Mariana of Austria
Encyclopedia
Mariana of Austria was Queen consort
of Spain
as the second wife of King Philip IV
, who was also her maternal uncle. At the death of her husband in 1665, Mariana became Queen regent, and she remained an influential figure during the reign of her son Charles II
, the last Spanish Habsburg.
, Austria
, she was the granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II
. Her parents were King Ferdinand III of Hungary
and Maria Anna of Spain, the sister of Mariana's future husband, King Philip IV of Spain
. Her father, who would become Emperor in 1637, was as yet only King of Hungary
and Bohemia
, and was away for most of his wife's pregnancy campaigning in the Thirty Years' War
.
Maria Anna, was the second of six children, three of which died in early childhood. Her oldest brother, Ferdinand IV of Hungary
died young. Only Maria Anna and her younger brother, the future Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
, lived to reach old age.
Maria Anna was destined from her early years to continue the marriage policy between the two branches of the Habsburg family, the Austrian and the Spanish. A policy of inbreeding followed for generations. Following this policy, in 1646 Maria Anna, then eleven years old, was engaged to her Spanish Habsburg first cousin Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias, heir of the Spanish crown. However, he died only three months later age 16. With Baltasar Carlos's death, Philip IV
was left without a male heir and Maria Anna without a fiancé. Philip was widower, as his beautiful and beloved French
wife, Elisabeth of France, had just died a few years prior. Philip decided to marry his 14 year old niece himself. After a marriage by proxy, they were wedded on 7 October 1649 in Navalcarnero
, near Madrid
, and spent their wedding night at El Escorial
. From then on, she went by her name in Spanish, Mariana. Although known for being cheerful as a young girl, after her wedding to her uncle she became cold and bad-tempered.
Mariana and Philip's marriage produced five children, however, only two lived into adulthood. Their first child was Margaret Theresa, who was born on 12 July 1651; just as her mother did, she went on to marry her maternal uncle Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
. In 1655, Mariana then had another daughter, Maria Ambrosia de la Concepción; she only lived fifteen days. During this time, there were those at court who wanted Philip to officially name his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa
, as his heir, as she was already heir presumptive
according to Spanish tradition. Mariana began feeling the pressure to have a son. Eventually, her first son, Philip Prospero, was born on 28 November 1657, who was joyously received. She then gave birth to the Infante Ferdinand Thomas in 1658, but he died a year later in 1659.
Sadly, her son Philip Prospero died in 1661. But that same year, Mariana gave birth to her last child, a son; he was named Charles
and was born on 6 November.
Charles was born physically and mentally disabled, and disfigured. Possibly through affliction with mandibular prognathism, he was unable to chew. His tongue was so large that his speech could barely be understood, and he frequently drooled. It has been suggested that he suffered from the endocrine disease acromegaly
, or his inbred lineage may have led to a combination of rare genetic disorders such as combined pituitary hormone deficiency
and distal renal tubular acidosis
.
Consequently, Charles II is known in Spanish history as El Hechizado ("The Hexed") from the popular belief – to which Charles himself subscribed – that his physical and mental disabilities were caused by "sorcery." The king went so far as to be exorcised.
, stayed in Rome
from 1649 to 1650. Philip IV wanted his favourite court painter, now enjoying such a triumph in Rome, to paint his second wife, Mariana, and to give his advice on the renovation of the old royal palace in Madrid, the Alcázar
. Consequently, he wished Velázquez to come back to court as soon as possible, but nonetheless the artist delayed his return for another whole year.
The official portrait of Mariana, commissioned by the king, is the most famous one of her, and today it hangs in the Prado Museum, in Madrid. The painting was copied, and one of the copies hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum
in Vienna. The original portrait was not completed until 1652. Mariana was just nineteen at the time that it was painted. It shows her full length, wearing a black dress with silver braid, and of course adorned with much valuable jewellery: gold necklaces and bracelets, and a large gold brooch on her close-fitting bodice. Her right hand rests on the back of a chair, and she holds a delicate lace scarf in her left hand. The picture is bathed in harmonious shades of black and red, although the dramatically drawn curtain has been painted over by another hand.
