Queen Marie Thérèse
| Maria Theresa of Spain | |
|---|---|
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Queen Maria Theresa (by Charles Beaubrun, ca. 1660s)
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| Queen consort of France | |
| Tenure | 9 June 1660 – 30 July 1683 |
| Born |
10 September 1638 El Escorial, Spain |
| Died | 30 July 1683 (aged 44) Versailles, France |
| Burial | Basilica of St Denis |
| Spouse | Louis XIV of France |
| Issue Detail |
Louis, Grand Dauphin of France Princess Anne Élisabeth of France Princess Marie Anne of France Princess Marie Thérèse of France Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou Louis François, Duke of Anjou |
| House | Habsburg |
| Father | Philip IV of Spain |
| Mother | Elisabeth of France |
| Signature |  |
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.
Her marriage in 1660 with King Louis XIV, her cousin, was made with the purpose of ending 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 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 V inherited the Spanish throne in 1700 after the death of her younger half-brother, Charles II, and the War of the Spanish Succession, founding the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon, which has reigned with some interruption until present time.
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 Austria, Maria Theresa was entitled to use the title Archduchess of Austria. She was known in Spain as Maria Teresa de Austria and in France as Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche.
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