The Spanish Habsburg Dynasty: Charles I to Philip III

The Lineage of the Spanish Habsburgs

The Habsburg dynasty included Charles of Habsburg (Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire), Philip II (the Prudent/Conservative), Philip III of Habsburg (the Pious), Charles II of Habsburg (the Spell/Bewitched), and Philip IV of Habsburg (the Great).

Charles I: King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor

Charles of Habsburg was born in Ghent on February 24, 1500, and died in the monastery of Yuste on September 21, 1558. He served as the King of Spain as Charles I (1516–1556), and was the first to join the crowns of Castile and Aragon in his person. However, it was not until February 9, 1518, that the Cortes of Castile met in Valladolid and swore allegiance to Charles as king.

He was also the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire under the name of Charles V (1519–1556). He was the son of Joanna the Mad (Juana la Loca) and Philip the Handsome, and the grandson of Maximilian I of Austria (Habsburg) and Mary of Burgundy.

In 1556, he resigned the crown of Spain to his son and the empire to his brother, Ferdinand. In Madrid, he married Isabella of Portugal, with whom he had the following children:

• Philip II of Spain
• Maria of Habsburg
• Joanna of Austria
• John

Philip II: The Expansion of the Spanish Monarchy

Philip II of Habsburg was born in Valladolid on May 21, 1527, and died at El Escorial on September 13, 1598. He was the King of Spain from January 1556 until his death, King of Naples and Sicily from 1554, and King of Portugal and the Algarve (as Philip I) from 1580.

On November 17, 1558, Mary I of England died without issue, ending Philip's status as King of England. In 1580, Philip II became a candidate for the Portuguese throne as the son of Isabella of Portugal (House of Aviz).

Marriages and Descendants of Philip II

• First Marriage: Maria of Portugal, who died in childbirth with Prince Charles (1545).
• Second Marriage: Mary Tudor, which was completed without issue.
• Third Marriage: Elizabeth of Valois, with whom he had two daughters, Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela. In 1568, Elizabeth of Valois and his son Carlos both died.
• Fourth Marriage: In 1570, Philip II married Anne of Austria, the fourth daughter of his cousin, Emperor Maximilian II. They had five sons: Fernando, Carlos Lorenzo, Diego Felix, Philip (later Philip III), and Mary.

Philip III: Pax Hispanica and Territorial Peak

Philip III was born in Madrid on April 14, 1578, and died in Madrid on March 31, 1621. He was the King of Spain from 1598 until his death in 1621. It was under his reign that the Hispanic monarchy reached its highest territorial expansion.

He was the sponsor of the so-called Pax Hispanica, a pacification strategy that helped to strengthen the empire both economically and militarily. He delegated policy to his valido (favorite), the Duke of Lerma, who was the principal architect of the 1609 decree that saw nearly 300,000 Moriscos expelled from Spain.

In 1598, he married his cousin, Margaret of Austria-Styria (granddaughter of Emperor Ferdinand I), with whom he had eight children:

• Ana Maria Mauricia
• Mary
• Philip (Philip IV)
• Mary Anne
• Charles of Austria
• Ferdinand
• Margarita
• Alfonso