Felipe IV, King of Spain, Filipe III, King of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Felipe IV, King of Spain, Filipe III, King of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Besides being King of Spain, Felipe was also King of Portugal (from 1621 to 1640) and King of Sardinia, King of Naples, King of Sicily, Duke of Milan, Duke of Lothier, Duke of Brabant, Duke of Limburg, Duke of Luxemburg, Count Palatine of Burgundy, Count of Flanders, Count of Hainaut and Count of Namur from 1621 until his death in 1665.

Felipe Domingo Víctor de la Cruz was born on April 8, 1605, at the Royal Palace of Valladolid in Valladolid, Spain. He was the eldest of the four sons and third but the second surviving of the eight children of Felipe III, King of Spain and Margaret of Austria. His paternal grandparents were Felipe II, King of Spain and his fourth wife and niece Anna of Austria. Felipe IV’s maternal grandparents were Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. As the heir to the Spanish throne, Felipe was titled Prince of Asturias.

The House of Habsburg was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and they wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Of the eleven marriages of Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, nearly all contained some element of consanguinity, marriages between very closely related people. Felipe IV’s parents, King Felipe III and Margaret of Austria, both children of parents who were an uncle and his niece, were first cousins once removed and second cousins, adding to more inbreeding.

Felipe with his elder sister Ana María Mauricia: Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe IV had seven siblings but only four survived childhood. His elder sister Ana María Mauricia, better known as Queen Anne of France, married King Louis XIII of France. They were the parents of King Louis XIV of France. When Felipe IV was ten years old, his mother died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child.

Felipe IV’s siblings:

An assassination caused an early marriage for Felipe IV. On May 14, 1610, King Henri IV of France was assassinated by a Catholic zealot François Ravaillac, and his nine-year-old son ascended the French throne as King Louis XIII. The widowed Queen, Marie de’ Medici, was appointed Regent for her son. During this period, there were struggles in France between the Catholics and the Protestants (French Huguenots). The new Regent, Marie de’ Medici promoted a strong alliance with the Spanish monarchy and favored Catholicism over Protestantism. To strengthen this bond, she arranged the marriages of her son King Louis XIII to Felipe IV’s elder sister Ana María Mauricia and her eldest daughter Elisabeth of France to the future King Felipe IV of Spain.

Felipe IV’s first wife Elisabeth of France; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 13, 1615, at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France, both young couples were married by proxy and soon, Elisabeth and her brother Louis XIII left Paris to meet their respective spouses. On Pheasant Island in the Bidassoa River that divides France and Spain, the two couples first met and the brides were exchanged. On November 25, 1615, at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Burgos, Spain, 13-year-old Elisabeth married 10-year-old Felipe in a religious ceremony.

Because of the couple’s young age, the marriage was not consummated. The situation changed when Elisabeth’s father-in-law King Felipe III became ill, the marriage was consummated, and Elisabeth quickly became pregnant. King Felipe III died on March 31, 1621, and was succeeded by his 16-year-old son as King Felipe IV of Spain and King Filip III of Portugal

Felipe IV and Elisabeth’s only child to survive to adulthood, Maria Theresa, at age 14; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe and Elisabeth had eight children but only their youngest child survived to adulthood. Besides having so many children die young, Elisabeth had three miscarriages. It is very probable that her husband transmitted a venereal disease he had contracted with one of his mistresses to Elisabeth. This may explain the miscarriages and the many dead infants.

  • Maria Margarita of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1621)
  • Margarita Maria Catalina of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1623)
  • Maria Eugenia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1625 – 1627)
  • Isabella Maria of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1627)
  • Balthasar Carlos of Austria, Infante of Spain, Prince of Asturias (1629 – 1646), died at age 16 from smallpox
  • Francisco Fernando of Austria, Infante of Spain (born and died 1634)
  • Maria Ana Antonia of Austria, Infanta of Spain (born and died 1636)
  • Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1638 – 1683), married King Louis XIV of France, had six children but only one son survived childhood

Elisabeth was aware of Felipe IV’s mistresses. There were rumors about her relationship with the diplomat Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana who was her gentleman-in-waiting. Throughout her marriage, Elisabeth suffered in silence over the deaths of her children and her miscarriages. The fact that Felipe IV’s mistresses gave him children – it has been estimated that Felipe IV was the father of at least thirty illegitimate children – made Elisabeth feel even worse. Her feelings are evident in the letters she sent to her brother King Louis XIII and sister-in-law Queen Anne of France. Weakened by her multiple pregnancies and miscarriages, Elisabeth died at the Royal Alcázar in Madrid, Spain on October 6, 1644, at the age of forty-one, after miscarrying a son. She was buried in the Pantheon of the Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Mariana of Austria, Felipe IV’s niece and second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1646, continuing the Habsburg practice of intermarriage, Felipe IV arranged a marriage for his son and heir Balthasar Carlos, Prince of Asturias with his first cousin Mariana of Austria, the daughter of King Felipe IV’s sister Maria Anna and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III. However, Balthasar Carlos died three months later from smallpox, leaving his father no male heir. Three years later, on October 7, 1649, 44-year-old Felipe IV married his son’s former fiancée, his 14-year-old niece Mariana of Austria, adding to more inbreeding.

