Maria Theresa of Spain

Maria Theresa
Queen Maria Theresa (by Charles Beaubrun, ca. 1660s)
Queen of France and Navarre
Tenure	9 June 1660 – 30 July 1683
Born	(1638-09-10)10 September 1638 El Escorial, Spain
Died	30 July 1683(1683-07-30) (aged 44) Versailles, France
Burial	Basilica of St Denis
Spouse	Louis XIV of France
Issue Detail	Louis, Grand Dauphin of France
House	Habsburg
Father	Philip IV of Spain and III of Portugal
Mother	Elisabeth of France
Religion	Roman Catholicism
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Maria Theresa of Spain (Spanish: María Teresa de Austria; French: Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683), was by birth Infanta of Spain and Portugal (until 1640) and Archduchess of Austria as member of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg and by marriage Queen of France and Navarre.

Her marriage in 1660 with King Louis XIV was made with the purpose to end the long-standing war between France and Spain. Famed for her virtue and piety, she saw five of her six children die in early childhood, and is frequently viewed as an object of pity in historical accounts of her husband's reign, since she had no choice but to tolerate his many illicit love affairs.

Without any political influence in the French court or government (except briefly in 1672, when she was named Regent during her husband's absence during the Franco-Dutch War), she died at the early age of 44 from complications from an abscess on her arm.

Her grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou, inherited the Spanish throne in 1700 after the death of King Charles II (Maria Theresa's younger half-brother), founding the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon, which reigned with interruptions until today.

Born an Infanta of Spain at the Royal Monastery of El Escorial, she was the daughter of King Philip IV, and his wife Elisabeth of France, who died when Maria Theresa was six years old. As a member of the House of Habsburg, Maria Theresa was entitled to use the title Archduchess of Austria.