Elisabeth de Bourbon

This article covers the Queen of Spain and Portugal. For other people see Isabella von Bourbon .

Isabella von Bourbon in a portrait painting by Diego Velázquez

Élisabeth de Bourbon ( Spanish Isabel de Borbón y Médicis ; born November 22, 1602 in Fontainebleau Castle , Fontainebleau ; † October 6, 1644 in the Real Alcázar de Madrid , Madrid ) was a princess of France and the first wife of the Habsburgs Philip IV of Queen of Spain from 1621 to 1644 and Queen of Portugal from 1621 to 1640 .

Youth and marriage to Philip IV.

Elisabeth was the eldest daughter of Henry IV of France and his second wife, Maria de 'Medici . As the eldest daughter of a king, she received the traditional honorary title of Madame Royale at court . The Treaty of Bruzolo , signed by her father with Duke Charles Emanuel I of Savoy in April 1610, provided for her marriage to Prince Viktor Amadeus of Piedmont. This marriage project was given up after the murder of Henry IV shortly afterwards (May 14, 1610). Maria de 'Medici now acted as regent for Elisabeth's underage brother, Louis XIII. , and operated a policy of rapprochement with Spain, which resulted in a double marriage between Elisabeth and the Spanish Crown Prince Philip (IV) and Louis XIII. should be consolidated with the Infanta Anna . Although the Protestants , such as Sully , oppose this marriage alliance between the French regent and the Catholic King Philip III. pronounced, the corresponding marriage contract was signed in 1611 and made public on March 25, 1612. On this occasion, splendid festivals took place in France and Spain.

Since Elisabeth and her groom were too young for the marriage, it was postponed for a few years. After the Duke of Pastrana had officially asked for Elisabeth's hand on August 13, 1615 in the Louvre for the Spanish heir to the throne, the barely 13-year-old French princess and her brother Louis XIII left. Paris four days later to go to see their future spouses. Elisabeth fell ill on the way and had to stay in Poitiers until she recovered relatively quickly . The Duke of Guise, who escorted her with 4,000 infantrymen and 1,500 cavalrymen, took over the role of substitute for her bridegroom at her long-distance wedding on October 18 in the Cathedral of Bordeaux, led by Cardinal François de Sourdis . On the Spanish-French border river Bidasoa she was awarded the for her brother Ludwig XIII. chosen bride, the Infanta Anna. On November 25, 1615, she finally celebrated her actual wedding with Philip (IV) in the Cathedral of Burgos .

Spanish queen

In her new home was Elisabeth, who was her brother Louis XIII. never to see again, referred to by the Spanish form of her name, Isabel. Since the heir to the throne was only ten years old, he was not allowed to consummate his marriage for the time being, but only in 1620. Elisabeth quickly became pregnant and ascended after the death of Philip III. (March 31, 1621) shared the Spanish royal throne with her husband. The immediate death of her first prematurely born daughter Maria Margarita overshadowed the coronation celebrations. She gave birth to a total of eight children, of whom only her youngest daughter Maria Teresa - who later became the wife of the French King Louis XIV - reached adulthood:

1. María Margarita (* / † August 14, 1621)
2. Margarita María Catalina (born November 25, 1623 - † December 22, 1623)
3. María Eugenia (born November 21, 1625, † July 21, 1627)
4. Isabel María Teresa (born October 31, 1627, † November 1, 1627)
5. Baltasar Carlos, "Prince of Asturias" (* October 17, 1629, † October 9, 1646)
6. Francisco Fernando, (* / † March 12, 1634)
7. María Ana Antonia, (* January 17, 1636, † December 5, 1636)
8. Maria Teresa (* 10 September 1638, † 30 July 1683) ∞ Louis XIV (* 1638, † 1715), King of France

Philip IV was addicted to pleasure and had various mistresses who bore him several illegitimate children. He left the business of government largely to Count Olivares , who, however, was not up to the political conditions of the time. In her first years as queen, Elisabeth made little political appearance and instead indulged her interests in poetry, art and, above all, theater. She is considered a great patron of Spanish literature in its golden age.

In the last years of Elisabeth's life, Spain's domestic and foreign political difficulties increased. From 1635 the nation waged war against France. In 1640 there were movements of apostasy from Habsburg rule in Catalonia and Portugal . After an appeal by Elisabeth to the Castilians, they recruited 50,000 soldiers in a few weeks, which her husband could now dispose of. The queen also contributed significantly to the fall of Olivares in early 1643. She died on October 6, 1644 at the age of 41 and was buried in the Pantheon of Kings of the El Escorial Monastery.

literature

• D'Amat: Elisabeth 2) de France . In: Dictionnaire de biographie française . Volume 12. 1970, Col. 1203.
• Isabella of Bourbon . In: Brigitte Hamann (Ed.): Die Habsburger (1988), pp. 169–170.
• Carmen Sanz Ayán: Isabel de Borbón , in: Diccionario biográfico español , Madrid 2009–2013, online version

Web links

Commons : Élisabeth de Bourbon  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Anaïs Geeraert: Elisabeth de France, pure adorée de son peuple

predecessor	Office	Successor
Margaret of Austria	Queen of Spain 1621–1644	Maria Anna of Austria

predecessor	Office	Successor
Margaret of Austria	Queen of Portugal 1621–1640	Luisa from Guzmán