Felipe IV and Mariana had five children but only two survived childhood:

Felipe IV and Mariana’s son King Carlos II of Spain had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw); Credit – Wikipedia

The Spanish House of Habsburg would end with the reign of Felipe IV and Mariana’s physically and mentally disabled son Carlos II, King of Spain. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two different ancestors, Carlos II had only ten different ancestors in the fifth generation. Seven of his eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. See the family tree of the ancestors of Felipe IV’s parents, Felipe III and his wife, at Wikipedia: Family Tree of Felipe III of Spain.

Carlos II’s Habsburg jaw (mandibular prognathism), a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw, was so severe that he swallowed his food without thoroughly chewing. He did not learn to walk until he was eight and never was educated as befitted the heir to the throne. Carlos II died at the age of thirty-eight. Neither of his two marriages produced children, and so Carlos was succeeded by 16-year-old Philip of Anjou, the  French grandson of his elder half-sister Maria Theresa of Austria and King Louis XIV of France who reigned as Felipe V, King of Spain, the first Spanish king of the House of Bourbon which is still the reigning house of Spain.

Felipe IV painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe IV, King of Spain is best remembered for his patronage of the arts, including supporting such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history. In 1640, Felipe IV lost the Kingdom of Portugal which the King of Spain had held since 1580. The Portuguese House of Braganza came to power in Portugal after deposing the Spanish Habsburg dynasty in the Portuguese Restoration War, resulting in João, 8th Duke of Braganza becoming King João IV of Portugal. During the reign of Felipe IV, the Spanish Empire reached approximately 4.7 million square miles/12.2 million square kilometers in area. However, in other aspects, the Spanish Empire was in decline, and Felipe IV’s inability to achieve successful domestic and military reform was part of the reason.

In early September 1665, Felipe IV began to feel unwell. His stools were bloody which meant he may have had dysentery. After great suffering, Felipe IV, King of Spain, aged 60, died on September 17, 1665, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, located at the site of today’s Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain. He was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Tomb of Felipe IV, King of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Felipe IV’s second wife Mariana of Austria was appointed Regent for their three-year-old son Carlos II, King of Spain. Due to Carlos’ physical and mental issues, Mariana remained an influential figure during his reign, until her death. She survived her husband by thirty-one years, dying on May 16, 1696, at Uceda Palace in Madrid, Spain, at the age of sixty-one.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

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Joan of Acre, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Joan of Acre; Credit – Wikipedia

Joan of Acre (also called Joanna) was born in April 1272, in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem, now in Israel, while her parents were on the 9th Crusade or Lord Edward’s Crusade in the Holy Land. She was the fifth but the second surviving daughter and the seventh but the second surviving of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Joan’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Joan listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Joan was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on a crusade, and was called Joan of Acre.

Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Joan’s parents King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile; Credit – Wikipedia

When Joan was born, her paternal grandfather King Henry III was still alive. In September 1272, Edward, Eleanor, and their five-month-old daughter Joan left Acre. Arriving in Sicily, Edward received the news that his father had died on November 16, 1272, and that he was King of England. Joan was left in the County of Ponthieu (now in France) to be raised by Eleanor’s mother Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right. In 1279, Joan was sent to England after the death of her grandmother who had treated Joan so indulgently that her parents found that she was completely spoiled.

When Joan arrived in England, her father King Edward I was already planning her marriage to Hartmann of Habsburg, a son of Rudolf I, King of Germany. Through the marriage, Edward and Rudolf wanted to resume the traditional alliance of their two kingdoms against the Kingdom of France. However, the marriage of Joan and Hartmann never took place. Hartmann drowned when his ship crashed into a rock while sailing on the Rhine River in 1281.

