Margaret Theresa of Spain (Spanish: Margarita Teresa, German: Margarete Theresia; 12 July 1651 – 12 March 1673) was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess consort of Austria, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia. She was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Mariana of Austria. She was the elder sister of Charles II the Bewitched, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs. She is the central figure in the famous Las Meninas b...
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Margaret Theresa of Spain (Spanish: Margarita Teresa, German: Margarete Theresia; 12 July 1651 – 12 March 1673) was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess consort of Austria, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia. She was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Mariana of Austria. She was the elder sister of Charles II the Bewitched, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs. She is the central figure in the famous Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez, and subject of many of his later paintings.
Despite the extensive history of inbreeding between the Austrian and Spanish Habsburg family branches, Margaret Theresa exhibited few or none of the genetic defects inherited by her brother and some other relatives. She was the favorite child of her father, Philip IV of Spain, who referred to her as "my joy" in his private letters. She was an extraordinarily beautiful child, with porcelain skin, blue eyes, and blond hair.
For political reasons, Margaret Theresa was betrothed as a...
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