Philip III of Spain passed away on 31 March 1621. He was the only surviving son of Philip II of Spain, born to his fourth wife Anna of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. As the product of an uncle-niece marriage, Philip III’s kinship ties formed remarkably intricate patterns. His paternal grandparents, Charles […]
Mary of Burgundy, the daughter of Charles the Bold, died on 27 March 1482. She was the sole heir to the wealthy, refined, and powerful Duchy of Burgundy. Descended from the kings of France, England, Portugal, and Aragon, Mary embodied the perfect prototype of a fairy-tale princess: young, beautiful, educated, cultured, and – last but […]
Guntram the Rich, Count of Breisgau, passed away on 26 March 973. Known as the Rich in historical annals, he is considered the earliest reliably attested ancestor of the Habsburgs, and the date of his death is the first precisely recorded event in the family calendar. Very little is known about Guntram’s life. He came […]
Archduchess Cecilia Renata, Queen of Poland, passed away on 24 March 1644. She was the daughter of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and the wife of Władysław IV Vasa. Since the late sixteenth century, the Habsburgs had sought closer ties with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, hoping to secure themselves against the rising Ottoman threat as well […]
The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I was born on 22 March 1459. He was the son of Emperor Frederick III and Eleanor of Portugal, whom I wrote about just a few days ago. Maximilian’s life and reign fell during the transitional period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. His personality reflected the ambiguity of […]
Maria Josepha of Bavaria, the second wife of Joseph II, was born on 20 March 1739 in Munich. Through their grandfathers, Emperors Joseph I and Charles VI, they were second cousins. Maria Josepha was yet another tragic example of a life overshadowed by an unhappy marriage. The widowed Joseph fiercely opposed the idea of remarrying, […]
Emperor Frederick III and Eleanor of Portugal married on 16 March 1452. This was one of the most baffling unions among the Habsburgs. Frederick’s attitude towards women was extremely reserved, to put it mildly, and he avoided committing himself until the age of 37. His choice of Eleanor, 20 years his junior, as his bride […]
Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma, wife of Charles I of Austria, passed away on 14 March 1989. Their reign, lasting ten days less than two years between 1916 and 1918, made them the shortest-reigning Imperial couple in the history of the dynasty. The newly proclaimed Republic of Austria legally banned the Habsburgs from entering the country, […]
Archduke Joseph, the future Emperor Joseph II, was born on 13 March 1741. He was the firstborn son of Maria Theresa and Francis Stephan. In retrospect, when the significant roles of mother and son in history are widely recognised, it is rather difficult to comprehend the vital importance of this event. During the few months […]
Margaret Theresa of Spain, the first wife of Leopold I, passed away on 12 March 1673. She was the daughter of Philip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria, the sister of Leopold. It is somewhat simplifying to say that the spouses were uncle and niece; owing to the Habsburgs’ persistent intermarriage, their parents, grandparents, […]
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