The composition turns on the focal point of the queen's alabaster skin and rouged face, small and almost doll-like under her hair, which is dressed very wide. Her bust, tightly encased in the bodice, her stiff farthingale
and all her fashionable magnificence are rendered true to life by Velázquez, and at the same time he reveals them as a theatrical show concealing the girl's natural physical nature beneath the armour of courtly constraint.
died on 17 September 1665, their only surviving son, Charles
, was only 3 years old, and Mariana served as regent
, relying on her confessor, Juan Everardo Nithard
, for support until his dismissal in 1669. Charles
, at most times unable to walk or speak, needed a regent more than most child kings, and was carried as an infant in an adult's arms until he was 10. In 1668, a voyage led by Jesuit
missionary
San Vitores named the Mariana Islands
in the North Pacific after the queen regent. Also that year, Spain entered the War of Devolution
; it lost most of its land in the Spanish Netherlands to France
. Mariana served as his regent for much of his life. She suffered greatly upon receiving the news of the death of her daughter, the Holy Roman Empress, Margaret Theresa, in Vienna in 1673. In 1675, her son Charles reached the age he need to be to rule, however, Mariana continued to rule most of the time due to her son's illnesses. In 1677, Mariana was driven from Madrid by John of Austria the Younger
, an illegitimate son of Philip IV. The palace coup was due to widespread dissatisfaction at court with her support for her new advisor Fernando de Valenzuela. She went to live in Toledo
, but returned to Madrid upon John's death in 1679.
married the French princess Marie Louise d'Orléans. Although he was madly in love with her, their marriage remained childless. Ten years later, in 1689, Marie Louise died under mysterious circumstances. At the time, there were rumours saying that she had been poisoned by the notorious intrigante Olympia Mancini, Countess of Soissons, at the behest of Mariana, the dowager queen, because Marie Louise had not given birth to any children. This is questionable since Mariana and Marie Louise were close and the dowager queen was also devastated at the young Marie Louise's death. It seems likely that the real cause of her death was appendicitis.
Charles married again, this time a German princess: Maria Anna of Neuburg. However, this second marriage was also childless. His new wife was in very bad terms with the Queen Mother, Mariana, who wanted her great-grandson, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, to become the next King of Spain. This led to frequent arguments with her second-daughter-in-law, Maria Anna of Neuburg, who wanted her nephew, Archduke Charles of Austria
, to become the next King of Spain
. After many unpleasant arguments, the Queen Mother stated: "Two suns cannot live in the same sky". Once during an argument between the two royal ladies, the Queen Mother told her: "Learn to live, lady, and know once and for all that people far higher than you have humbled themselves before me, people over whom you have only one advantage, that you are the wife of my son, an honour which you owe to me alone." The hysterical Maria Anna replied: "That is why I hate you so much!"
As her great-grandson, Joseph Ferdinand, died childless, Mariana has no descendants today.
in Madrid, Spain, at the moment when a total eclipse of the moon reached its maximum and the Spanish capital was completely covered in darkness. Soon after her funeral, some miracles begun to be reported. When her coffin was taken out so the crowds could say farewell, a white dove was seen flying around it and finally disappeared into the heavens. Everyone thought it was an omen. A nun who had attended the Queen Mother at the palace begged a garment for remembrance; she slept in it and next morning awoke cured of a life-long paralysis. The British ambassador in Madrid
, Lord Alexander Stanhope, wrote about this subject:
The infamous Countess of Berlips, a German lady living at the Spanish court, wrote the following lines on the subject:
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as the second wife of King Philip IV
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
, who was also her maternal uncle. At the death of her husband in 1665, Mariana became Queen regent, and she remained an influential figure during the reign of her son Charles II
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
, the last Spanish Habsburg.
Early life
Born as Maria Anna on 22 December 1634 in Wiener NeustadtWiener Neustadt
-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, she was the granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
. Her parents were King Ferdinand III of Hungary
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand III was Holy Roman Emperor from 15 February 1637 until his death, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria.-Life:...
and Maria Anna of Spain, the sister of Mariana's future husband, King Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
. Her father, who would become Emperor in 1637, was as yet only King of Hungary
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
and Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, and was away for most of his wife's pregnancy campaigning in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
Maria Anna, was the second of six children, three of which died in early childhood. Her oldest brother, Ferdinand IV of Hungary
Ferdinand IV of Hungary
Ferdinand IV was King of the Romans, King of Hungary, and King of Bohemia.He was born in Vienna, the eldest son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Maria Ana of Spain...
died young. Only Maria Anna and her younger brother, the future Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, lived to reach old age.
Marriage
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
was left without a male heir and Maria Anna without a fiancé. Philip was widower, as his beautiful and beloved French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
wife, Elisabeth of France, had just died a few years prior. Philip decided to marry his 14 year old niece himself. After a marriage by proxy, they were wedded on 7 October 1649 in Navalcarnero
Navalcarnero
Navalcarnero is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located about 31 km from Madrid.Sights include the church of Inmaculada Concepción.-History:...
