WI: Elizabeth Marries Charles II of Inner Austria

In 1559 it was purposed by Philip II of Spain that Elizabeth I of England marry his cousin, Charles II of Austria. The marriage proposal fell through once and was brought up again before being put to rest largely for religious reasons. Lets say that Charles is exposed to Lutheranism early in life like his brother Maximilian II was, and therefore is more willing to meet Elizabeth's requirement and the two wed. Thoughts? I mean the Habsburgs will become the royal house in England, however Charles' sons also became Holy Roman Emperors. How does France react when surrounded by Protestant Habsburg Brothers?
 
I suspect that since virtually all of Europe not under the Habsburg crowns (and even some under, see the Eighty Years' War) threw themselves at said family just to prevent them from becoming too powerful, France might want to ally with some German states, even.
 
I suspect that since virtually all of Europe not under the Habsburg crowns (and even some under, see the Eighty Years' War) threw themselves at said family just to prevent them from becoming too powerful, France might want to ally with some German states, even.

SavoyTruffle

Very likely if that occurred, i.e. a Protestant Hapsburg HRE. Also it means that Spain, probably still the most powerful and important Hapsburg state at the time, is likely to clash with it's German branch.

It may be too late for the Dutch to be willing to compromise, even if the two Protestant branches are compatible, but you could see other Protestant German states siding with France and/or Spain simply because they don't want a powerful centralised empire, regardless of it's religious afilations or ruling family.

If the German branch stays Catholic, say any sons of Charles are rejected if they don't convert back to Catholicism or are deposed we have an Hapsburg dynasty in England separated from the rest of the family which could be interesting as well.

Steve
 
I could see the Habsburgs going the way of the Wittelsbachs (and the Hohenzollerns, though the Swabian senior line went extinct quite early) - separating into Protestant and Catholic lines.

Of course, this could also mean that the English Habsburgs would be far less subject to the inbreeding we see in the Spanish Habsburgs...
 
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