On the steps of the throne

The aim of this book is to forge a new critical perspective on the Spanish Habsburgs’ family networks by studying the roles performed by princes and princesses of the blood, of different ranks and status, in the service of the Spanish monarchs. The chapters included draw on a range of case studies in order to rethink the dynastic and political role assigned to the king’s relatives. They also analyse the problematic issues generated by the court, ceremonial, diplomatic, dynastic, and governmental duties undertaken by these political actors. In doing so, these studies forge a deeper understanding of the conflicts prompted by the administration of the extensive transnational community of Spanish Habsburg interests and allegiances. The innovative and insightful studies included in this volume are drawn from both unpublished doctoral theses as well as ongoing research projects. In this sense, it seeks to contribute to the evolving historiographical debate on the role played by a range of agents who have not been studied in depth by historians, above all with a focus on the construction of the Spanish Habsburg monarchy in the early modern period. The approach we have adopted has been to prioritize little-known and less-studied agents, contexts, and periods from the Spanish Habsburg sphere, which are nonetheless highly relevant for developing a deeper knowledge of the potential and expectations assigned to the king’s extended family, whether legitimate or illegitimate. Furthermore, this book addresses the problematic issues and conflicts that were prompted by these political agents in undertaking various diplomatic, dynastic and governmental roles.

Introduction 

Part I. Queens Consort: the role of the queen in the political construction of the Spanish Monarchy 

Sergio Bravo Sánchez, Isabel of Portugal and Charles V’s system of delegating royal power (1526–1539) 

José Antonio López Anguita, Queenship, politics and the image of power during the War of the Spanish Succession: Queen Marie Louise of Savoy as governor 

Cécile Vincent-Cassy, Pearls of the Spanish Crown: Queenship, Sainthood and Portraiture in the Seventeenth Century 

Part II. The King of Spain’s relatives: his daughters and siblings in context 

Sergio Ramiro Ramírez, ‘Narrowed’ and ‘Retired’ as Synonyms of ‘Virtuous’. The Role of Domestic Architecture in the Education of María and Juana of Austria (1539–1552) 

Elisa García Prieto, A court without a consort: Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria’s role at the court of Philip II between 1580 and 1598 

Diego Pacheco Landero, Ferdinand of Habsburg (1503-1564) and the rank of Infante of Castile at the beginning of the Spanish Monarchy 

Marion Duchesne, ‘Que los infantes con el rey pareciesen vasallos y con los vasallos reyes’: Negotiating the Status of the King’s Brothers, a Political Challenge for the Spanish Monarchy 

Part III. The King’s other relatives: bastards and nephews on the margins of the dynasty 

Jaime Elipe, Frustrated Inheritance? The role of the infantes and royal bastards in the succession of the Crown of Aragón at the beginning of the 16^th century 

Silvia D’Agata, Glorious ‘Bastard’: The Case of Ana of Austria 

B. Alice Raviola, ‘Hermanos’. Princes Emanuele Filiberto, Tommaso and Maurizio of Savoy between politics and personal relationship