No Queen Mariana

What if the fates of Baltasar Carlos and his betrothed, Mariana of Austria - who after his death married his widowed father - were to be switched. Mariana dies either before leaving Vienna or en route to Spain. Obviously Baltasar Carlos is in need of a wife. The nearest archduchesses are in Tyrol, but IDK if they might be considered for the position of Spanish queen, and then there are a flurry of Italian princesses - particularly in Parma and Modena, plus two in Savoy - but again not sure if they would be considered of anywhere near sufficient rank to marry the future king of Spain.

There was a plan floated to marry Baltasar to Mary, OTL princess of Orange (mother of William III), but it foundered due to parliamentary opposition. So, who might marry Baltasar Carlos?
 
The portuguese certainly wouldn't be an option. After 60 years of Iberian Union, marrying another Portuguese infanta to the House of Habsburg could trigger once again a "Spanish Infante inheriting Portugal through his mother" situation.

The Scandinavians and the Northern Germans, being Protestant as they were, wouldn't offer daughters easily to the Spanish. However, talking about protestant princesses, Sophie Eleonore of Saxony (one the many matrilineal descendants of Anne Bohemia of Hungary) lost a daughter, Elisabeth Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt, to Catholicism. Maybe she could give another daughter away to Catholic monarchs, maybe the short lived Magdalene Sybille who IOTL was only 2 years younger than Balthazar Carlos.

Eleonora Gonzaga, who IOTL married to Emperor Ferdinand III as his third wife, was one year younger than Balthazar, and could be a potentially succesful bride, being strongly catholic as she was. Eleonora Gonzaga was a second cousin once removed to Balthazar through their ancestors, the de' Medici sisters Marie and Eleonora. They were also only half-second cousins once removed having Philip II as a common ancestor. I guess this would leave little room to chances of Eleonora giving birth to an aberrance as Charles II was IOTL.
 
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The portuguese certainly wouldn't be an option. After 60 years of Iberian Union, marrying another Portuguese infanta to the House of Habsburg could trigger once again a "Spanish Infante inheriting Portugal through his mother" situation.

IDK, Catherine of Braganza was proposed for among others - D. Juan José, bastard son of Felipe IV, as well as the duc de Beaufort (brother to the duc de Vendôme). And again with her famous niece, La Siempre Noïva, was offered as a wife for Carlos II. So, maybe a Portuguese infanta is a bit out of left field, but a consideration?

The Scandinavians and the Northern Germans, being Protestant as they were, wouldn't offer daughters easily to the Spanish. However, talking about protestant princesses, Sophie Eleonore of Saxony (one the many matrilineal descendants of Anne Bohemia of Hungary) lost a daughter, Elisabeth Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt, to Catholicism. Maybe she could give another daughter away to Catholic monarchs, maybe the short lived Magdalene Sybille who IOTL was only 2 years younger than Balthazar Carlos.

Eleonora Gonzaga, who IOTL married to Emperor Ferdinand III as his third wife, was one year younger than Balthazar, and could be a potentially succesful bride, being strongly catholic as she was. Eleonora Gonzaga was a second cousin once removed to Balthazar through their ancestors, the de' Medici sisters Marie and Eleonora. They were also only half-second cousins once removed having Philip II as a common ancestor. I guess this would leave little room to chances of Eleonora giving birth to an aberrance as Charles II was IOTL.

I like the idea of Eleonora Gonzaga (whichever one) ending up as queen of Spain, since the elder Eleonora had been a potential second wife for Felipe III. Also, in Velasco's thread 'Prospero's Prosperity', there are some surprising candidates mentioned - namely Luise Marie of the Palatinate, Marguerite-Louise or Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans, and the winner, La Grande Mademoiselle - as possible third wives for Felipe IV. Although, I think those candidates (Mademoiselle excepted) would be a bit young c. 1648.
 
IDK, Catherine of Braganza was proposed for among others - D. Juan José, bastard son of Felipe IV, as well as the duc de Beaufort (brother to the duc de Vendôme). And again with her famous niece, La Siempre Noïva, was offered as a wife for Carlos II. So, maybe a Portuguese infanta is a bit out of left field, but a consideration?

A consideration perhaps, but if (butterflies) Catherine's elder sister Joanna of Beira survives, I bet she would be married to a non-spanish prince.

I like the idea of Eleonora Gonzaga (whichever one) ending up as queen of Spain, since the elder Eleonora had been a potential second wife for Felipe III. Also, in Velasco's thread 'Prospero's Prosperity', there are some surprising candidates mentioned - namely Luise Marie of the Palatinate, Marguerite-Louise or Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans, and the winner, La Grande Mademoiselle - as possible third wives for Felipe IV. Although, I think those candidates (Mademoiselle excepted) would be a bit young c. 1648.

This is the Eleonora Gonzaga I was talking about. La Grand Mademoiselle was the richest woman in Europe at the time, and it would make sense if she married Balthazar, after all Balthazar's sister Maria Theresa married Anne Marie's cousin Louis XIV. The fortune brought by her dowry would move away many of the financial struggles of Philip IV's reign. If she manages to give birth to some healthy Infantes, probably the Habsburgs would have lived up to the 18th century and on.
 
A consideration perhaps, but if (butterflies) Catherine's elder sister Joanna of Beira survives, I bet she would be married to a non-spanish prince.

I agree. Philip IV's pride would not allow him to ever recognize Portugal's independence, let alone legitimize their reign by marrying a Braganza princess to his heir. Another interesting butterfly could be if Teodosio, the Prince of Brazil survives. He was seen as very promising and died suddenly, leaving his ten-year-old half-paralyzed, unstable brother, Afonso, as heir.

As for La Grande Mademoiselle, the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659) was still on-going. I can't imagine the survival of the Prince of Asturias wrapping the conflict up any sooner. Also Anne of Austria and Richelieu were not fond of Gaston so I can't see them honoring his daughter by making her queen of Spain.

Eleonora Gonzaga (born 1630) would be a good choice for Spain. OTL her family was allied to the Austrian Habsburgs by her marriage to Ferdinand III and her brother's marriage to Isabella Clara of Austria, one of Ferdinand's Tyrolean cousins and sister to his late wife Maria Leopolodine. Also Ferdinand III's stepmother, another Eleonora Gonzaga, was our Eleonora Gonzaga's aunt and encouraged the match. Her family's connections helped make up for her slightly lower rank. However I don't know if the Spanish Habsburgs would value the family ties as much as the Austrian Habsburgs did. She might be still regarded as too lowly. Alternately she could be regarded as a proxy for the Austrian Habsburgs and suitable as a way of strengthening the relationship between the Habsburg branches.

Otherwise Isabella Clara of Austria or Maria Leopolodine of Austria are also possibilities as things get moved around.

As for Italy, there are surprisingly few other choices I can think of. Savoy was firmly an adherent of France, the Medici didn't have any available princesses. The only daughter of the duke of Parma (born 1637) is a little too young and became a nun otl. Maybe one of the d'Este princesses would work, but there's a gap with the closest in age to Balthasar being Anna Beatrice (born 1626) and Isabella (born 1635).

In Germany, there aren't many more to add. There are no princesses in Bavaria. I can't see the Palatinate being a serious candidate with their Protestantism and loss of prestige in the thirty years war. Few German states have the religion and status to be considered 'worthy' of Spain at this point.
 
In a way the reformation did contribute to the Habsburg inbreeding, it greatly reduced the group of potential spouses.

@ JonasResende: if Italian princesses are considered, then I can't see why Tyrolean archduchesses aren't taking into account.
 
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