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  • 1496 to 1700

The Charles II of Spain family tree and the marriages behind it

This Charles II of Spain family tree follows the Spanish Habsburgs from Philip I and Joanna of Castile to Charles II, who died without children in 1700. The article sets out the marriages inside one house that led to him, with a source for each statement.

The Charles II of Spain family tree in portraits

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The Charles II of Spain family tree in portraits, from Philip I and Joanna of Castile to Charles II.

Select a person on the chart, and the row about them opens from here.

Kings of Spain stand to the left and their Austrian cousins to the right.

This Charles II of Spain family tree is drawn from the Spanish Habsburg template of the library. Select a person to find the row in the people table.

years of Habsburg rule in Spain
184
royal marriages between kin
9 of 11
inbreeding coefficient of Charles II
0.254
people on the chart
26
The key

How to read this Charles II of Spain family tree

Read the chart from the top down, one generation to a row.

  • A portrait is a person

    Every portrait is in the public domain.

  • A double ring is the centre

    Charles II is the centre.

  • A level line is a marriage

    Philip II has three wives drawn.

1496 to 1556

How the Habsburgs came to Spain

In 1496 a double wedding joined the Habsburgs to the Spanish crowns. Joanna of Castile married Philip, a son of Maximilian I.2 Their son Charles became king in Spain in 1516, married his first cousin Isabella of Portugal in 1526 and gave up the Spanish crowns in January 1556.2112

Reign II

Philip II and his four marriages

Philip IIreigned 1556 to 1598

Portrait of Philip II
Born
21 May 1527, Valladolid
Married
Four times, 1543 to 1570
Died
13 September 1598, El Escorial

Sources13

Maria Manuela of Portugal, his double first cousin, died after the birth of Carlos.13 The heir came from the fourth marriage, to his niece Anna of Austria, the daughter of his sister Maria and of Maximilian II, who were first cousins themselves.314

Reign IV

Philip IV, who married his niece

Philip IVreigned 1621 to 1665

Portrait of Philip IV
Born
1605, Valladolid
Married
Elisabeth of France in 1615, Mariana of Austria in 1649
Died
17 September 1665

Sources4918

Of his children by Elisabeth of France, Balthasar Charles died at sixteen and Maria Theresa married Louis XIV.4 In 1649 the king, then forty-four, married his niece Mariana of Austria, then fifteen.4

Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez. The young Infanta Margaret Theresa stands in the centre among her maids of honour, with the painter at his canvas on the left and her parents reflected in a mirror behind.
Las Meninas, painted by Velázquez in 1656. The Infanta {margaret-theresa|Margaret Theresa} stands at the centre, and her parents appear in the mirror.[^w-meninas] Diego Velázquez, 1656 to 1657, public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
1526 to 1649

The marriages inside the Charles II of Spain family tree

Nine of the eleven marriages of the Spanish Habsburg kings joined kin of third cousins or closer.1 The table follows the ones that lead to Charles II.

Marriages between kin on the Charles II of Spain family tree.
HusbandWifeMarriedRelated as
Portrait of Charles VCharles VIsabella of Portugal1526First cousins
Portrait of Philip IIPhilip IIMaria Manuela1543Double first cousins
Portrait of Maximilian IIMaximilian IIMaria of Austria1548First cousins
Portrait of Philip IIPhilip IIAnna of Austria1570Uncle and niece
Portrait of Charles of StyriaCharles of StyriaMaria Anna of Bavaria1571Uncle and niece
Portrait of Philip IIIPhilip IIIMargaret of Austria1599Cousins
Portrait of Ferdinand IIIFerdinand IIIMaria Anna of Spain1631First cousins
Portrait of Philip IVPhilip IVMariana of Austria1649Uncle and niece

Sources1345101112131415

How the Charles II of Spain family tree folds back

  • The Spanish line
  • The Austrian line
  • A monarch of England
  • A marriage
The two lines married each other five times. A dashed line passes over Ferdinand II.

Sources234510111415

The 2009 study

The inbreeding coefficient of Charles II

The inbreeding coefficient, written F, is the probability that a person receives at a given locus two genes identical by descent, because the parents share ancestors. Alvarez, Ceballos and Quinteiro computed it in 2009 from a pedigree of more than 3,000 people over sixteen generations.1

In their figures F rose from 0.025 for Philip I to 0.254 for Charles II, close to the 0.250 expected for the child of a brother and sister. Carlos has 0.211 and Philip III 0.218.1 Of 34 children born to the royal couples, 17 died before the age of ten. The authors propose two inherited disorders for Charles II and call the proposal highly speculative.1

Reign V

Charles II, the last Habsburg king of Spain

Charles IIreigned 1665 to 1700

Portrait of Charles II
Born
6 November 1661, Madrid
King
17 September 1665, aged three
Died
1 November 1700, Madrid

Sources18

The Real Academia de la Historia calls the birth of Charles II the culmination of three generations of marriage inside the family, and records rickets and epilepsy in his childhood.8 The World of the Habsburgs records a congenital heart defect.6 Neither of his two marriages produced a child.17

1700 to 1714

Where the Charles II of Spain family tree ends

Shortly before his death the king signed a will that named Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, and Austria and its allies refused to recognise it.7 In the War of the Spanish Succession that followed, Philip V kept Spain and renounced his rights to the French crown.19

1496 to 1700

A timeline of the Charles II of Spain family tree

  1. The double wedding

    Joanna marries Philip.

