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Maria Theresa of Spain (Spanish: María Teresa de Austria; French: Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683) was Queen of France from 1660 to 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV.
On the tercentenary of her death, Madame de Maintenon, Louis XIV’s secret wife, will return to her apartments in the Palace of Versailles for an exhibition in her honour.
The French claim derived from Louis XIV's mother Anne of Austria (the older sister of Philip IV of Spain) and his wife Maria Theresa (Philip IV's eldest daughter). Based on the laws of primogeniture , France had the better claim as it originated from the eldest daughters in two generations.
In 1660, in the wake of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, she married Louis XIV in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The wedding sealed the reconciliation between France and Spain. Described by contemporary authors as timid and reserved, the Queen accompanied the King on.
- She Suffered Tragic Losses
- She Was Heir to An Empire
- She Had Stepmom Issues
- She Had Her Dreams Crushed
- Her Marriage Ended A War
- She Married Louis Before Meeting Him
- Her Husband Was A Close Relative
- Louis Adored Her—At First
- She Was Super Religious
- She Struggled to Fit in
The daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, and his wife, Queen Elisabeth of France, Maria Theresa was born into privilege but had a tragic childhood. In 1644, when she was only six years old, her beloved mother sadly perished—but that was just the start of her nightmare. Before she could recover from this heartbreaking loss, her older brother passed ...
Following her brother’s passing, it looked like Maria Theresa would be the one to inherit her father’s crown—as long as he didn’t have a son. The princess grew up hoping she would someday rule Spain and the vast empire it controlled. However, Philip’s second marriage to a much younger woman meant Maria Theresa’s position as the next heir was anythi...
Maria Theresa had a complicated relationship with her stepmother. In 1649, Philip married the fourteen-year-old Mariana of Austria in the hope that she would bring him a male heir. Not only was Mariana close in age to her 11-year-old stepdaughter, but she was also King Philip’s niece and Maria Theresa’s first cousin. The Habsburgs’ tendency to marr...
In 1657, Queen Mariana gave birth to the son everyone in Spain had been waiting for—everyone except Maria Theresa. The birth of Prince Philip, followed by the births of two more sons in the years to come, dashed the princess’s hopes of ascending to the Spanish throne. But by this time, it had begun to look like Maria Theresa’s destiny lay outside o...
After 24 years of constant fighting, the leaders of France and Spain were eager to secure a peace treaty—so they made Maria Theresa a pawn. The plan involved a marriage between Maria Theresa and the young King Louis XIV of France. Although the Spanish princess barely spoke any French, the end of the war depended on her. She had to a new life in a c...
Maria Theresa and Louis had a proxy marriage, meaning they were legally bound to each other before ever meeting in person. The advisors of both kings were so eager to ensure peace between the two countries that they couldn’t even wait for Maria Theresa to travel to France. Not long after, Maria Theresa left Spain forever to begin an exciting new ch...
Although Maria Theresa had never met Louis before arriving in France, they were closely related. Louis’s father, Louis XIII, was the brother of Maria Theresa’s mother, and his mother, Anne of Austria, was the sister of Maria Theresa’s father. But despite the intimate connection between the two royal families, Philip had some trust issues. He was de...
For the first year of their marriage, Louis wanted to spend as much time as possible with his new bride. However, this state of devotion didn’t last for long. After they married, Louis made a vow to spend every night by Maria Theresa’s side. But about a year after their marriage, he began a pattern of unfaithfulness that would last for the rest of ...
Maria Theresa and Louis shared the same religion, but they expressed their faith in very different ways. Having grown up in the conservative Spanish court, Maria Theresa was a very devout Catholic. She valued her virtue, modesty, and devotion to prayer above all else. Her strict religious upbringing led to major culture shock when she arrived at th...
As a Spanish princess living in France, Maria Theresa had trouble adapting to the customs of her new country. The decadence and frivolity of the French court shocked her religious sensibilities. Although she adored her new husband, his scandalous behaviour with other women upset her, and her poor language skills made fitting in even more difficult....
Apr 3, 2014 · Ultimately choosing duty over love, in 1660 he married the daughter of the king of Spain, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, instead. The marriage ensured ratification of the peace treaty that...
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Dec 2, 2009 · The following year, 22-year-old Louis married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain. A diplomatic necessity more than anything else, the union produced six...
