Maria Theresa of Spain

Maria Theresa of Spain (French: Marie Thérèse) (September 10, 1638 – July 30, 1683) was the queen consort of France as wife of Louis XIV of France.

She was called, in France, Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche: her paternal aunt, Anne of Austria (1601 - 1666), also a Spanish princess, also used the Austrian archducal title which the Spanish Habsburgs still bore.

Family

She was born at the Escorial as the daughter of Philip IV of Spain and of Elisabeth of Bourbon (1602 - 1644).

Her paternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margarita of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici.

Philip III was a son of Philip II of Spain and Anna of Austria (1549 - 1580). Anna was a daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria of Spain.

Philip II and Maria of Spain were siblings. They were both children of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Isabella of Portugal.

Marriage

In 1659, while pretending to seek a bride for his master in Margaret of Savoy, Jules Cardinal Mazarin induced the king of Spain to make proposals for the marriage of his daughter with Louis XIV. It was an exciting revelation for Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV, as she had been hoping for a Habsburg match for her son ^[1].

Maria Theresa's dowry payment was impossible for Spain to pay at the time. The future French Queen instead had to renounce any claim she or her future children would have to the Spanish succession. Mazarin also used the agreement to evade terms of the marriage contract. Maria Theresa was married on June 9, 1660, her father Philip IV and his entire court accompanied the bride to the Isle of Pheasants in the Bidassoa, where Louis met her.

Maria Theresa and Louis were double first cousins. His father was Louis XIII of France who was a sibling of her mother Elisabeth of Bourbon. His mother was Anne of Austria who was a sibling of her father Philip IV of Spain.

Queen of France

Maria Theresa was short, dwarflike and had the Hapsburg lip; the unfortunate product of generations of inbreeding. While she did not suffer the insanity or physical handicaps of her other inbreed relatives, her personality had a childlike simplicity to it. ^[2]. She never learned to speak the French language very well, and her Spanish accent was considered irritating by those at court. Maria Theresa's days were often spent praying with her mother-in-law and playing cards, as she had no interest in politics or literature.

The King was faithful to his wife for the first year of their marriage, but the new queen's amiability and her undoubted virtues failed to secure her husband's regard and affection. Maria Theresa was always the last to know that her husband had found a new mistress. She saw herself neglected, although, the King always somehow made sure to be in her bed every night. Maria Theresa hated Louise de La Vallière. She tolerated Mme. de Montespan and others, but Marie Thérèse was too pious and too adoring of her husband to openly resent the position in which she was placed by the king's avowed infidelities. Eventually, the Queen acted with dignity and did not create scenes at court. As a reward the King left her to her own devices, with her dwarves, chocolate and maids. During the period Madame de Maintenon reigned over his mind and affections, the King bestowed more attention on his wife, which she repaid by lavishing kindness on the mistress.

Marie Thérèse only part in political affairs were the years of 1667, 1672, and 1678 when she acted as Regent during Louis XIV's absence on foreign campaigns. She died on 30 July 1683 at Versailles, not without suspicion of foul play on the part of her doctors. There is, however, no real proof that the Queen was poisoned. The modern day belief is that her death was caused by cancer, stemming from a large tumor under her arm. Her death was probably the only occasion in her life that caused the King any sort of emotion on his part, albeit briefly, apart from his sadness at losing so many legitimate children in infancy. Of her six children only one survived her, the dauphin Louis, who died in 1711.

Marie Therese's grandson, Philip V of Spain, would eventually come to inherit her succession rights to the Spanish throne, after the death of her mentally unstable half brother Charles II of Spain.

Issue

Quotes

• When asked if she found men in Spain attractive -- "How can I find other men in Spain attractive? There is no King there other than the King my father." (Comme puis-je rencontre des autres hommes attractifs? Il n'y en a pas un Roi là autre que le Roi mon pere.)

• Upon her death -- "This is the only way in which she has displeased me." -- Louis

See the funeral oration of Bossuet (Paris, 1684), E. Ducere, Le Mariage de Louis XIV d'après les contemporains et des documents inédits (Bayonne, 1905); Dr Cabanes, Les Morts mysterieuses de l'histoire (1900), and the literature dealing with her rivals Louise de la Vallière, Madame de Montespan and Madame de Maintenon.

Trivia

• It is believed that she was the queen who uttered the infamous "Let them eat cake" line and not Marie Antoinette of Austria almost a century later.^[3].

Notes

1. ^ Antonia Fraser. The Loves of Louis XIV.
2. ^ Eleanor Herman. Sex with Kings. New York: HarperCollins Publications, Inc., 2004.
3. ^ Antonia Fraser. Marie Antoinette: The Journey. New York: Doubleday Publications, Inc., 2001.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.ca:Maria Teresa d'Espanya (reina de França)

de:Maria Theresia von Spanien (1638–1683) es:María Teresa de Austria eo:Maria Teresa de Hispanio fr:Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche (1638-1683) it:Maria Teresa d'Austria (1638-1683) ja:マリー・テレーズ・ドートリッシュ nl:Maria-Theresia van Spanje no:Maria Theresia av Spania pl:Maria Teresa Hiszpańska ru:Мария Терезия Австрийская (Испанская) sv:Maria Teresia av Spanien uk:Марія Терезія Іспанська

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