alliance or someone from a German family, perhaps
Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg? Consequently, if from this second marriage Charles has sons, that would butterfly away the need for the pragmatic sanction, one would think. But would it butterfly away the need for war?
 
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Alternatively, what might the consequences be if Charles had had a surviving son from his marriage to Elisabeth?
 
Charles VI married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1707. They had four children, one son and three daughters, their son Leopold died as a child in 1716, and there were no further children after Maria Amalia was born in 1724. This necessitated the Pragmatic Sanction. Now, one thing I am curious about is this, say Elisabeth dies giving birth to Maria Amalia, Charles is now a widower with three daughters, but no sons. He is once again free to marry, who might he wed? Would he marry a British Princess to secure that alliance or someone from a German family, perhaps
Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg? Consequently, if from this second marriage Charles has sons, that would butterfly away the need for the pragmatic sanction, one would think. But would it butterfly away the need for war?

Well, OTL, Karl VI had every intention of remarrying to produce a male heir. Hell, Maria Theresia's marriage contract said as much. It stated that in the event that Karl should beget a son from a subsequent marriage, then Maria Theresia's inheritance would be invalid, as she would become heiress-presumptive to her half-brother. This was part of the reason that François III was so loathe to renounce Lorraine - he knew about this clause, and he knew that if Karl VI were to remarry and have a son, he'd have signed away his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup (like Esau to Jacob). However, Karl made it very clear "no renunciation, no archduchess".

As to who Karl might remarry to, I think a princess of Hesse-Rheinfels is a bit low on the totem pole.

The candidates would be (off the top of my head):
An English princess is out, since the main reason that the match proposed between Anne of Hannover (OTL Princess of Orange) and Louis XV didn't happen was because her father held the throne because he was a Protestant, it wouldn't do for him to marry his eldest daughter off to a Catholic.
The French Régent's daughters might be considered a touch low (particularly because of their mother)
Felipe V of Spain's eldest daughter is too young
He wouldn't be the first Habsburg (and she not the first Portuguese infanta) to marry his niece, Maria Barbara of Portugal.
Lorraine's two daughters (Elisabeth Thérèse and Anne Charlotte) might be offered, as well as Maximilian II of Bavaria's only daughter (although she's a bit old and wanted to be a nun OTL).
Savoy, Mantua, Tuscany and Parma have nobody, which makes Modena sort of the only tree in the Italian orchard with fruit. Not hurt by the fact that traditionally-French Modena's duke was married to the sister of the previous empress (Wilhelmine Amalie), so there might be an inroad there. Benedetta Maria, Amalia Giuseppina and Enrichetta d'Este are all available as brides.
IDK if the Sobieski girls would be considered high ranked enough to be the next empress.
 
Well, OTL, Karl VI had every intention of remarrying to produce a male heir. Hell, Maria Theresia's marriage contract said as much. It stated that in the event that Karl should beget a son from a subsequent marriage, then Maria Theresia's inheritance would be invalid, as she would become heiress-presumptive to her half-brother. This was part of the reason that François III was so loathe to renounce Lorraine - he knew about this clause, and he knew that if Karl VI were to remarry and have a son, he'd have signed away his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup (like Esau to Jacob). However, Karl made it very clear "no renunciation, no archduchess".

As to who Karl might remarry to, I think a princess of Hesse-Rheinfels is a bit low on the totem pole.

The candidates would be (off the top of my head):
An English princess is out, since the main reason that the match proposed between Anne of Hannover (OTL Princess of Orange) and Louis XV didn't happen was because her father held the throne because he was a Protestant, it wouldn't do for him to marry his eldest daughter off to a Catholic.
The French Régent's daughters might be considered a touch low (particularly because of their mother)
Felipe V of Spain's eldest daughter is too young
He wouldn't be the first Habsburg (and she not the first Portuguese infanta) to marry his niece, Maria Barbara of Portugal.
Lorraine's two daughters (Elisabeth Thérèse and Anne Charlotte) might be offered, as well as Maximilian II of Bavaria's only daughter (although she's a bit old and wanted to be a nun OTL).
Savoy, Mantua, Tuscany and Parma have nobody, which makes Modena sort of the only tree in the Italian orchard with fruit. Not hurt by the fact that traditionally-French Modena's duke was married to the sister of the previous empress (Wilhelmine Amalie), so there might be an inroad there. Benedetta Maria, Amalia Giuseppina and Enrichetta d'Este are all available as brides.
IDK if the Sobieski girls would be considered high ranked enough to be the next empress.

Alright very interesting, Enrichetta d'Este would make a very interesting match, in 1724, she'd be twenty-two, though otl she had no children from either of her marriages. I suppose with the Lorraine girls it depends if Charles is willing to wait for later on in the decade to marry, if he marries one of them, does that nullify a marriage for his daughter and Francis III?
 
Alright very interesting, Enrichetta d'Este would make a very interesting match, in 1724, she'd be twenty-two, though otl she had no children from either of her marriages. I suppose with the Lorraine girls it depends if Charles is willing to wait for later on in the decade to marry, if he marries one of them, does that nullify a marriage for his daughter and Francis III?

Not necessarily. The Habsburgs had a genetic history of uncles marrying nieces, here it's nothing so icky. But there's also the fact that in the 1720s by the Treaty of Seville Maria Theresia and Maria Anna were engaged to Carlos III of Spain and Felipe, Duke of Parma
 
Not necessarily. The Habsburgs had a genetic history of uncles marrying nieces, here it's nothing so icky. But there's also the fact that in the 1720s by the Treaty of Seville Maria Theresia and Maria Anna were engaged to Carlos III of Spain and Felipe, Duke of Parma

This is true, I suppose a marriage to his niece would make sense, though there is the example of Carlos II of Spain for him to consider.
 
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