Was Anyone Else EVER Considered for Emperor Leopold I

Besides his niece?

I mean, the guy succeeds to the highest secular rank in Christendom in 1657, and I could imagine that for a time, there were hopes that he'd marry Maria Teresa of Spain (OTL queen of France). That takes us through to 1660 when she marries Louis XIV.

Felipe IV didn't want to send Margarita Teresa to Austria, and by the time of his death in September 1665, her marital future was still undecided. Then bam! by December 1666 she's empress.

I'd imagine that after June 1665 Klaudia Felizitas starts looking tempting, since she's now an heiress herself, but before that, her uncle is alive and set to produce sons (which means I can't see Leopold saddling himself with what @Valena called the mother-in-law from Hell unnecessarily).

So, was anyone else ever considered for Leopold I? And in the event that neither of his first two wives is available (Margarita cause she's married elsewhere, and Klaudia cause there's a male heir to Tyrol), COULD anyone else be considered? (Calling @Vitruvius, @isabella and @VVD0D95
 
Besides his niece?

I mean, the guy succeeds to the highest secular rank in Christendom in 1657, and I could imagine that for a time, there were hopes that he'd marry Maria Teresa of Spain (OTL queen of France). That takes us through to 1660 when she marries Louis XIV.

Felipe IV didn't want to send Margarita Teresa to Austria, and by the time of his death in September 1665, her marital future was still undecided. Then bam! by December 1666 she's empress.

I'd imagine that after June 1665 Klaudia Felizitas starts looking tempting, since she's now an heiress herself, but before that, her uncle is alive and set to produce sons (which means I can't see Leopold saddling himself with what @Valena called the mother-in-law from Hell unnecessarily).

So, was anyone else ever considered for Leopold I? And in the event that neither of his first two wives is available (Margarita cause she's married elsewhere, and Klaudia cause there's a male heir to Tyrol), COULD anyone else be considered? (Calling @Vitruvius, @isabella and @VVD0D95
Maria Teresa of Spain was a little too old for Leopold but she was engaged to his older brother Ferdinand before his death (in a programmed double match with that of Carlos and Mariana) and after that married Louis XIV (because Anne of Austria was pressing her brother for consenting to the match between their children)
Margarita was almost always engaged to Leopold, just in his last years Felipe IV looked to eventual alternatives without breaking the engagement (I think he first still hoped to have another son by Mariana and then the best alternative to Leopold aka his younger half-brother Charles Joseph was dead).
Claudia Felicitas was never really the heiress of Tyrol (Leopold had already it at her uncle's death) but she was an Archduchess and a good match...

Eleonora Magdalena of Paltinate-Neburg, his is OTL third wife (who was already proposed as second) sadly is really too young (four years younger than Margarita and two years younger than Claudia who were both quite young themselves for Leopold)...

I need to think to some available princesses
 
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They also considered Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (OTL Queen of Sweden, consort to Charles XI). She was dead set on Sweden it seems though so it fell through. Seems they were really trying to wed the oldenburgs of denmark but the proposed brides refused. Same was tried for Joseph I later on.
 

Vitruvius

Donor
I think that he spent the 1660s hoping to snag Maria Theresa and then immediately began looking at her younger sister when she wed Louis.there weren't really many Catholic princesses of suitable rank born in the 1640s (aside from the French ones like the Orleans sisters) so combine that with waiting a long time and the options narrow down quickly until the next generation reaches marriageable age in the 1670s. Leopold was one of the last born in his generation (indeed his parents youngest surviving child), born even later than Louis XIV who was born very late to his parents. So most of the princess born in the 1630s marry before he's ready or while he's fixated on his Spanish cousin.

If Maximilian of Bavaria or Ferdinando II of Tuscany had had a daughter they would have been strong candidates but they had only sons. Likewise if Wladyslaw had a surviving daughter (his Austrian wife had two girls in the 1640s one died in infancy the other a stillbirth). Este was of late in the French camp and of a lower rank (and descended from an illegitimate branch raised up only a couple generations prior).
 
As someone who, admittedly, isn't the most well versed in HRE bride requirements would any of these girls have a shot? If not please explain why so I can know for future reference (FYI I tried to ensure all these girls were Catholic but, if due to imperfect knowledge of the religious leanings of some of the German royals a protestant slipped in please ignore them)
 

Vitruvius

Donor
The problem with the first four is that they would be considered 'French' , not literally or dynastically of course but they were from foreign families resident in France that intermarried with French royals or were used as ersatz French princesses in international diplomacy. So not impossible but the diplomatic situation probably makes a French bride unlikely.

The latter two are the right religion and nationality but were probably of borderline low rank. Salm and Pfalz-Sulzbach were pretty minor states, more likely to produce a chancellor or general than an Empress.
 
A Catholic Wittelsbach is Always a nice match for a Habsburg Archduke.
All of them came by too much junior branches unfortunately and at the best were good as English/French proxies princesses... so not good for the Emperor...
Maria d'Este also was not high-ranking enough for the Emperor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_of_England would be an interesting choice if not for her unavailability (she was not a great match before the restauration and then married the Duke of Orleans in 1660)

France would likely offer to Leopold the choice between the cousins of Louis XIV:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_Louise_d'Orléans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élisabeth_Marguerite_d'Orléans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Françoise_Madeleine_d'Orléans


A much more likely match for him is one with some protestant princesses like
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Anna_Sophie_of_Denmark

or some daughters of a German minor ruler (do not matter if Catholic or Protestant) not allied to France
 
Could get behind the idea of Minette as empress instead of duchesse d'Orléans (but IIRC, the deal was that Minette go to Vienna instead of Margarita, and Margarita go to London instead of Catherine of Bragança).