Gilbert de Clare, stained glass window at Tewkesbury Abbey; Credit – Wikipedia

King Edward I arranged another marriage for Joan with Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, and probably the most powerful English baron. Gilbert was twenty-nine years older than Joan and had been previously married to Alice de Lusignan, the half-niece of King Henry III, but the marriage was annulled in 1285, although the couple had lived apart for years. Gilbert had supported King Edward I in the Second Barons War and had been the Regent of England between the death of King Henry III and King Edward I’s return from the Holy Land. Because Gilbert was a powerful baron, King Edward I sought to bind Gilbert and his assets to the Crown. According to the marriage contract, their joint possessions and Gilbert’s extensive lands could only be inherited by a direct descendant. If the marriage was childless, the lands would pass to any children Joan may have from another marriage. On April 30, 1290, 18-year-old Joan of Acre married 47-year-old Gilbert de Clare.

Joan and Gilbert had four children:

Joan’s stepmother, Margaret of France, Queen of England, a statue at Lincoln Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

When Joan’s mother Eleanor of Castile died in 1290, only six of her children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and only six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of  King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Joan had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

Memorial to Gilbert de Clare in Tewkesbury Abbey; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Joan and Gilbert lived mostly away from the royal court which displeased Joan’s father King Edward I. The couple’s marriage lasted only five years. Gilbert died on December 7, 1295, aged 52, at Monmouth Castle in Wales and was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire, England. After the death of Gilbert, the de Clare lands came to Joan who took the vassal oath to her father for the lands.

Joan was only twenty-three when Gilbert died and she fell in love with Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in the service of the de Clare family. After Joan persuaded her father to knight Ralph, they secretly married in 1297. King Edward I had arranged a third marriage for Joan to Amadeus V, Count of Savoy, and had even set a wedding date. After Joan confessed to her father that she was secretly married, King Edward I had Ralph arrested and imprisoned at Bristol Castle. Because of the intervention of Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, King Edward I relented and released Ralph from prison. On August 2, 1297, Ralph took the vassal oath to King Edward I as Earl of Gloucester and Earl Hertford by right of wife (jure uxoris). He managed to win the favor of his father-in-law and keep it until the end of King Edward I’s reign.

Joan and Ralph had four children:

Ralph took an active part in King Edward I’s Scottish Wars. He fought at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298 when the English defeated William Wallace and also took part in the campaigns of 1301, 1303, 1304, and 1306. For his service, King Edward I awarded Ralph with the Scottish title of Earl of Atholl, confiscated from John Strathbogie, 9th Earl of Atholl.

Joan of Acre’s burial site; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Joan died on April 23, 1307, at Clare Castle in Clare, Suffolk, England at the age of 35. She was buried at Clare Priory in Clare, Suffolk, England, established in 1248 by Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, the father of Joan’s first husband. The cause of Joan’s death is unknown, but possibly she died during childbirth, a common cause of death at the time.

Joan’s widower Ralph de Monthermer married for a second time to Isabella le Despenser, daughter of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester and Isabella de Beauchamp. This was another secret marriage, made without the permission of King Edward II, Joan’s brother, but a year later Edward II forgave his former brother-in-law. Ralph and his second wife had no children. Ralph de Monthermer survived his first wife Joan by eighteen years, dying on April 5, 1325, at the age of fifty-five.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Archduchess Margaret of Austria was the wife of Felipe III, King of Spain who was also Filipe I, King of Portugal. Born on December 25, 1584, in Graz, Duchy of Styria, now in Austria, Margaret was the eleventh of the fifteen children and the seventh of the nine daughters of Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Margaret’s maternal grandparents were Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Austria.

Margaret had fourteen siblings:

Margaret and Felipe III’s grandson, King Carlos II of Spain, had a severe type of mandibular prognathism (Habsburg jaw); Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret and her sisters were not considered beauties. The Habsburg jaw, (mandibular prognathism) a disfiguring genetic disorder in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw, was evident in all the sisters.

In 1596, Francisco de Mendoza, Admiral of Aragon, a Spanish nobleman, arrived at the court in Graz to obtain portraits of three daughters of Karl II, Archduke of Austria-Styria: Gregoria, Eleanor, and Margaret, who were potential brides for Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the son and heir of Felipe II, King of Spain. Felipe, Prince of Asturias preferred the portrait of Margaret but his father chose Gregoria because she was the oldest of the three sisters.

Preparations began for the wedding celebrations, which were going to be held in Milan, the capital of the Duchy of Milan, under the rule of the House of Habsburg. On September 17, 1597, Felipe, Prince of Asturias arrived at the court of his future father-in-law in Graz. At this time, sixteen-year-old Gregoria, Felipe’s intended bride, was seriously ill. In addition to the Habsburg jaw, Gregoria had several serious physical disabilities. She died three days after Felipe’s arrival. After the death of her sister, Margaret became betrothed to Felipe. However, because of her young age, the wedding was delayed.