, near Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, and spent their wedding night at El Escorial
El Escorial
The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and...
. From then on, she went by her name in Spanish, Mariana. Although known for being cheerful as a young girl, after her wedding to her uncle she became cold and bad-tempered.
Mariana and Philip's marriage produced five children, however, only two lived into adulthood. Their first child was Margaret Theresa, who was born on 12 July 1651; just as her mother did, she went on to marry her maternal uncle Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
. In 1655, Mariana then had another daughter, Maria Ambrosia de la Concepción; she only lived fifteen days. During this time, there were those at court who wanted Philip to officially name his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
, as his heir, as she was already heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
according to Spanish tradition. Mariana began feeling the pressure to have a son. Eventually, her first son, Philip Prospero, was born on 28 November 1657, who was joyously received. She then gave birth to the Infante Ferdinand Thomas in 1658, but he died a year later in 1659.
Sadly, her son Philip Prospero died in 1661. But that same year, Mariana gave birth to her last child, a son; he was named Charles
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
and was born on 6 November.
Charles was born physically and mentally disabled, and disfigured. Possibly through affliction with mandibular prognathism, he was unable to chew. His tongue was so large that his speech could barely be understood, and he frequently drooled. It has been suggested that he suffered from the endocrine disease acromegaly
Acromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty...
, or his inbred lineage may have led to a combination of rare genetic disorders such as combined pituitary hormone deficiency
PROP1
Homeobox protein prophet of Pit-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PROP1 gene.- External links :*...
and distal renal tubular acidosis
Renal tubular acidosis
Renal tubular acidosis is a medical condition that involves an accumulation of acid in the body due to a failure of the kidneys to appropriately acidify the urine. When blood is filtered by the kidney, the filtrate passes through the tubules of the nephron, allowing for exchange of salts, acid...
.
Consequently, Charles II is known in Spanish history as El Hechizado ("The Hexed") from the popular belief – to which Charles himself subscribed – that his physical and mental disabilities were caused by "sorcery." The king went so far as to be exorcised.
Mariana by Velázquez
Spain's most famous painter at the time, Diego VelázquezDiego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
, stayed in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
from 1649 to 1650. Philip IV wanted his favourite court painter, now enjoying such a triumph in Rome, to paint his second wife, Mariana, and to give his advice on the renovation of the old royal palace in Madrid, the Alcázar
Royal Alcazar of Madrid
The Royal Alcázar of Madrid was a Muslim fortress built in the second half of the 9th century, at the site of today's Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The structure was extended and enlarged over the centuries, particularly after the 16th century...
. Consequently, he wished Velázquez to come back to court as soon as possible, but nonetheless the artist delayed his return for another whole year.
The official portrait of Mariana, commissioned by the king, is the most famous one of her, and today it hangs in the Prado Museum, in Madrid. The painting was copied, and one of the copies hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
in Vienna. The original portrait was not completed until 1652. Mariana was just nineteen at the time that it was painted. It shows her full length, wearing a black dress with silver braid, and of course adorned with much valuable jewellery: gold necklaces and bracelets, and a large gold brooch on her close-fitting bodice. Her right hand rests on the back of a chair, and she holds a delicate lace scarf in her left hand. The picture is bathed in harmonious shades of black and red, although the dramatically drawn curtain has been painted over by another hand.
The composition turns on the focal point of the queen's alabaster skin and rouged face, small and almost doll-like under her hair, which is dressed very wide. Her bust, tightly encased in the bodice, her stiff farthingale
Farthingale
Farthingale is a term applied to any of several structures used under Western European women's clothing in the late 15th and 16th centuries to support the skirts into the desired shape. It originated in Spain.- Spanish farthingale :...
and all her fashionable magnificence are rendered true to life by Velázquez, and at the same time he reveals them as a theatrical show concealing the girl's natural physical nature beneath the armour of courtly constraint.
Regency
When Philip IVPhilip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
died on 17 September 1665, their only surviving son, Charles
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
, was only 3 years old, and Mariana served as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
, relying on her confessor, Juan Everardo Nithard
Juan Everardo Nithard
Juan Everardo Nithard was an Austrian priest of the Society of Jesus, confessor of Mariana of Austria and valido of Spain....
