Maria Anna of Bavaria (1551–1608)

Maria Anna of Bavaria
Archduchess consort of Austria
Tenure 26 August 1571 10 July 1590
Spouse Charles II of Austria
Issue Anna, Queen of Poland
Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Margaret, Queen of Spain and Portugal
Leopold V, Archduke of Austria
Constance, Queen of Poland
Maria Magdalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
House House of Wittelsbach
Father Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Mother Anne of Austria
Born 21 March 1551
Munich, Germany
Died 29 April 1608 (aged 57)
Graz, Austria

Maria Anna of Bavaria (21 March 1551, Munich 29 April 1608, Graz)[1] was the daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (1528–1579) and Anna of Austria (1528–1590), and the wife of Archduke Charles II of Austria.

Family

Her paternal grandparents were William IV, Duke of Bavaria (1493–1550) and Maria Jacoba, Margravine of Baden (1507–1580). Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (1503–1564) and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547), daughter of King Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his wife Anne de Foix. King Louis XIV of France is her lineal descendant.[2]

Maria Anna was the fourth of seven siblings, only five of the children lived through to adulthood. Maria Anna's siblings included: William V, Duke of Bavaria, Ernest of Bavaria, Ferdinand of Bavaria and her unmarried sister, Maximiliana Maria of Bavaria (who once was appointed to marry king Sebastian of Portugal).

Marriage and children

On 26 August 1571 in Vienna Maria Anna married her maternal uncle, Charles II of Austria (1540–1590). At first the Duke was a suitor of Elizabeth I of England for almost a decade. However, despite long term negotiations the queen refused to marry Charles.

Within nineteen years of marriage, Charles and Maria Anna had fifteen children:

Gallery of Family

Ancestry

Bibliography

References

  1. WorldRoots.com