Felipe III, King of Spain in 1600; Credit – Wikipedia

In the meantime, Felipe II, King of Spain died on September 13, 1598, and his twenty-year-old son succeeded him as Felipe III, King of Spain. Besides being King of Spain, Felipe III was also King of Portugal, King of Sardinia, King of Naples, King of Sicily, and Duke of Milan. On April 18, 1599, at Valencia Cathedral in Valencia, Spain, 21-year-old Felipe III married 14-year-old Margaret of Austria. Felipe and Margaret, both children of parents who were an uncle and his niece, were first cousins once removed and also second cousins, adding to more inbreeding in the House of Habsburg.

Margaret and Felipe III’s two eldest surviving children, the future King Felipe IV and the future Queen Anne of France, wife of King Louis XIII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret and Felipe III had eight children, including King Felipe III’s successor King Felipe IV and Ana María Mauricia (better known as Queen Anne of France) who married King Louis XIII of France. They were the parents of King Louis XIV of France.

Like many women of the House of Habsburg, Queen Margaret was a skilled politician. Queen Margaret, Maria of Austria (Felipe’s maternal grandmother and paternal aunt, and the widow of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II), and Maria’s daughter Archduchess Margaret of Austria, a Poor Clare nun, were a powerful Catholic and pro-Austrian faction in the court of King Felipe III.

Tomb of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal; Credit – www.findagrave.com

On October 3, 1611, at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain, Margaret died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child Alonso who lived for only one year. Margaret was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Felipe III never remarried. He survived his wife by ten years, dying in Madrid, Spain on March 31, 1621, two weeks before his forty-third birthday, due to erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection. He was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

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Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar; Credit- Wikipedia

Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar was born on June 18, 1269, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, Berkshire, England. She was the third but the eldest surviving daughter and the fifth but the eldest surviving of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Eleanor’s parents King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile; Credit – Wikipedia

Eleanor’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Eleanor below were named and the ones who died in infancy survived for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Edward I’s daughter Joan of Acre was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on a crusade.

When Eleanor’s mother died in 1290, only six of her children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and only six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Eleanor had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

In 1270, due to the departure of her parents for the Ninth Crusade, Eleanor, her brother Henry, and her first cousin John of Brittany (the son of Eleanor’s paternal aunt Beatrice) were cared for at Windsor Castle by their grandmother Eleanor of Provence. During the absence of her parents, Eleanor’s grandfather King Henry III of England died on November 16, 1272, and her father succeeded to the English throne as King Edward I. Eleanor remained very close to her brother Henry until his premature death in October 1274. Because Eleanor’s parents had left England when she was only a year old, she was much closer to her grandmother Eleanor of Provence. Eleanor did not see her parents again until their return from the crusade in August 1274.

In 1273, when Eleanor was only four years old, her father King Edward I betrothed her to the future Alfonso III, King of Aragon who was eight years old, hoping to form an anti-France alliance. In 1281, Alfonso’s father King Pedro III of Aragon asked King Edward I to send him Eleanor so that she could be raised in Aragon but Edward wanted to wait another year before sending his daughter to Aragon. However, in 1282, a war broke out between Aragon and Naples over Sicily, and King Philippe III of France and Pope Martin IV were on the side of Naples. King Edward I decided it would be a bad foreign policy move to send his daughter to Aragon at that time. In 1285, Alfonso became King of Aragon, and five years later, when King Edward I felt that it was an opportune time, Eleanor and Alfonso III, King of Aragon were married by proxy at Westminster Abbey on August 15, 1290. However, the marriage was never consummated. On June 18, 1291, before Eleanor left for her in-person wedding in Aragon, Alfonso died from an infection.

Henri II, Count of Bar; Credit – Wikipedia

Deprived of the alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon, Edward I immediately began a search for a new groom for his eldest daughter. He chose Henri III, Count of Bar. Henri was ten years older than Eleanor and the son of Thiébaut II, Count of Bar and Jeanne de Toucy. The Duchy of Bar was a sovereign state located in what is now northeast France. An alliance with Henri against King Philippe IV of France could provide a significant military advantage. On September 20, 1293, in Bristol, England, Eleanor married Henri III, Count of Bar.

