WI: Charles II of Spain has a child?

One of Charles II's Queens carrying on an affair is more unlikely than him managing to have a child with them. An affair is possible, but I doubt they would actually be foolish enough to get pregnant. Everyone knew Charles II was impotent as Yorel said, so if Marie Louise or Maria Anna got pregnant, no one is going to honestly believe the child is his, and if anyone attempted to say it is, I think you'd basically get a 17th century La Beltraneja, who no one believes is Charles II despite people saying the contrary. All it would do is a cause a minor scandal and the Queen would probably be put up in a convent, with the marriage be dissolved, possibly. Maria Anna might be foolish enough to do so, as she hated her position: Marie Louise d'Orléans was lonely in Spain, but it seems she did grow somewhat fond of Charles II. Maria Anna though, was manipulative and essentially used her position to enrich her relatives back in Germany. I just can't see any wife of Charles II having the foresight to get pregnant to "secure" the line. After all, it's not something they'd care about, being a foreign Queen in a country that isn't their home. If you want to honestly save the Spanish Habsburg line, Philip II or Philip IV having children with their French wives seems a much more ideal.
 
Let's not forget his cousin Leopold, who was about as deformed, but mentally--pretty together, actually.

One of Charles II's Queens carrying on an affair is more unlikely than him managing to have a child with them. An affair is possible, but I doubt they would actually be foolish enough to get pregnant. Everyone knew Charles II was impotent as Yorel said, so if Marie Louise or Maria Anna got pregnant, no one is going to honestly believe the child is his, and if anyone attempted to say it is, I think you'd basically get a 17th century La Beltraneja, who no one believes is Charles II despite people saying the contrary. All it would do is a cause a minor scandal and the Queen would probably be put up in a convent, with the marriage be dissolved, possibly. Maria Anna might be foolish enough to do so, as she hated her position: Marie Louise d'Orléans was lonely in Spain, but it seems she did grow somewhat fond of Charles II. Maria Anna though, was manipulative and essentially used her position to enrich her relatives back in Germany. I just can't see any wife of Charles II having the foresight to get pregnant to "secure" the line. After all, it's not something they'd care about, being a foreign Queen in a country that isn't their home. If you want to honestly save the Spanish Habsburg line, Philip II or Philip IV having children with their French wives seems a much more ideal.

Three little words--Catherine the Great.
 
Three little words--Catherine the Great.

Catherine the Great was a regnant ruler in her own right, not a consort. Not to mention the Empress Elizabeth encouraged her to take lovers. And although Catherine asserts that Paul wasn't the son of her husband, all her contemporaries say that he very much resembled his father. Russia's succession law had been all put disregarded following the death of Peter the Great which basically ushered in a century of female rule until Paul I decided to formalize the House Law of the Romanovs which barred women from the throne. Comparing the two situations is like comparing apples and oranges. Everyone knew Charles II is impotent, and no one is seriously going to accept any child from Maria Anna or Marie Louise when all fingers point that the child is illegitimate. All it would do is provoke further conflicts upon Charles II's death.
 
Space Oddity said:
Three little words--Catherine the Great.

You're talking about the case of Tsar Paul I, right? The one who is suspected of being the son of Stanislas Poniatowski, Catherine's lover at the time, and not of Tsar Peter III despite what is claimed?

I'm not sure you could compare the two situations... Though everyone knew about the hartred between Peter III and Catherine, they did consumate their marriage and that left room for doubt. Plus there were plenty of royal couples who didn't get along and yet still had children: Louis XIII and Anna of Austria are a good example, as would be Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain. So, it wouldn't be uncommon if Peter III was the father of Paul despite the fact he hated his wife: succession was sometimes more important than feelings for Princes.

Charles II of Spain, however, wouldn't have this chance. As the last male scion of House Habsburg in Spain, everyone had his eyes on him and few were convinced he could father a child. That's why there were partition treaties between the Bourbons and Habsburg: I think I even read plans were made as early as 1668 when Charles was barely 7! The chroniclers were so convinced of Charles II's impotency that I wonder if they wouldn't have doubts of his son's legitimity even if he had the capacity and were to father a child...

There is also one huge difference between the case of Paul I of Russia and that of the situation we're talking about for Charles II... Unlike Paul I, Charles II's succession was pretty clear if he had no heirs. Without Paul I, the Romanov could have died out after Catherine II's death: Ivan V's bloodline was nearly extinct and the remaining members wouldn't necessarily have had the time to father a successor. Thus, if he hadn't been recognised as legitimate, things could have gone very messy.
On the other hand, Charles II had a bunch of possible successors thanks to his sisters: his nephew Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria was considered at one point before his death, and then you had the competition between Philippe of Anjou and Charles von Hapsburg. All the candidates had flows and posed troubles, but at least you could manage to negotiate. If his wife gave birth to an illegitimate son, he would likely be put aside unless it's judged convenient.

EDIT: Sorry DrakeRlugia, I didn't see you posting...
 
Honestly, I agree with both of you, but my point was these things can be rather... less clear, depending on the politics and personalities involved.
 
Top