With this thread I would like to comment and discuss a fact which, in my opinion, is a very interesting one within Spanish royals. I think the Spanish monarchy is the European monarchy with the most and the worst cases of consanguineous marriages. I am going to write down all of the different Spanish kings and queens and their respective consorts with their blood relationships:
1. Ferdinand (1452-1516) and Isabella (1451-1504). They were married in 1469 and they were second cousins. Five of their children survived. Isabella also had a miscarriage and a stillborn daughter.
2. Joan (1479-1555) and Philip I (1578-1506). They were married in 1496 and they were distant cousins. Their six children survived. From this point onwards is when the situation becomes interesting!
3. Charles I (1500-1558 ) and Isabella of Portugal (1503-1539). They were married in 1526 and they were first cousins; their mothers (Joan and Mary of Aragon) being sisters. Only three of their seven children survived.
4. Philip II (1527-1598 ).
· He married firstly Maria Manuela of Portugal (1527-1545) in 1543. Philip’s father and Maria’s mother were brother and sister and, on the other hand, Philip’s mother and Maria’s father were ALSO sister and brother. Their only child, Carlos (1545-1568 ), was mentally unstable and his body was quite deformed.
· Philip married secondly Mary I Tudor (1516-1558 ) in 1554. Mary was first cousin of Philip’s father, both being maternal grandchildren of Ferdinand and Isabella. This marriage proved barren.
· His third marriage took place in 1559 and he married Elizabeth of Valois (1546-1568 ), of whom he was a distant cousin. Two daughters survived into adulthood, Elizabeth suffered a miscarriage of twin sisters and her last daughter only survived an hour and a half.
· Philip married in fourth place Anna of Austria (1549-1580) in 1570. Anna was his niece, being daughter of his sister Empress Mary, but she was also the daughter of his cousin, Emperor Maximilian. She bore him 7 children of whom only one, Philip III, survived infancy.
5. Philip III (1578-1621) and Margaret of Austria (1584-1611). They were married in 1599. She was the daughter of Archduke Charles, great uncle of Philip, and of Mary Anne of Bavaria, who was her husband’s own niece. Margaret had 8 children, with five survivors.
6. Philip IV (1605-1665).
· He married firstly Elizabeth of France (1603-1644) in 1615. Elizabeth’s maternal grandmother, Archduchess Joan of Austria, was great great aunt to Philip. Their marriage was not very consanguineous, but of Elizabeth’s pregnancies, three ended in miscarriages, five daughters died very young, a son died in his teens and only a daughter, Maria Theresa, survived into adulthood.
· His second wife was Marianna of Austria (1634-1696), whom he married in 1649. Marianna was the daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III, Philip’s cousin, and of infanta María, Philip’s sister. So, Marianna was her husband’s niece. Of their six children only two survived into adulthood.
7. Charles II (1661-1700). He succeeded his father, Philip IV, in 1665. He died without issue, leaving the Crown to the grandson of his half-sister Maria Theresa, Philip of Anjou.
· He married Marie Louise of Orleans (1662-1689) in 1679. Marie Louise’s father, Duke Philippe of Orleans was Charles cousin, but he was also Charles’s mother’s cousin!
· His second wife was Maria Anna of Neuburg (1667-1740). They were married in 1690 and they were very distant cousins.
8. Philip V (1683-1746).
· He married firstly Maria Louisa Gabriella of Savoy (1688-1714) in 1701. They were second cousins. Of their four children only one would survive into adulthood, Ferdinand VI. Two died very young and the eldest, Louis I, died in his teens.
· His second wife was Isabel Farnese of Parma (1692-1766). They were married in 1714 and they were very distant cousins. Of their seven children only one didn’t make it into adulthood.
9. Louis I (1707-1724). He married Louise Isabelle of Orleans (1709-1742) in 1722. Louise was Philip V’s first cousin. This marriage was childless.
10. Ferdinand VI (1713-1759). He married Barbara of Portugal (1711-1758 ) in 1729. They were distant cousins. This marriage was childless.
11. Charles III (1716-1788 ). He married Maria Amalia of Saxony (1724-1760) in 1738. Although they were distant cousins, six of their thirteen children died in infancy or in their early teens. Another son, Felipe, was mentally retarded.
12. Charles IV (1748-1819). He married Maria Louisa of Parma (1751-1819) in 1765. They were first cousins, as Maria Louisa’s father, Duke Filippo, was Charles III’s brother. They shared other blood relationships. Of Maria Louisa’s pregnancies (24 in total), ten ended in miscarriages, seven children died in infancy, a daughter died in her late teens and the other five survived into adulthood.
13. Ferdinand VII (1784-1833).
· His first wife was Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Naples (1784-1806). They were married in 1802. They were first cousins, as Antonia’s father, King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies), was Charles IV of Spain’s brother. Only two miscarriages were produced in this marriage.
· He married Maria Isabel of Braganza(1797-1818 ) in 1816. Isabel was his niece, as her mother, Carlota Joaquina, was Ferdinand’s older sister. Her father, John VI of Portugal, was also related to Ferdinand. Two daughters were born to the couple, on died aged one, the other was stillborn.
· His third wife was Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony (1803-1829). They were married in 1819. Her mother, Caroline of Parma was Ferdinand’s first cousin and her father, Maximilian of Saxony, was a cousin of Charles IV.
· Maria Christina of Bourbon Two Sicilies (1806-1878 ) was his fourth and last wife, and they were married in 1829. She was, as Isabel of Braganza had been, his niece, as her mother, Maria Isabel of Bourbon, was Ferdinand’s younger sister. Her father, King Francis I of the Two Sicilies, was Ferdinand’s cousin. Their two daughters survived into adulthood.
14. Isabella II (1830-1904). Hers was, from my point of view, the marriage with the worst consanguineous nature in European Royalty I ever heard of. She married Francis of Assisi of Bourbon (1822-1904) in 1846. He was twice his cousin. Their fathers, Ferdinand VII and Infante Francis of Paula were brothers and their mothers, Maria Christina and Louisa Carlota of the Two Sicilies, were sisters. To make things worse, they were nieces to their husbands. Even more complicated is the fact that Ferdinand VII and Francis of Paula’s parents were first cousins and Maria Christina and Louisa Carlota’s parents were also first cousins!! They had 12 children, although maybe some were not fathered by King Francis. Of this 12 children only 5 survived childhood. Of this five a daughter, Pilar, died aged 18.
15. Alfonso XII (1857-1885).
· He married firstly Maria de las Mercedes of Orleans (1860-1878 ) in 1878. She was his first cousin, as their mothers, Queen Isabella II and Luisa Fernanda, were sisters. Her father, Antoine of France, was also related to Alfonso. This marriage was childless.
· His second wife was Maria Christina of Austria (1858-1929). Her parents, Archduke Charles Ferdinand and Archduchess Isabella, were first cousins. Alfonso and Maria Christina shared distant blood relationships. Their three children survived infancy, but their daughters died young.
16. Alfonso XIII (1886-1941). He married Victoria Eugenia ‘Ena’ of Battenberg (1887-1969). They were very very distant cousins. Of their seven children all survived infancy except a son who was stillborn. Two of their sons were haemophiliac and another son was deaf and dumb.
17. Juan Carlos I (1938-). He was Alfonso XIII’s grandson, being the son of Prince Juan and his wife and second cousin Maria of the Two Sicilies. He married Sophia of Greece (1938-) in 1962. Sophia’s great grandfather, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was a first cousin of Juan Carlos’s grandmother, Victoria Eugenia. Their three children have survived into adulthood and have married out of Royalty, which makes very difficult for them to be relatives of their partners.