Eleanor and Henri III, Count of Bar had one son and one daughter:

The South Ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, to the right of the main altar, where Eleanor is buried

Eleanor and Henri’s marriage lasted a little less than five years. On August 29, 1298, 29-year-old Eleanor died in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, of unknown causes. Possibly, she died in childbirth (along with the baby), which at the end of the 13th century was a frequent cause of the premature death of women. Her father King Edward I had Eleanor’s remains returned to England, where she was buried on October 12, 1289, in Westminster Abbey in London, England in the south ambulatory between the Chapel of Edward the Confessor and the Chapel of St. Benedict.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

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  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Henri III de Bar — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_III_de_Bar> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
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Felipe III, King of Spain, Filipe II, King of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Felipe III, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Besides being King of Spain, Felipe was also King of Portugal (1578 – 1621), King of Sardinia (1598 – 1621), King of Naples (1598 – 1621), King of Sicily (1598–1621), and Duke of Milan (1598–1621).

Felipe III, King of Spain was born on April 14, 1578, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid in Madrid, Spain. Felipe was the fourth of the five children and the fourth of the four sons of Felipe II, King of Spain and his fourth wife and niece Anna of Austria. Felipe III’s paternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor/Carlos I, King of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. His maternal grandparents were Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria of Austria.


Felipe III’s parents: Felipe II, King of Spain and Anna of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

The Spanish House of Habsburg was notorious for its inbreeding. The Habsburgs had built their empire by marriage and wanted to keep the land they amassed all in the family, so they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. Of the eleven marriages of Spanish monarchs between 1450 and 1661, nearly all contained some element of consanguinity, marriages between very closely related people. Felipe III’s father Felipe II was the child of first cousins. Felipe III’s mother was also the child of first cousins and the niece of her husband. Felipe III married his first cousin once removed who was also his second cousin. Felipe III’s son and successor Felipe IV married his niece. The Spanish House of Habsburg would end with the reign of Felipe IV’s physically and mentally disabled son Carlos II, King of Spain. While a person in the fifth generation normally has thirty-two ancestors, Carlos II had only ten ancestors in the fifth generation. Seven of his eight great-grandparents were descended from Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and her husband Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy. See the family tree of the ancestors of Felipe III and his wife at Wikipedia: Family Tree of Felipe III of Spain.

Felipe III had four siblings who all died in childhood:

Felipe III’s half-brother Carlos, Prince of Asturias; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe had one half-brother from his father’s first marriage to Maria Manuela of Portugal who died ten years before Felipe’s birth:

  • Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545 – 1568), died unmarried, Carlos was mentally unstable and was imprisoned in his rooms by his father Felipe II in early 1568 after participating in a plot to murder Felipe II


Felipe III’s half sisters Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe had two half-sisters from his father’s third marriage to Elisabeth of Valois:

When Felipe III was two years old, his mother Anna died from influenza at the age of 30, on October 26, 1580, eight months after giving birth to her youngest child. Felipe II never remarried.

Felipe III’s elder half-brother Carlos, Prince of Asturias, who died ten years before Felipe III’s birth, had poor health, was deformed, and was mentally disabled. Many of his physical and mental disabilities may have stemmed from the inbreeding common in the House of Habsburg. However, his father Felipe II, unaware of the results that inbreeding could cause, believed that Carlos’ upbringing had been severely compromised, leading to his problems. Felipe II carefully appointed the people who would raise and educate Felipe III with the goal of providing a consistent, stable upbringing to ensure that he did not meet the same fate as Carlos. Restrictions were placed on Felipe III at an early age to shape his personality so that he would become a king who would be neither tyrannical nor under the strong influence of his courtiers. The goal of Felipe III’s upbringing seems to have been mostly successful. He was not particularly intelligent or academically gifted but he was pleasant, pious, and had a respectful demeanor.

In 1578, King Sebastian of Portugal from the House of Aviz was killed in battle without any heirs, causing a succession crisis. He was succeeded by his elderly great-uncle Henrique, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and had no descendants because he had taken a vow of chastity as a priest. When Cardinal-King Enrique died two years later, three grandchildren of Manuel I, King of Portugal (1469 – 1521) claimed the Portuguese throne. Ultimately, the grandchild who was successful in his claim was Felipe III’s father Felipe II, King of Spain. The Iberian Union was the union of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal that existed between 1580 and 1640, under the Spanish Habsburg kings Felipe II, Felipe III, and Felipe IV who reigned in Portugal under the names Filipe I, Filipe II, and Filipe III.

Felipe II, King of Spain on his deathbed, blessing his son, the soon-to-be Felipe III, King of Spain in the presence of the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia by Francisco Jover Casanova; Credit – Wikipedia

In the 1590s, the health of Felipe II, King of Spain worsened. Gout was causing him severe pain, making him nearly immobile, and a special wheelchair was made for him. He also suffered from recurring episodes of malaria. During the last three months of his life, Felipe II was bedridden and in great agony. He died at the age of 71 on September 13, 1598, and his twenty-year-old son succeeded him as Felipe III, King of Spain. Besides being King of Spain, Felipe III was also King of Portugal, King of Sardinia, King of Naples, King of Sicily, and Duke of Milan.

Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 18, 1599, at Valencia Cathedral in Valencia, Spain, 21-year-old Felipe III married 14-year-old Archduchess Margaret of Austria, daughter of Karl II, Archduke of Inner Austria and his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. Felipe and Margaret, both children of parents who were an uncle and his niece, were both first cousins once removed and second cousins, adding to more inbreeding.

Felipe III’s son and successor the future Felipe IV, King of Spain with his sister Anne who married Louis XIV, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe III and Margaret had eight children:

On October 3, 1611, at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain, Felipe III’s wife Margaret died at the age of twenty-six from childbirth complications eleven days after giving birth to her eighth child. Margaret was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Felipe never remarried.

Although a goal of Felipe III’s upbringing had been to prevent the strong influence of his courtiers, his reign was marred by his association with Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma. While in his teens, Felipe met Lerma, who was twenty-six years older and served as a gentleman of the bedchamber to Felipe II. Within hours of becoming King of Spain, Felipe III entrusted all authority to Lerma who amassed unprecedented power and wealth. Felipe’s dependence on his corrupt chief minister, the Duke of Lerma, drew much criticism at the time and afterward. In 1618, Lerma was deposed by a palace intrigue.

The reign of Felipe was marked by significant economic problems throughout Spain. In the 1590s, Spain was hit by famine due to a series of poor harvests. There was an outbreak of bubonic plague starting in 1599 and continuing for several years that killed more than 10% of the population. However, part of the Spanish Golden Age (1492 – 1659), a period of flourishing in the arts and literature, occurred during the reign of Felipe III. The Pax Hispanica, was a period of twenty-three years from 1598 to 1621, when Spain disengaged from the European wars of religion, and peace treaties were signed with the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of England, and the Dutch United Province.

The Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial; Credit – Wikipedia

Felipe III, King of Spain, survived his wife by ten years, dying in Madrid, Spain on March 31, 1621, two weeks before his forty-third birthday, due to erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection. He was interred in the Pantheon of Kings at the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Tomb of Felipe III, King of Spain; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

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Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Helena of Nassau was the first wife of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Helena Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne was born on August 18, 1831, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse. She was the eldest of the three surviving children and the elder of the two surviving daughters of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Both Helena’s parents were descendants of King George II of Great Britain. Helena’s paternal grandparents were Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, and Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Helena had two surviving siblings:

Helena had eight half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen including Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg:

Georg Viktor and Helena; Credit – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/430445676888607858/

On September 26, 1853, in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in the German state of Hesse, Helena married Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the son of  Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Helena proved to be very successful in finding suitable marriages for their children by making contacts with various European royal houses. Because of her efforts, the relatively poor House of Waldeck-Pyrmont was linked to the richer ruling dynasties of Würtemberg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Georg Viktor and Helena are the ancestors of the Dutch royal family through their daughter Emma and the Swedish royal family through their daughter Helena.

Georg Viktor and Helena with their five elder daughters circa 1864; Credit – Wikipedia

Georg Viktor and Helena had six daughters and one son:

Helena focused on charitable work, chairing many charitable organizations, and involving her children in charitable work from a very young age. Her daughter Emma said of Helena, “Mother had a great talent for dealing with people, to do them justice. We daughters have tried to follow mother’s example, also in her social interest.”

Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Helena was in ill-health for the last decade of her life. She died on October 28, 1888, aged 57, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was buried at the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan (2021) Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-viktor-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
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  • William, Duke of Nassau (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William,_Duke_of_Nassau (Accessed: October 26, 2022).

Katherine of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

An image of Katherine in a 14th-century illuminated manuscript; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on November 25, 1253, at the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England, Katherine was the youngest of the five children and the third of the three daughters of Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. She was given the name Katherine because she was born on the feast day of Saint Katherine of Alexandria. Her paternal grandparents were King John of England and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême in her own right. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy were Katherine’s maternal grandparents.

King Henry III (on top) with his five children; Credit – Wikipedia

Katherine had four elder siblings:

On January 5, 1254, a large banquet was held to celebrate Katherine’s birth. Katherine was baptized by her mother’s maternal uncle Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury who was also her godfather. Within months of her birth, Katherine’s mother Eleanor of Provence had to leave England to join her husband King Henry III for a short while in the Duchy of Gascony, then a possession of the King of England, now in France. Katherine was left at Windsor Castle in the care of her governess Lady Emma le Despencer, the wife of Geoffrey le Despencer, Lord of Martley from one of the great noble families of England, and two wet nurses Agnes and Avisa. There was always a circle of trusted men and women to care for young Katherine when her parents could not be in her company.

