Eleanor was born on 25 September 1582, in Graz; she was the daughter of Archduke Charles II of Austria and his wife, Maria Anna of Bavaria. Eleanor had 13 siblings: Ferdinand, Anne, Maria Christina, Catherine Renata, Elisabeth, Ferdinand, Charles, Gregoria Maximiliana, Maximilian Ernest, Margaret, Leopold, Constance, Maria Magdalena and Charles. Like all her siblings, Eleanor suffered from the famous Habsburg inferior lip. She was regarded as intelligent but moody, due mainly to her frail health after she suffered from smallpox in her childhood. Eleanor, Gregoria Maximiliana and Margaret were prospective brides for the future King Philip III of Spain. However, after the portraits of the three sisters were sent to Spain, Eleanor was not selected; the King ended up choosing Margaret. After this, she was involved in several marriage projects in Italy, but none of them came to fruition. Finally, together with her sister Maria Christina (who returned to Austria after her disa...