, for support until his dismissal in 1669. Charles
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
, at most times unable to walk or speak, needed a regent more than most child kings, and was carried as an infant in an adult's arms until he was 10. In 1668, a voyage led by Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
San Vitores named the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
in the North Pacific after the queen regent. Also that year, Spain entered the War of Devolution
War of Devolution
The War of Devolution saw Louis XIV's French armies overrun the Habsburg-controlled Spanish Netherlands and the Franche-Comté, but forced to give most of it back by a Triple Alliance of England, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.-Background:Louis's claims to the...
; it lost most of its land in the Spanish Netherlands to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Mariana served as his regent for much of his life. She suffered greatly upon receiving the news of the death of her daughter, the Holy Roman Empress, Margaret Theresa, in Vienna in 1673. In 1675, her son Charles reached the age he need to be to rule, however, Mariana continued to rule most of the time due to her son's illnesses. In 1677, Mariana was driven from Madrid by John of Austria the Younger
John of Austria the Younger
John of Austria was a Spanish general and political figure. He was the only natural son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged by the King and trained for military command and political administration...
, an illegitimate son of Philip IV. The palace coup was due to widespread dissatisfaction at court with her support for her new advisor Fernando de Valenzuela. She went to live in Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, but returned to Madrid upon John's death in 1679.
Later life
That same year, her son Charles IICharles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
married the French princess Marie Louise d'Orléans. Although he was madly in love with her, their marriage remained childless. Ten years later, in 1689, Marie Louise died under mysterious circumstances. At the time, there were rumours saying that she had been poisoned by the notorious intrigante Olympia Mancini, Countess of Soissons, at the behest of Mariana, the dowager queen, because Marie Louise had not given birth to any children. This is questionable since Mariana and Marie Louise were close and the dowager queen was also devastated at the young Marie Louise's death. It seems likely that the real cause of her death was appendicitis.
Charles married again, this time a German princess: Maria Anna of Neuburg. However, this second marriage was also childless. His new wife was in very bad terms with the Queen Mother, Mariana, who wanted her great-grandson, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, to become the next King of Spain. This led to frequent arguments with her second-daughter-in-law, Maria Anna of Neuburg, who wanted her nephew, Archduke Charles of Austria
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
, to become the next King of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. After many unpleasant arguments, the Queen Mother stated: "Two suns cannot live in the same sky". Once during an argument between the two royal ladies, the Queen Mother told her: "Learn to live, lady, and know once and for all that people far higher than you have humbled themselves before me, people over whom you have only one advantage, that you are the wife of my son, an honour which you owe to me alone." The hysterical Maria Anna replied: "That is why I hate you so much!"
As her great-grandson, Joseph Ferdinand, died childless, Mariana has no descendants today.
Death
Mariana died of breast cancer on the night of 16 May 1696 at the Uceda PalacePalace of the Councils, Madrid
The Palace of the Councils or Palace of the Duke of Uceda The Palace of the Councils or Palace of the Duke of Uceda The Palace of the Councils or Palace of the Duke of Uceda (in Spanish, Palacio de los Consejos or Palacio del duque de Uceda is a building from the 17th century located in central...
in Madrid, Spain, at the moment when a total eclipse of the moon reached its maximum and the Spanish capital was completely covered in darkness. Soon after her funeral, some miracles begun to be reported. When her coffin was taken out so the crowds could say farewell, a white dove was seen flying around it and finally disappeared into the heavens. Everyone thought it was an omen. A nun who had attended the Queen Mother at the palace begged a garment for remembrance; she slept in it and next morning awoke cured of a life-long paralysis. The British ambassador in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Lord Alexander Stanhope, wrote about this subject:
The infamous Countess of Berlips, a German lady living at the Spanish court, wrote the following lines on the subject:
Issue
- Margaret TheresaMargaret Theresa of SpainMargaret Theresa of Spain was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess consort of Austria, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia. She was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Mariana of Austria...
(1651–1673) married Leopold I, Holy Roman EmperorLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
. - Maria Ambrosia (1655)
- Philip Prospero, Prince of AsturiasPhilip Prospero, Prince of AsturiasPhilip Prospero of Spain, Prince of Asturias was the first male child of the marriage between Philip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria to survive infancy...
(1657–1661). - Ferdinand Thomas (1658–1659)
- Charles II of SpainCharles II of SpainCharles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
(1661–1700) married Marie Louise of Orléans and Maria Anna of Neuburg.
Ancestors
External links
- http://www.xs4all.nl/~kvenjb/madmonarchs/carlos2/carlos2_bio.htm A biography of Charles II of Spain in Joan's Mad Monarchs Series