Luise Marie of the Palatinate was reasonably well placed actually - mother was friend to Anne of Austria, father was brother to the Elector Palatine and son of an English princess; her cousins were Dowager Empress Eleonora and the Queen of Poland was her aunt; plus her OTL husband was the one who pushed her niece, Wilhelmine Amalie's suit for empress.
 
Could get behind the idea of Minette as empress instead of duchesse d'Orléans (but IIRC, the deal was that Minette go to Vienna instead of Margarita, and Margarita go to London instead of Catherine of Bragança).

Luise Marie of the Palatinate was reasonably well placed actually - mother was friend to Anne of Austria, father was brother to the Elector Palatine and son of an English princess; her cousins were Dowager Empress Eleonora and the Queen of Poland was her aunt; plus her OTL husband was the one who pushed her niece, Wilhelmine Amalie's suit for empress.
Luise Marie and her sister Anne Henriette were surely well placed but still a French sponsored match and France has the Orleans' girl who are around the same age to offer (higher rank being grandaughters, nieces and cousins of Kings of France plus likely a much higher dowry) and Marguerite Louise is the elder of the five girls (and just a year younger than Minette)
 
Luise Marie and her sister Anne Henriette were surely well placed but still a French sponsored match and France has the Orleans' girl who are around the same age to offer (higher rank being grandaughters, nieces and cousins of Kings of France plus likely a much higher dowry) and Marguerite Louise is the elder of the five girls (and just a year younger than Minette)

Considering Anna Gonzaga OTL covered most of the dowry for Liselotte IIRC (who was marrying a fils de France (a step removed from Gaston's daughters) IIRC, she obviously had the means to do so. Whether said dowry would be enough for an empress, I have no idea.

The reason, IMO, Luise is a more likely candidate (it'll probably be the English pushing her) has to do with the fact that there were several negotiations between the Habsburgs and the Palatine rulers for a marriage up to 1670 (Friedrich Heinrich to Cecilia Renata of Austria (or a Spanish infanta); Karl I to Maria Leopoldine or Elisabeth Klara of Tyrol; Prince Rupert to an unspecified archduchess (this offer came twice, once during Rupert's capture and imprisonment by the Habsburgs and once from his mother's side at a later point)). So the groundwork was THERE for a Havsburg-Pfalz match.

Also, the options regarding the Orléans girls are slim. The most beautiful ("as the day"), Marguerite Louise is married in June 1661 (almost a year to the day after Louis XIV and Maria Teresa wed). She'd been turned down by the duchess of Savoy because she was too strong willed. Probably, the imperial court had heard of this rejection. Her sisters, Françoise Madeleine and Isabelle would've presumably been rejected on grounds of either their health (Françoise) or their physical appearance (Isabelle was hunchbacked). I'd say they might lose out on grounds of their excessive piety (which is why Leopoldine was chosen and not Isabel Klara) but considering that Leopold's 3e wife wanted to be a nun and apparently cast a rather dark pall of piety/religiosity overthe court, I'm guessing that wouldn't be an issue
 
Considering Anna Gonzaga OTL covered most of the dowry for Liselotte IIRC (who was marrying a fils de France (a step removed from Gaston's daughters) IIRC, she obviously had the means to do so. Whether said dowry would be enough for an empress, I have no idea.

The reason, IMO, Luise is a more likely candidate (it'll probably be the English pushing her) has to do with the fact that there were several negotiations between the Habsburgs and the Palatine rulers for a marriage up to 1670 (Friedrich Heinrich to Cecilia Renata of Austria (or a Spanish infanta); Karl I to Maria Leopoldine or Elisabeth Klara of Tyrol; Prince Rupert to an unspecified archduchess (this offer came twice, once during Rupert's capture and imprisonment by the Habsburgs and once from his mother's side at a later point)). So the groundwork was THERE for a Havsburg-Pfalz match.

Also, the options regarding the Orléans girls are slim. The most beautiful ("as the day"), Marguerite Louise is married in June 1661 (almost a year to the day after Louis XIV and Maria Teresa wed). She'd been turned down by the duchess of Savoy because she was too strong willed. Probably, the imperial court had heard of this rejection. Her sisters, Françoise Madeleine and Isabelle would've presumably been rejected on grounds of either their health (Françoise) or their physical appearance (Isabelle was hunchbacked). I'd say they might lose out on grounds of their excessive piety (which is why Leopoldine was chosen and not Isabel Klara) but considering that Leopold's 3e wife wanted to be a nun and apparently cast a rather dark pall of piety/religiosity overthe court, I'm guessing that wouldn't be an issue
The dowry will need to be huge because Luise will marry much more higher than she can hope being a member of a junior branch of the house... Liselotte was the daughter of the Elector and the Orleans' girls were the closest female relatives who Louis XIV was able to offer to anyone
 
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