Maria of Austria or Maria of Spain (21 June 1528 – 26 February 1603), also known as Isabel, was the empress consort and

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. She served as regent of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the absence of her father Emperor Charles V from 1548 until 1551 and was one of the most powerful empresses of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

Early life

Maria was born in Madrid, Spain to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, and Isabella of Portugal. She grew up mostly in Toledo and

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

with her siblings,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

and

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

. They built a strong family bond despite their father's regular absences. Maria and her brother, Philip, shared similar strong personal views and policies which they retained during the rest of their lives.

As Regent of Spain

On 15 September 1548, aged twenty, Maria married her first cousin Archduke Maximilian. Despite Maria's commitment to

Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Rex Catholicissimus, Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In t ...

and her strong Catholic manners, the marriage was a happy one. The couple had sixteen children in just nineteen years, but only nine of them lived to adulthood. While her father was occupied with German affairs, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551 during the absence of Prince Philip. Maria stayed at the Spanish court until August 1551, and in 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian's father in Vienna. In 1558, Maria returned to Madrid and acted as regent of Spain during the absence of her brother, now King Philip II, from 1558 to 1561.

As Holy Roman Empress

After her return to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, her husband eventually succeeded his father Ferdinand I, at his death, as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, King of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and

, which he ruled from 1564 to his death in 1576. Maria was a devout Catholic and frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband about his religious tolerance. During her life in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Maria was reportedly ill at ease in a country which was not entirely Catholic, and she surrounded herself with a circle of strictly Catholic courtiers, many of whom she had brought with her from Spain. Her court was organized by her Spanish chief lady-in-waiting Maria de Requenes in a Spanish manner, and among her favorite companions was her Spanish lady-in-waiting Margarita de Cardona.

As Holy Roman Empress Dowager

In 1576, Maximilian died. Maria remained at the Imperial Court for six years after his death. She had great influence over her sons, the future emperors

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

and

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. Notable people Notable people named Matthias include the following: Religion * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Isca ...

. Maria returned to Spain in 1582, taking her youngest surviving child Archduchess

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

with her, who was promised to marry

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

, who had lost his fourth wife, her oldest daughter, Archduchess Anna in 1580. Margaret finally refused and took the veil as a Poor Clare. Commenting that she was very happy to live in "a country without heretics", Maria then influenced quite a number of events in the Spanish Court until she eventually settled in the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, where she lived until her death in 1603. She was the patron of the noted Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria, and the great Requiem Mass he wrote in 1603 for her funeral is considered among the best and most refined of his works. Maria exerted some influence together with Queen

, the wife of her grandson/nephew, Philip III of Spain. Margaret, the sister of the future

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

, would be one of three women at Philip's court who would apply considerable influence over the king. Margaret was considered by contemporaries to be extremely pious – in some cases, excessively pious, and too influenced by the Church, and 'astute and very skillful' in her political dealings, although 'melancholic' and unhappy over the influence of the Duke of Lerma over her husband at court. Margaret continued to fight an ongoing battle with Lerma for influence until her death in 1611. Philip had an 'affectionate, close relationship' with Margaret, and paid her additional attention after they had a son, also named

, in 1605. Maria, the Austrian representative to the Spanish court – and Margaret of the Cross, Maria's daughter – along with Queen Margaret, were a powerful Catholic and pro-Austrian faction in the court of Philip III of Spain. They were successful, for example, in convincing Philip to provide financial support to Ferdinand from 1600 onwards. Philip steadily acquired other religious advisors. Father Juan de Santa Maria, the confessor to Philip's daughter, Maria Anna, was felt by contemporaries to have an excessive influence over Philip at the end of his life, and both he and Luis de Aliaga Martínez, Philip's own confessor, were credited with the overthrow of Lerma in 1618. Similarly Mariana de San Jose, a favoured nun of Queen Margaret's, was also criticised for her later influence over the king's actions.

Children

Maria was constantly pregnant during much of her marriage, giving birth almost once (and sometimes twice) a year: # Anna (2 November 1549 – 26 October 1580), married her uncle

#Ferdinand (28 March 1551 – 16 June 1552), died in early childhood #

(18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612), emperor #

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

(15 June 1553 – 12 February 1595), served as governor of the Habsburg Netherlands # Elisabeth (5 July 1554 – 22 January 1592), married

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II of France, Francis II in 1560, an ...

#Maria (27 July 1555 – 28 June 1556), died in infancy #

(24 February 1557 – 20 March 1619), emperor #A stillborn son (born and died 20 October 1557) # Maximilian (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), served as grandmaster of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

and administrator of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

# Albert (15 November 1559 – 13 July 1621), served as governor of the Habsburg Netherlands # Wenceslaus (9 March 1561 – 22 September 1578) #Frederick (21 June 1562 – 25 January 1563), died in infancy #Maria (19 February 1564 – 26 March 1564), died in infancy #Charles (26 September 1565 – 23 May 1566), died in infancy #

(25 January 1567 – 5 July 1633), a nun #Eleanor (4 November 1568 – 12 March 1580), died in childhood Only five of Maria's children were still alive at the time of her death.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress 16th-century women regents 16th-century House of Habsburg 16th-century regents Holy Roman Empresses Queens consort of Hungary Queens consort of Bohemia Austrian consorts Austrian princesses Spanish infantas 1528 births 1603 deaths Regents of Spain 16th-century women from the Holy Roman Empire Spanish people of Austrian descent Daughters of emperors Children of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings Bohemian queen mothers Hungarian queen mothers Mothers of Holy Roman Emperors Mothers of Austrian monarchs Mothers of German monarchs Daughters of dukes Daughters of counts