The Spanish Matches describes James I's of England's foreign and diplomatic negotiations towards the proposed marriage of Charles, the Prince of Wales (later Charles I) to the Infanta Maria Anna. The marriage match fell through not only because of internal opposition but also the reluctance of the bride to marry a Protestant and Spain's latter demands that Charles remain in Spain for a year and convert to Catholicism and also to repeal anti-Catholic laws when he became King. Despite this, James was keen on the match due to the promise of a dowry of 500,000 pounds when he was need of money and reluctant to summon Parliament. The Spanish had never been too serious about the match, prolonging negotiations to keep Britain out of the early parts of the Thirty Years War (James wished to send troops to restore his son-in-law, the Elector Palatinate).
What if the match succeeded? Charles and Buckingham made a bold move to visit Madrid directly to win the Infanta over. Perhaps Charles charms her over and the infatuated Infanta is perfectly willing to marry him. The Spanish have to be a little less pressing on their demands, but if they agree to the marriage, he can simply toss them aside once he and Maria are back in England, claiming he was forced to convert under duress. Of course, the fact that he even converted in the first place, even if under false pretenses won't look good in England, especially in a time where the Purtians were growing the Protestants were more opposed to Catholics than ever.
What effects might this have on England's internal politics and her foreign policy? I highly doubt they will get the dowry the Spanish promised: Spain had her own financial problems at the time, and especially if Charles breaks his promises to convert to Catholicism, they will use it to break the treaty.
What if the match succeeded? Charles and Buckingham made a bold move to visit Madrid directly to win the Infanta over. Perhaps Charles charms her over and the infatuated Infanta is perfectly willing to marry him. The Spanish have to be a little less pressing on their demands, but if they agree to the marriage, he can simply toss them aside once he and Maria are back in England, claiming he was forced to convert under duress. Of course, the fact that he even converted in the first place, even if under false pretenses won't look good in England, especially in a time where the Purtians were growing the Protestants were more opposed to Catholics than ever.
What effects might this have on England's internal politics and her foreign policy? I highly doubt they will get the dowry the Spanish promised: Spain had her own financial problems at the time, and especially if Charles breaks his promises to convert to Catholicism, they will use it to break the treaty.