Opportunities for the Hapsburgs to Get New Blood

The Habsburgs are a well known example, but the Valois and later Bourbons and even the Wittelsbachs weren't in a much better position. In fact these were often also marriages with cousins or nieces, which only brought in few '(real) new blood' into the dynasty. No reformation or a reformation with negligible effect on marital politics would be better, but far less likely.
 
So what were the causes of "equal" marriage? What changed? Just prestige?

Prestige, and also to ensure the legitimacy of the children. In Germany in the period, you began to see Morgantic marriages, such as with the Landgrave of Hesse and his bigamous marriage. By marrying into other sovereign houses it ensured it was an equal match. France didn't have morgantic marriages, but there were secret marriages, such as Louis XIV with Madame de Maintagnon. Marriage of Princes became in France required the King's consent. Gaston d'Orléans married a daughter of the Duke of Lorraine and the marriage was considered void because the King's consent was not granted for instance, although theoretically it was an equal marriage.

It's not a huge problem that they married cousins or such close relatives, it's the fact that it continued over such a long period. If one of the Spanish Kings had gotten a bit luckier and had a surviving son with his French wife, it would've given their tree a little bit of breathing room. Charles II's family tree is messed up precisely because it is four generations of nieces giving birth to their uncles children. His own birth was bad luck, considering Philip IV and Marianna had a perfectly healthy daughter.
 
Prestige, and also to ensure the legitimacy of the children. In Germany in the period, you began to see Morgantic marriages, such as with the Landgrave of Hesse and his bigamous marriage. By marrying into other sovereign houses it ensured it was an equal match. France didn't have morgantic marriages, but there were secret marriages, such as Louis XIV with Madame de Maintagnon. Marriage of Princes became in France required the King's consent. Gaston d'Orléans married a daughter of the Duke of Lorraine and the marriage was considered void because the King's consent was not granted for instance, although theoretically it was an equal marriage.

It's not a huge problem that they married cousins or such close relatives, it's the fact that it continued over such a long period. If one of the Spanish Kings had gotten a bit luckier and had a surviving son with his French wife, it would've given their tree a little bit of breathing room. Charles II's family tree is messed up precisely because it is four generations of nieces giving birth to their uncles children. His own birth was bad luck, considering Philip IV and Marianna had a perfectly healthy daughter.

There's the possibility of Philip IV and Elisabeth of France's son Balthasar Carlos surviving, but as it is the Habsburgs could be doomed.

Perhaps if Philip II has surviving sons with Elisabeth of Valois, then this could all be avoided. In OTL their most prominent child was Isabella Clara Eugenia, who became governor of the Spanish Netherlands.
 
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