The Prince's Survival

Also, the death of second wife of Ferdinand III is relatively not hard enough to butterfly (different pregnancy may result in not needing Cesarean section). That frees Eleonore Gonzaga for whoever is unmarried by this point.
 
Balthasar Carlos marries Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy.
She is the daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy.
Balthasar Carlos reigns as Charles II.
He and Queen Luisa have several sons, all born healthy.
 
Balthasar Carlos marries Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy.
She is the daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy.
Balthasar Carlos reigns as Charles II.
He and Queen Luisa have several sons, all born healthy.

Interested in the ideas for those several sons. Do we see a partitioning of the Habsburg empire a la Charles V?
 
Interested in the ideas for those several sons. Do we see a partitioning of the Habsburg empire a la Charles V?

Doubtful. Charles and Ferdinand made the division after several inheritances came together. Charles V basically got all the realms, where it was customary that the eldest son inherited everything. Whereas at that time in the Austrian Hereditary Lands, as in more territories within the Holy Roman Empire, it was still customary to rule the lands jointly. Charles only gave up that joint share.
 
Interested in the ideas for those several sons. Do we see a partitioning of the Habsburg empire a la Charles V?

Balthasar Carlos as King Charles II and Queen Luisa Cristina have several sons.
They are Sancho, Prince of Asturias, the Infante Sebastian, the Infante Ferdinand, and the Infante Maximilian.
Sancho becomes King of Spain as Sancho V. Sancho does not become the King of Portugal. Spain and Portugal no longer have the same monarch.
Sebastian becomes King Sebastian II of Portugal.
Ferdinand becomes King Ferdinand III of Sicily.
Maximilian becomes Duke Maximilian II of Burgundy.
 
Okay, except (spoiler alert!) the Braganzas will successfully restore the independence of Portugal). But otherwise, I was toying with the idea (inspired by Velasco's TL Prospero's Prosperity) of splitting the Spanish empire between a younger half-brother of Baltasar Carlos (from Felipe's second marriage to whomever) and Baltasar's kids.

:confused:If I may ask, why the name Sancho though? Ferdinand, Maximilian and Sebastian can maybe still fly, but no Habsburg prince has ever received that name (though some of the infante/as of Spain received unusual (non-royal) names i.e. Isabel Clara Eugenia, Felipe Prosper, Felipe Domingo or even Baltasar Carlos), and the last king that died with that name was a 13th century ruler of Castile who usurped his fatherless nephews' right to the throne:confused:
 
Was there any particular reason why Maria Leopoldina of Tyrol married Ferdinand III rather than her older sister Isabella? I'm toying with Leopoldina as a wife for Carlos, perhaps Isabella for Ferdinand (or vice versa), while Maria Caterina Farnese becomes the newest queen of Spain etc.
 
1647 - Far from the Spanish court, in far-off Warsaw, the Polish king, Wladyslaw IV's son, Zygmunt, recovers from his mysterious illness, which according to some is the job of poison - perhaps even administered by the king's new French-born Italian wife. Unfortunately for this rumor, probably started by the pro-Habsburg faction at the Polish court - after all, Zygmunt is the only the surviving son of the king and his first wife, an Austrian archduchess, it doesn't last long after it's pointed out that the physician that saved him is not only a Frenchman, but from the queen's suite, too.

Needless to say, Cardinal Mazarin - who made sure that Wladyslaw would marry a French girl (the candidates were either the eldest daughter of the Duc de Guise, Marie, Mlle de Guise; or Marie Louise de Gonzague-Nevers, sister of the previous duke of Mantua) to break the Wasa-Habsburg ties - breathes a sigh of relief. Sure, he'd prefer a half-French prince on the throne of Poland, but until Marie Louise bears a son of her own, such a move would be pointless.

Staying with the Gonzagas, the current duke's sister journeys to Innsbruck for her wedding to a cousin of both the king of Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke Ferdinand of Further Austria. Originally he had been engaged to marry Princess Anna de Medici, following her disastrous betrothal to the duc d'Orléans (something she and the queen of Poland have in common - both have been intended for the fickle Gaston, duc d'Orléans, and both have been jilted), however, that lady had decided she preferred the king of Spain's offer of marriage to a "mere" archduke.

Yes, it's true, the king of Spain is joining himself in holy matrimony again. And albeit the lady is "older" (she'll be thirty-one), the way D. Felipe sees it is that he already has both an heir and a spare in his son and daughter, therefore, he can relax somewhat.

And Portugal is also on the look-out for allies in her struggle for independence against Spain. She is turning to that oldest manner of cementing alliances - royal marriages - to solve this problem. With France's cost of betrothing the Portuguese crown prince to the richest heiress in the realm, being that the Bragança's relocate their court - across the Atlantic - in favor of the prince de Condé, the Portuguese monarchs might have to lower their sights.

While France is certainly not playing the diplomatic game with Portugal, the little duchy of Savoy next door is interested. The duchess-regent is a French princess (sister of the late king) and in desperate need of allies against her two pro-Spanish brothers-in-law who are both trying to wrest the regency for her son from her. That said, she offers a double match - her son for the king's eldest daughter (Joana, b. 1635) and one of her daughters for Téodosio.

