#Habsburg

[marianadecarlos]

The Birth of Charles II of Spain

Supposed portrait of Charles II as a newborn. Stirling Maxwell Collection (Pollock House, Glasgow), attributed to Martínez del Mazo.

Carlos José, Charles II of Spain, was born on Sunday, November 6, 1661. The news spread quickly throughout the Royal Palace in Madrid, releasing enormous tension barely contained until then. Joy filled all the rooms, as Queen Mariana's pregnancy had come to a happy conclusion. Given the challenges of the previous days and months, this was a significant relief. Just five days earlier, on November 1, 1661, the Feast of All Saints, the crown prince of the monarchy, the beloved and cherished Philip Próspero, had tragically died. His death was a profound loss for Philip IV and his wife, who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy at the time. With the passing of the young prince, the Catholic Monarchy once again faced a lack of direct male heirs, instilling a sense of pessimism and fatalism throughout the Palace and across the cities and kingdoms of the realm. The death of Don Felipe Próspero, who was only four years old, struck the heart of the aged King like a dagger, leading him to believe, with certainty, that God had abandoned him.

Queen Mariana was deeply distressed. She understood her royal husband's feelings well. From her earliest childhood, she had been educated about the reasons for the state and was aware of what dynastic inheritance meant, so she empathized with her husband's dual pain—both providential and political. Additionally, as a mother who had already lost several children, she felt overwhelmed by the painful fate that the Almighty had in store for her, a fate that undoubtedly shaped her harsh and rigid character. The death of Philip Prospero, who was taken from life too soon, was just the latest tragedy in a long series of losses. Indeed, Mariana had endured a profoundly tragic maternal experience.

For all the above reasons, in the days following the death of Philip Prospero, the Queen's pregnancy, which was nearing its end, became a matter of first importance. The future of the Monarchy depended on this event. On Sunday, November 6, everything seemed to be ready. The doctors and physicians were on alert; the Queen's confessor was near her, and the Chief Steward of her Household was carefully reviewing the arrangement of the items in the birth chamber. To guarantee the success of the event, all the holy relics that were in the Palace and others brought from El Escorial and other places had been arranged in order.

There was the staff of Saint Dominic of Silos that the Order of Saint Dominic had brought, the ribbon of Saint John Ortega, from the Order of the Hieronymites; the incorrupt bodies of Saint Isidore and Saint Diego de Alcalá; the image of the Virgin of Solitude and the one so venerated by the royal family, Our Lady of Atocha. It is difficult to find a space so holy and sacred. Everything, then, was ready, the things of the earth arranged in order to implore God's pleasure.

At noon, after a frugal lunch, Philip IV retired to his chambers. At the same time, the Queen felt discomfort and went to her room. The midwife, Doña Inés de Ayala, and the chief physician of the Royal Chamber, Don Andrés Ordóñez, both witnesses of the birth of Doña Mariana in Vienna in 1634, were now assisting her in her sixth birth, the most anticipated of all. Mariana of Austria was then 27 years old. The chronicles say that there was no setback. It was one o'clock in the afternoon on that Sunday, the day of San Leonardo, when, according to the Gazette, “ 

a very handsome prince with large features, a large head, black hair, and somewhat swollen flesh saw the light of this world .” It was, of course, a very favorable comment, but soon rumors to the contrary spread through the gossip columns of the Villa and Court. That birth was received with joy. At three in the afternoon, when the news had already spread to all corners of the Monarchy and Europe, a sober and elegantly dressed Philip IV in black velvet, left his chamber and, “ 

accompanied by the Nuncio, the Grand Masters and the Ambassadors ”, headed towards the Palace Chapel in full courtly etiquette. There, the royal procession, presided over by the monarch, sang a solemn Te Deum, thus beginning the festivities that, in honor of the future Charles II, occupied the entire month of November 1661.

[illustratus]

Schloss Paulenstein by Joseph Holzer

[empirearchives]

Gown and train of Marie Louise of Austria, second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte

(Bust of Napoleon and painting of Marie Louise in the background)

Museo Glauco Lombardi

[mapsontheweb]

All lands the Habsburgs ever controlled in Europe.

[classic-art-favourites]

Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen by Johann Zoffany, 1776.

[annoyedkemist]

Protože lidská práva byla too woke

[diemelusine]

Archduke Ernest of Austria (c. 1580) by Alonso Sánchez Coello. Museo del Prado.

[scavengedluxury]

Habsburg family radio listening, 1928. From the Budapest Municipal Photography Company archive.

[thethousandsorrows]

habsburg but lovers or something

idk i didnt read the lore ❤

[tiaramania]

TIARA ALERT: Archduchess Ildikó of Habsburg-Lorraine wore Princess Louise of Bourbon-Two Sicilies' Diamond Tiara for Le Bal des Débutantes at the Shangri La Hotel in Paris on 25 November 2023.

[best-habsburg-monarch]

Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt

His mother's son (at least for the purposes of this bracket)

Philip II, King of Spain, King of Portugal, reigned 1556-1598

Instant discourse, just say the word 'armada'

[marianadecarlos]

Mariana of Austria and Margarita Theresa Fanart

Be warned as some events I wrote had some artistic license. 

On the morning of September 17, 1665, the bells tolled throughout the city. Jose Everardo Nithard immediately went to the Queen's chambers. Upon hearing the bells, Queen Mariana awoke and asked what was happening. The courtiers present kissed her hand. Nithard approached her and informed her that the king had passed away. The Queen began to shed a tear but kept her composure. She began to change her wardrobe from extravagant to a simple, rigid mourning dress, with the only adornment on her finger being her wedding ring. Surgeons and attendants were cleaning and embalming the king’s body while a mass was recited at the head of the royal bed. Margarita Theresa, dressed in mourning attire, approached Mariana, hugged her, and wept excessively. Mariana began to cry as she comforted her daughter.

Source: Queen, Mother, and Stateswoman Mariana of Austria and the Government of Spain by: Silvia Z. Mitchell

[illustratus]

The Charge – A French Cuirassier holds aloft a captured Austrian Colour by Édouard Detaille

[tiny-librarian]

Portrait of a young Archduchess Eleanor of Austria, by Ottavio Zanuoli.

[makosxa]

Maria Theresa doodles ;_D

[empirearchives]

I’m crying, this author was UNHINGED 😂😂