Anyone else who at first misread the title as "PC: Eleanor Habsburg as Empress Palpatine?" and was going to suggest moving the topic to the ASB Forum?
Didn't Karl have them both swear up and down that there hadn't been any improprieties between them before marrying Eleanor to Manuel/Francois? The fact of the matter remains that the Elector Palatine was willing to settle for Eleanor or Marie, Dowager Queen of Hungary, which seems to indicate while she would've loved him to distraction, he would've seen the match for its purely political gains (whatever they might've been).
Maybe if Karl is only king of Spain or Holy Roman Emperor, a German match for Eleanor might make more sense?
I'll spoil the TL, the latter scenario does happen because of a civil war placing Juana back on the throne and Ferdinand thrust into the role of her heir.
So, is the marriage plausible then? If the marriage does happen, how likely is it for the Palatinate to still turn Protestant eventually?
Well, the Palatinate turned Protestant in spite of having Friedrich and his Catholic, half-Habsburg wife. AIUI while they were Catholic and endorsed Catholicism, they didn't meddle too much with the Protestants. However, a Friedrich that has an heir would be a different kettle of fish.
Depends who wins the succession warA side note, do all German states follow Salic inheritance?
A side note, do all German states follow Salic inheritance?
AFAIK, both Fred and Dorothea were openly Protestant IOTL and personally spearheaded its spread in their land.
So Eleanor marries Frederick to tie him to Charles and prevent him from losing everything. Do we know anything about Eleanor's religious alignments? I can also see them having a child or two, since I think Eleanor's lack of pregnancies comes from her first marriage being to a really old man and her second one happening when she's already in her thirties.
A side note, do all German states follow Salic inheritance?
Whoops
I think of the Habsburg children of their generation, Mary and Isabella both had rather fluid ideas of being Catholic. AFAIK there were rumors when Isabella died that she'd been a secret convert, and the Habsburgs reacted by putting out that she'd died a convinced Catholic. Mary and Ferdinand were both rather sympathetic to some of the Reformation's points (I can't remember if Charles was too) from my understanding. While the only extreme Catholic was youngest sister, Catherine - who'd spent her whole life in Iberia.
As to Eleanor having kids, why not? She had two with Manuel - a daughter who was at the time one of the wealthiest women in Europe (but seems to have suffered from a case of being passed over continually (though from her portrait she wasn't unattractive)) and a son, who died young.
Something to think about: of Eleanor isn't free to marry Francis I of France, who would be? Maybe Mary, Queen of Hungary as a substitute? She'd be 25 at the time and might actually give the French King another child or two?