Maria Anna of Spain | |||||
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![]() Portrait of Maria Anna by Diego Velázquez, 1630 | |||||
Holy Roman Empress | |||||
Tenure | 15 February 1637 – 13 May 1646 | ||||
Born | El Escorial, Crown of Castile | 18 August 1606||||
Died | 13 May 1646 Linz, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire | (aged 39)||||
Burial | |||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | |||||
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House | Habsburg | ||||
Father | Philip III of Spain | ||||
Mother | Margaret of Austria |
House of Habsburg Spanish line |
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Emperor Charles V (King Charles I) |
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Philip II |
Philip III |
Philip IV |
Charles II |
Maria Anna of Spain (18 August 1606 – 13 May 1646)[1] was a Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia by her marriage to Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor.[2] She acted as regent on several occasions during the absences of her husband, notably during his absence in Bohemia in 1645.[3]
The daughter of King Philip III of Spain and of Margaret of Austria, she was prior to her Imperial marriage considered a possible wife for Charles, Prince of Wales. The event, later known in history as the "Spanish match", provoked a domestic and political crisis in the kingdoms of England and Scotland. In the imperial court in Vienna, she continued to be strongly influenced by her native Spanish culture from clothes to music and also promoted the strengthening of relations between the Imperial and the Spanish branches of the House of Habsburg.