The duchess' sister, the Queen of England, is also playing with the Portuguese - she and her husband support the idea of an Anglo-Portuguese alliance. After all, England and Portugal were long time trading partners until the rude interruption of the Iberian union. Thus, there are talks of the prince of Wales marrying one of the Portuguese girls - either Joana or her younger sister, Catarina (b. 1638).

It remains to be seen what the future holds.
 
The New Generations of Infantes

Apologies for the long radio silence, been busy elsewhere:eek:

Here are my thoughts for D. Baltasar Carlos' issue, tell me if it seems Habsburg-Spain wank ahoy!

Francisco Domingo (1649-1649)
Fernando Maria (1650-1650)
Maria Isabel (b.1651)
Mariana Antonia (b.1654)
Carlos José (1656-1661)
Felipe Prosper(b. 1657)
Maria Teresa Margarita (1659-1661)
Maria Eugenia Ignacia (b.1661) betrothed to OTL Louis, le Grand Dauphin
Maria Luisa Catalina (b. 1662)
Carlos Tomas (b.1663)
Maria Francisca (b.1664)
Luis Miguel (b.1666)
Fernando Ambrosio (1667-1674)

Considering a rather conservative butterfly effect, for spouses, one can go with OTL people unless they don't exist here
 
As I did with the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs, here is the Imperial line, once again, let me know if it looks wankish:

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary & Croatia, King of Bohemia (b.1608) 1m: Maria Anna of Spain (1606-1646); 2m: 1648 Maria Leopoldina of the Tyrol (b. 1632)

  1. [1m.] Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans (b.1633)
  2. [1m.] Maria Anna (1634-1647) b. Baltasar Carlos, Prince of the Asturias
  3. [1m.] Leopold, Archduke of Austria (b.1640)
  4. [2m.] Maria Eleonore (b.1649)
  5. [2m.] Maria Anna (b.1650)
  6. [2m.] Karl Josef, Archduke of Austria (b.1652)
  7. [2m.] Maria Benedikte (b.1653)
Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria (1586-1632) m: 1626 Claudia de Medici, Dowager Hereditary Princess of Urbino (1604-1648)

  1. Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Further Austria (b. 1628) m: 1648 Eleonora Maddalena of Mantua (b.1630)

  • Ferdinand Josef, Hereditary Count of Tyrol (b.1649)
  • Maria Theresia Klaudia (1652-1653)
  • Maria Eleonore Magdalene (b.1653)
  • Maria Anna Sibylla (b. 1654)

  1. Elisabeth Klara (b.1629)
  2. Sigmund Franz, Archduke of Austria, Cardinal of the Church (b.1630)
  3. Maria Leopoldina (b.1632) m: 1648 Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary & Croatia, King of Bohemia
 
1648 – The Habsburg capitals are celebrating. Vienna after the marriage of the widower Emperor Ferdinand III to his Tyrolean cousin, Maria Leopoldina, and Madrid after witnessing the marriage of the widower King Felipe IV to Anna de Medici.

But that’s not the only reason: D. Juan José has managed to successfully crush the Neapolitan revolt. Needless to say, this raises him still higher in both his father (the Spanish king) and half-brother’s estimation. So much so, that no one is even surprised when D. Juan José is named viceroy of Naples.

On the whole, Baltasar Carlos and his bastard half-brother have a reasonably decent relationship. Granted, there are many at court that consider the viceregency of Naples to be a step too far for a bastard however royal, but those courtiers are generally those who don’t belong to the prince of the Asturias’ circle.

The Habsburgs are certainly fulfilling their motto of ‘marry Austria’, but it is not just them who are witnessing royal nuptials.

The fourteen-year-old Prince of Brazil is officially betrothed to Margherita Violante of Savoy (b.1635), with the marriage to be solemnized on the princess’ sixteenth birthday (in three years). And his sister, Joana’s marriage to the duke of Savoy becomes even more likely with the birth of their youngest brother, D. Pedro, duke of Beja, to secure the succession.

But for now, Portugal is playing hard to get with Joana. She’s the eldest daughter of a king. For all intents and purposes her younger sister, Catarina, is being considered either for the Prince of Wales or the king of France. It wouldn’t do to betrothe Joana to a mere duke (even if the house of Savoy is currently claiming the title of king of Jerusalem (which, just BTW, the house of Lorraine and the king of Poland do too).

Also, the king of England’s eldest daughter, Mary, suffers an unfortunate end to her first pregnancy when she miscarries a daughter. Mary’s husband, the newly acceded prince of Orange, Willem II (who’s also stadtholder of several provinces of the Dutch Republic), since his father, Frederik Hendrik, died the previous year, is more devoted to her than ever. Although her mother-in-law, Amalia of Solms (with whom Mary most often quarrels) is safe in her position as advisor to Willem for now, Mary had been banking on the successful birth of the child to consolidate her ascendancy.