The description by 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris that Katherine was “‘mute and useless
though with a most beautiful face” has often been interpreted that she had an intellectual disability or degenerative disease. However, it may indicate that Katherine merely had a stammer or some other speech impediment. There is much disagreement on what disease or disability Katherine may have had, or if she had one at all. Contemporary evidence suggests that the reaction of Katherine’s parents to her illnesses followed a similar reaction to the illnesses of her siblings and that Katherine was treated no differently than her siblings, suggesting that there were no serious or long-term health concerns.

The South Ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, to the right of the main altar, where Katherine is buried

Katherine did have some kind of illness during the spring of 1257, that resulted in her death on May 3, 1257, when she was three and a half years old. Her parents King Henry III and Queen Eleanor deeply mourned her death and were emotionally distraught. Katherine was buried in the south ambulatory between the Chapel of Edward the Confessor and the Chapel of St. Benedict, to the right of the main altar at Westminster Abbey in London, England. In 1042, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St. Peter’s Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church, the first Westminster Abbey. Construction of the second and present church began in 1245 by Katherine’s father King Henry III who selected the site for his burial.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Armstrong, Abigail Sophie, 2018. The Daughters of Henry III. Ph.D. dissertation. Canterbury Christ Church University.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Katherine of England – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_of_England> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Catherine d’Angleterre — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_d%27Angleterre> [Accessed 30 August 2022].
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  • Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna of Austria was the niece and the fourth of the four wives of Felipe II, King of Spain, King of Portugal. Born on November 2, 1549, in Cigales, Spain, Anna was the eldest of the six daughters and the eldest of the fifteen children of first cousins Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and Maria of Spain. Anna’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. Her maternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, among many other titles, and Isabella of Portugal.

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, his wife Maria of Spain with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst in the cradle; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna had fourteen younger siblings:

As the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Anna was considered a desirable royal wife. Her parents thought that a Spanish marriage would strengthen the relationships between the Austrian branch and the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. Talks began to arrange a marriage between Anna and her first cousin Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the only son of Felipe II, King of Spain and his deceased first wife and double first cousin Maria Manuela of Portugal. However, the marriage plans were scrapped when Carlos died in 1568 at the age of twenty-three.

Felipe II, King of Spain, circa 1568; Credit – Wikipedia

Later in 1568, Felipe II’s third wife Elisabeth of Valois died a few hours after giving birth to a premature daughter who also died. Felipe was a widower for a third time, with two young daughters who had lost their mother. He planned to remarry because he no longer had a male heir. Despite being his niece and twenty-two years younger than him, Felipe decided to marry Anna. The consanguinity or close genetic relationship between Felipe and his niece Anna caused Pope Pius V to have serious reservations but he eventually granted the necessary dispensation. The marriage contract was signed in Madrid on January 24, 1570, and a proxy wedding was held at Prague Castle on May 4, 1570.

In the autumn of 1570, Anna traveled from Austria to Spain accompanied by her brothers Albrecht and Wenceslaus. When Anna traveled through the English Channel, Queen Elizabeth I of England sent her admirals, Charles Howard and William Wynter, to offer support and safe passage. Anna arrived in Spain on October 3, 1570. Anna and Felipe were married in person on November 14, 1570, in the chapel of the Alcázar of Segovia. Anna’s new household was under the direction of Margarita de Cardona, who Anna knew well as she had previously been the lady-in-waiting of her mother Maria of Spain, Felipe II’s sister.

Anna and Felipe II’s only surviving child, the future Felipe III, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna and Felipe had five children but only one survived childhood:

Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela, Anna’s stepdaughters, the daughters of Felipe II and his third wife Elisabeth of Valois; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna was the stepmother of Felipe’s two daughters from his third marriage to Elisabeth of Valois who died in 1568:

Contemporary accounts show that Anna and Felipe’s marriage was happy and that Anna was Felipe’s most beloved wife. There are no records of Felipe having lovers during his marriage to Anna. Anna was a good stepmother to Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela. She also managed to ease some of the rather stiff atmosphere of the Spanish court.

In 1578, King Sebastian of Portugal from the House of Aviz was killed in battle without any heirs, causing a succession crisis. He was succeeded by his elderly great-uncle Henrique who was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and had no descendants because he had taken a vow of chastity as a priest. When Cardinal-King Enrique died two years later, three grandchildren of Manuel I, King of Portugal (1469 – 1521) claimed the Portuguese throne. Ultimately, the grandchild who was successful in his claim was Felipe II, King of Spain. The Iberian Union was the union of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal that existed between 1580 and 1640, under the Spanish Habsburg kings Felipe II, Felipe III, and Felipe IV who reigned in Portugal under the names and regnal numbers Filipe I, Filipe II, and Filipe III.