  2. Charles becomes king

    Spain passes to the Habsburgs.

  3. Philip IV marries his niece

    Mariana is fifteen.

  4. Charles II dies

    The Spanish line ends.

Sources24121518

Twenty-six people

The people on the Charles II of Spain family tree

Choose a reign to list the people alive in it.

Who was alive

All 26 people on the chart are listed.

The people on the chart, in the order of its rows.
PortraitPersonYearsLifeOn the chart
Portrait of Philip IPhilip IKing of Castile1478–1506Joanna’s husband from 1496.

Sources2

Portrait of Joanna of CastileJoanna of CastileQueen of Castile1479–1555The heiress of Spain.

Sources2

Portrait of Charles VCharles VKing and Emperor1500–1558King in Spain from 1516.

Sources2

Portrait of Isabella of PortugalIsabella of PortugalEmpress1503–1539First cousin of her husband.

Sources1

Portrait of Ferdinand IFerdinand IEmperor1503–1564Brother of Charles V.

Sources10

Portrait of Anne of Bohemia and HungaryAnne of Bohemia and HungaryQueen1503–1547Married Ferdinand in 1521.

Sources10

Portrait of Maria ManuelaMaria ManuelaWife of Philip II1527–1545Mother of Carlos.

Sources3

Portrait of Elisabeth of ValoisElisabeth of ValoisWife of Philip II1546–1568She bore two daughters.

Sources3

Portrait of Philip IIPhilip IIKing, 1556 to 15981527–1598He married four times.

Sources13

Portrait of Maria of AustriaMaria of AustriaEmpress1528–1603Daughter of Charles V.

Sources14

Portrait of Maximilian IIMaximilian IIEmperor1527–1576Son of Ferdinand I.

Sources10

Portrait of Charles of StyriaCharles of StyriaArchduke1540–1590Son of Ferdinand I.

Sources10

Portrait of Maria Anna of BavariaMaria Anna of BavariaArchduchess1551–1608Niece of her husband.

Sources11

Portrait of CarlosCarlosHeir of Philip II1545–1568He died in 1568.

Sources3

Portrait of Anna of AustriaAnna of AustriaWife of Philip II1549–1580Mother of Philip III.

Sources3

Portrait of Margaret of AustriaMargaret of AustriaQueen of Spain1584–1611Married Philip III in 1599.

Sources15

Portrait of Philip IIIPhilip IIIKing, 1598 to 16211578–1621Son of an uncle and niece.

Sources15

Portrait of Elisabeth of FranceElisabeth of FranceWife of Philip IV1602–1644Daughter of Henry IV.

Sources9

Portrait of Philip IVPhilip IVKing, 1621 to 16651605–1665He married his niece.

Sources4

Portrait of Maria Anna of SpainMaria Anna of SpainEmpress1606–1646Sister of Philip IV.

Sources5

Portrait of Ferdinand IIIFerdinand IIIEmperor1608–1657Father of Mariana.

Sources5

Portrait of Balthasar CharlesBalthasar CharlesHeir of Philip IV1629–1646He died at sixteen.

Sources4

Portrait of Maria TheresaMaria TheresaQueen of France1638–1683Wife of Louis XIV.

Sources4

Portrait of Mariana of AustriaMariana of AustriaQueen and regent1634–1696Niece of her husband.

Sources4

Portrait of Margaret TheresaMargaret TheresaEmpress1651–1673Wife of Leopold I.

Sources17

Portrait of Charles IICharles IIKing, 1665 to 17001661–1700The last Habsburg king of Spain.

Sources1

Three terms

A glossary for the Charles II of Spain family tree

Consanguinity

Kinship between people who descend from a common ancestor.

Sources21

Dispensation

A church exemption from the ban on marriage between close kin.

Sources21

Regent

A person who governs for a monarch too young to rule.

Sources16

Asked often

Questions about the Charles II of Spain family tree

Who the parents of Charles II were

On the Charles II of Spain family tree his father is Philip IV and his mother Mariana of Austria, the niece of her husband.

How inbred Charles II was

A study of 2009 puts his inbreeding coefficient at 0.254, close to that of the child of a brother and sister.

Who inherited Spain after Charles II

The Charles II of Spain family tree ends with him, and his will named Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV.

Reference

People and sources

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