The English royalists, however, are shocked by another death, however. That of King Charles I of England, France, Scotland and Ireland. Charles never even got chance to hear of his daughter’s pregnancy with his first grandchild, since he was led to the scaffold in freezing weather on the second last day of January to be executed by beheading.

On hearing of this, many English courtiers in exile rush to pay their respects to the prince of Wales. However, it’s not so simple. England is currently without a king. Two of the new king’s siblings, Princess Elizabeth (b.1635) and Prince Henry, duke of Gloucester (b.1640) are still in England, under imprisonment by the same men that executed Charles I.

In far off Russia, the young Tsar Alexei immediately orders the expulsion of all English merchants, plus orders prayers for that ‘martyr king’, and forwards an allowance to his ‘unhappy widow’.

But the eyes of Europe are not only on England, but also on Osnabrück and Münster in Germany, where the peace to end the war that has been raging for the last few decades is being hammered out. Naturally, Sweden and France have come out the top dogs in this, though while Austria is bruised and battered, she’s by no means out.
 
Apologies for the long radio silence, been busy elsewhere:eek:

Here are my thoughts for D. Baltasar Carlos' issue, tell me if it seems Habsburg-Spain wank ahoy!

Francisco Domingo (1649-1649)
Fernando Maria (1650-1650)
Maria Isabel (b.1651)
Mariana Antonia (b.1654)
Carlos José (1656-1661)
Felipe Prosper(b. 1657)
Maria Teresa Margarita (1659-1661)
Maria Eugenia Ignacia (b.1661) betrothed to OTL Louis, le Grand Dauphin
Maria Luisa Catalina (b. 1662)
Carlos Tomas (b.1663)
Maria Francisca (b.1664)
Luis Miguel (b.1666)
Fernando Ambrosio (1667-1674)

Considering a rather conservative butterfly effect, for spouses, one can go with OTL people unless they don't exist here

If Baltasar Carlos marry a close relative as Luisa Cristina of Savoy they will lucky to have a couple of surviving children healthy enough to prevent the end of the dynasty. Luisa Cristina is a relative-but-not-close of Felipe IV (descending from Felipe II's daughter from his third wedding) but is a first cousin of Baltasar Carlos (their mothers were sisters) so how can she be better than Mariana?
https://www.alternatehistory.com//it.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/
 
If Baltasar Carlos marry a close relative as Luisa Cristina of Savoy they will lucky to have a couple of surviving children healthy enough to prevent the end of the dynasty. Luisa Cristina is a relative-but-not-close of Felipe IV (descending from Felipe II's daughter from his third wedding) but is a first cousin of Baltasar Carlos (their mothers were sisters) so how can she be better than Mariana?

Simply put, Luisa Cristina doesn't share half as much genetic material with B-C as Mariana does. Since in addition to being epileptic, Mariana's parents were cousins, both born from first cousin marriages.
 
Simply put, Luisa Cristina doesn't share half as much genetic material with B-C as Mariana does. Since in addition to being epileptic, Mariana's parents were cousins, both born from first cousin marriages.
Still I think Luisa Cristina share too much genetic material with B-C (she is much more related to him than you think) considering who their mothers were sisters and Luisa's father was cousin of both B-C parents' in more than a way... I do not think who Mariana was really so much more closely related to B-C than Luisa Cristina
 
Still I think Luisa Cristina share too much genetic material with B-C (she is much more related to him than you think) considering who their mothers were sisters and Luisa's father was cousin of both B-C parents' in more than a way... I do not think who Mariana was really so much more closely related to B-C than Luisa Cristina

Mariana, B-C's first cousin through his father/her mother, born of a marriage between first cousins (Maria of Spain and Ferdinand III), who had in turn been born from a marriage between second cousins (Felipe III and Margarethe of Austria) and first cousins (Ferdinand II and Maria Anna of Bavaria) respectively.
Margarethe and Ferdinand II were both born from an uncle-niece marriage between Karl of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria, while the younger Maria Anna was born from a match between two second cousins (the duke of Bavaria and Renata of Lorraine).
Felipe III was born of an uncle-niece marriage. While Anna of Austria was born of a match between two first cousins. All of these pairings descend (at least once) from Philipp the Fair and Juana la Loca.

Luisa Cristina of Savoy: B-C's first cousin through his mother/her mother. Her father (VA I) is born of a marriage between two first cousins (once removed). Christine de France is VA I's third cousin through Henri IV (once removed) and Marie de Medici. VA's mother is a half-aunt to Felipe IV, while his descent from Filippo II of Savoy is through half-siblings Luisa of Savoy (François I/Marguerite d'Angoulême's mother, great-grandmother of Élisabeth de Valois and Henri IV; grandmother of Marguerite de Valois, duchess of Savoy) and Carlo III of Savoy.
So if Luisa Cristina is closer related to B-C since Filippo II, it is mostly through half-cousins to him (Catalina Miguela/Marguerite de Valois) etc.

Thus Luisa is a cleaner match genetically.
 
Besides anyone questioning about genetics (which I only have the vaguest of understandings of the ins and outs) does anyone else have any comments or critiques? Suggestions welcome
 
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