Tomb of Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain in the Pantheon of the Kings, Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial; Credit – www.findagrave.com

In 1580, Felipe’s court was in the Spanish city of Badajoz, close to the border with Portugal, because of Felipe’s claim to the Portuguese throne. While in Badajoz, Anna died from influenza at the age of 30, on October 26, 1580, eight months after giving birth to her youngest child Maria. Initially, Anna was buried in the Royal Monastery of Santa Ana in Badajoz. Several years later, Anna’s remains were transferred to the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain. Anna’s entrails were allowed to remain buried in the floor of the choir at the Royal Monastery of Santa Ana in Badajoz, and they remain buried there today.

The Pantheon of Kings where Anna and Felipe II are interred; Credit – By Bocachete – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6493547

Felipe never remarried. He survived Anna by eighteen years, dying after a long illness, at the age of 71 on September 13, 1598, in his chambers at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. He was buried in the Pantheon of Kings in the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_of_Austria,_Queen_of_Spain> [Accessed 18 August 2022].
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Beatrice of England, Countess of Richmond

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Beatrice of England, Countess of Richmond; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on June 25, 1242, in Bordeaux, Duchy of Aquitaine, now in France, Beatrice of England was the third of the five children and the second of the three daughters of Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. At the time of Beatrice’s birth, the Duke of Aquitaine was one of the titles and the Duchy of Aquitaine was one of the possessions of the King of England. Beatrice’s paternal grandparents were King John of England and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême in her own right. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and her namesake Beatrice of Savoy.

King Henry III (on top) with his five children; Credit – Wikipedia

Beatrice had four siblings:

King Henry III and Queen Eleanor had a happy marriage, and Beatrice grew up in a loving family and was close to her siblings. There were concerns about the health of Beatrice’s elder brother and heir to the throne the future King Edward I as a child because he was very seriously ill in 1246, 1247, and 1251 but he recovered. The death of Beatrice’s youngest sibling Katherine caused her parents overwhelming grief. Many of Queen Eleanor’s maternal Savoy relatives had come to the English court causing the English to be unhappy with King Henry III due to the influence that Eleanor and her Savoy relatives exercised on the monarchy, and the barons demanded more power. This situation created many problems for Henry III and his family.

Seal of John II, Duke of Brittany, Beatrice’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 22, 1260, at the Basilica of Saint Denis in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, Kingdom of France, Beatrice married John of Dreux. John was the eldest son of John I, Duke of Brittany and Infanta Blanche of Navarre, daughter of King Theobald I of Navarre. The marriage helped to forge an alliance with France. In 1268, King Henry III granted the title Earl of Richmond to John I, Duke of Brittany as an enticement when tensions rose with France. However, John I soon transferred the title Earl of Richmond to his son and heir John of Dreux, who also became John II, Duke of Brittany upon his father’s death in 1286. John of Dreux became Duke of Brittany after the death of Beatrice so she never became Duchess of Brittany.

Beatrice and John had six children:

Beatrice died on March 24, 1275, aged 32, in London, England while visiting her brother King Edward I of England. Possibly she died due to childbirth complications as her youngest child Eleanor was born in London in 1275. Beatrice was buried at Grey Friars Church in Greenwich, London that was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Her heart was interred at Fontevrault Abbey near Chinon, in the Duchy of Anjou, now in France.

Beatrice’s husband John II, Duke of Brittany never remarried. He survived Beatrice by thirty years. In November 1305, John traveled to Lyon, now in France, then under the rule of the Archbishop of Lyon, to attend the coronation of Pope Clement V, a native of the Duchy of Aquitaine. During Pope Clement V’s coronation celebrations, John II, Duke of Brittany was leading the Pope’s horse through the crowd. So many spectators had piled on top of the city walls that one of the walls crumbled and collapsed on top of John. He died four days later, on November 18, 1305, aged 66. John II, Duke of Brittany was buried in the Carmelite convent he had founded in Ploërmel, Duchy of Brittany, now in France. After the convent was destroyed during the French Wars of Religion (1562 – 1598), the tomb of John II, Duke of Brittany was moved in 1591 to the Priory of Saint-Nicolas, the new convent of the Carmelites. During the French Revolution (1789 – 1799), the tomb was destroyed and the recumbent effigy removed. The effigy was later found and in 1820, the recumbent effigy of John III, Duke of Brittany was placed in the Church of Saint-Armel (link in French) in Ploërmel, France.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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