The Tragic Life of Spain’s Inbred Princess
Infanta Margarita Teresa of Spain, born on July 12, 1651, was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his niece, Mariana of Austria. This union was emblematic of the Habsburg dynasty's practice of intermarriage, aiming to preserve their dominion across Europe. Such consanguineous marriages, however, often resulted in pronounced hereditary issues within the family. Wikipedia +1 Log in or sign up to view +1 Margarita Teresa's life was marked by these familial entanglements. At the tender age of 15, she was wed to her maternal uncle, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. This marriage further intensified the genetic closeness within the Habsburg lineage. Despite her youth, Margarita Teresa assumed the role of Holy Roman Empress and bore four children. Tragically, only one survived infancy. The physical toll of multiple pregnancies, compounded by potential genetic vulnerabilities from generations of inbreeding, severely impacted her health. She succumbed to complications f...