Maria Ispanskaya Spanish infanta, wife of Emperor Maximilian II. Date of Birth: 21.06.1528 Country: Spain

1. Maria of Spain: Biography
2. Children
3. Influence and Later Life

Maria of Spain: Biography

Maria of Spain (June 21, 1528, Madrid - February 26, 1603, Villa Monte) was a Spanish infanta and the wife of Emperor Maximilian II. She was the eldest daughter of Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal. In 1548, she married her cousin Maximilian upon the request of her father. Maria and her husband served as regents in Spain while her father was absent. In 1552, they returned to Vienna. They had 16 children together.

Children

- Anna of Austria (November 1, 1549 - October 26, 1580): Fourth wife of King Philip II of Spain and mother of Philip III.
- Ferdinand (March 28, 1551 - June 25, 1552)
- Rudolf II (July 18, 1552 - January 20, 1612): Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- Ernest (July 15, 1553 - February 12, 1595): Archduke and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands.
- Elizabeth (June 5, 1554 - January 22, 1592): Wife of King Charles IX of France.
- Maria (July 27, 1555 - June 25, 1556)
- Matthias (February 24, 1557 - March 20, 1619): Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- Stillborn son (October 20, 1557)
- Maximilian III (October 12, 1558 - November 2, 1618): Archduke, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, and Administrator of Prussia.
- Albert VII (November 15, 1559 - July 13, 1621): Archduke and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, husband of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia.
- Wenceslaus (March 9, 1561 - September 22, 1578)
- Friedrich (June 21, 1562 - January 16, 1563)
- Maria (February 19, 1564 - March 26, 1564)
- Charles (September 26, 1565 - May 23, 1566)
- Margaret (January 25, 1567 - July 5, 1633): Nun
- Eleanor (November 4, 1568 - March 12, 1580)

Influence and Later Life

Maria exerted a significant influence on her sons, Rudolf and Matthias, who would both become emperors. She was a devout Catholic and often disagreed with her more tolerant husband. After her husband's death in 1576, she returned to Spain in 1582. Upon her return, she expressed her happiness to live in a country free from heretics.