The Kingdom of Spain operates on male-preference primogeniture, which means that a younger brother will take precedence in the line of succession over any elder sisters. So, how many women missed out on becoming Queen of Spain because of this?
We will look at Spain’s history from the dynastic union of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, which laid the foundation for the current Kingdom.
Eleanor of Austria
Eleanor of Austria was born on 15 November 1498 as the eldest daughter of Joanna, Queen of Castile, and Philip I, King of Castile, by right of his wife. Joanna had become the heir of her mother, Queen Isabella I, following the deaths of her brother, John, and sister, Isabella, and her sister’s son, Miguel. Joanna also succeeded her father as Queen of Aragon. Joanna and Philip had six children, and Eleanor was pushed back in the succession by the births of brothers Charles (later King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor) and Ferdinand (later Holy Roman Emperor). Eleanor first married King Manuel I of Portugal, with whom she had one surviving daughter, Maria. She was widowed in 1521 and married King Francis I of France in 1530. They had no children together. She died on 25 February 1558.
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain was born on 12 August 1566 as the first surviving daughter of King Philip II of Spain and his third wife, Elisabeth of Valois. King Philip had a son, Carlos, from his first marriage to Maria Manuela of Portugal, and so she was not initially “passed over” in the line of succession. However, Carlos died at the age of 23 in 1568, and Isabella moved to being first in the line of succession. Following her mother’s death in 1568, King Philip remarried to his niece, Anna of Austria. Anna provided Philip with four sons and a daughter. One son survived to adulthood and he took precedence over Isabella and eventually became King Philip III. Isabella married Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, in 1599, and her father ceded the Spanish Netherlands to them. They had no children together, and Isabella died on 1 December 1633.
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was born on 22 September 1601 as the eldest daughter of King Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. She was overtaken in the line of succession by her younger brother, the future King Philip IV. Anne married King Louis XIII of France, and after many years, they went on to have two sons together. Anne was regent for her eldest son for eight years. She died on 20 January 1666.
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Spain was born on 10 September 1638 as the eldest surviving daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and Elisabeth of France. She had an elder brother, Balthasar Charles, who was the Prince of Asturias until his death in 1646 at the age of 16. This made Maria Theresa the heir presumptive. Her mother died in 1644, and her father remarried to his niece, Maria Anna of Austria, in 1649. She gave birth to two daughters and three sons, of whom one daughter and one son would survive to adulthood. Her younger half-brother became King Charles II of Spain. Maria Theresa married King Louis XIV of France in 1660, and they had six children together, of whom one survived to adulthood. Following the succession crisis after King Charles II died childless, her grandson eventually succeeded as King Philip V of Spain.
Carlota Joaquina of Spain
Carlota Joaquina of Spain was born on 25 April 1775 as the eldest daughter of King Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. An elder brother had died at the age of three before she was born. Several more brothers and sisters followed, including the future King Ferdinand VII of Spain. She married the future King John VI of Portugal at the age of ten, and they eventually had nine children together. One of her daughters would marry her brother, King Ferdinand VII. Carlota Joaquina died on 7 January 1830.
Infanta Isabel of Spain
Infanta Isabel of Spain was born on 20 December 1851 as the eldest surviving child of Queen Isabella II of Spain and Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz. She was Princess of Asturias until 1857, when her brother, the future King Alfonso XII of Spain, was born. In 1868, she married Prince Gaetan, Count of Girgenti. She was widowed three years later, and they had not had any children together. After the accession of her brother, she again became Princess of Asturias. In 1880, she lost the title again when her brother became a father to María de las Mercedes. Isabel died on 22 April 1931.
María de las Mercedes
María de las Mercedes was born on 11 September 1880 as the eldest child of King Alfonso XII of Spain and his second wife, Maria Christina of Austria. A sister followed in 1882. Tragedy struck in 1885 when her father died at the age of 27. Mercedes should have been Queen had it not been for her mother’s pregnancy. If the unborn child turned out to be a boy, he would immediately become King. The following year, her brother was born, and he became King Alfonso XIII. Mercedes returned to her position as heiress presumptive. She married Prince Carlos of the Two Sicilies in 1901, and they had three children together before Mercedes’ early death at the age of 24. Her eldest son took her place as heir presumptive until the King had a child in 1907.
Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo
Infanta Elena was born on 20 December 1963 as the eldest child of the future King Juan Carlos I and Sophia of Greece and Denmark. Her father was restored to the Spanish throne in favour of his father in 1975. When this happened, she had a younger sister and a younger brother. Her brother, Felipe, was named as Prince of Asturias in 1977. So technically, Elena was never heiress presumptive but she was passed over for her younger brother. He became King in 2013 when their father abdicated. Elena married Jaime de Marichalar, Lord of Tejada, in 1995, and they had two children together.
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