Cat's Historical Doodles

Margaret (German: Margarete; French: Marguerite; Dutch: Margaretha; Spanish: Margarita) was born on 10 January 1480. She was the second child on Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy, co-sovereigns of the Low Countries. She was named after her step-grandmother, Margaret of York. In 1482, Margaret’s mother died and her older brother, Philip the Handsome (aged 3), succeeded her as sovereign of the Low Countries, with his father Maximilian as regent. In 1482, King Louis XI of France signed the Treaty of Arras, where her father promised to give Margaret’s hand in marriage to Louis’ son Charles. The engagement took place in 1487. Margaret was transferred to the guardianship of Louis XI, who died soon after. She was educated at the French court and prepared for her future role as Queen of France. She was raised as a fille de France , under the supervision of her fiancé’s sister and regent, Anne .  Margaret developed a genuine affection for Charles. However, in the autumn ...

Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa, better known as Bárbara, was born on 4 December 1711, in Lisbon. She was the eldest child of King João V of Portugal and his wife, Maria Anna of Austria. Although her parents were married in 1708, they remained childless for nearly 3 years. The King had made a promise to God that if an heir was born, a great convent would be built as a sign of gratitude. Bárbara was born and, as promised, the King had the Convent of Mafra built. When Bárbara was born, she was the presumptive heir to the Portuguese throne, so she received the title of Princess of Brazil. She was supplanted when her mother gave birth to a son, Pedro. Pedro would die two years later but, by then, Maria Anna had given birth to the future King, José. Bárbara received a fine education and loved music. A talented harpsichord player, she was taught by Domenico Scarlatti, a great musician and composer. In 1729, at the age of 18, Bárbara married...

Doña Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana was born in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez on 25 April 1775. She was the second child of Charles, Prince of Asturias and his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma. Carlota Joaquina received a rigid and deeply Catholic education, and studied religion, geography, painting and riding. The closed and austere temperament of the Spanish monarchy imposed on the family and the court rigid norms of behaviour and etiquette. King Charles III was a reserved man, devoted to his family rather than the animations of the courtesan life, where his daughter in law, Maria Luisa, took part. Carlota Joaquina's mother assumed the organisation of the court's entertainments, with luxurious parties where morals were easily forgotten. Soon, Maria Luisa's image would be linked to that of a promiscuous woman who betrayed her husband. Not even the successive pregnancies and the birth of a long-hoped living male heir saved Maria Luisa from the contempt of the population. S...

Maria of Aragon was born on 29 June 1482, in Córdoba. She was the third surviving daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. She had three older siblings (Isabella, John and Joanna ) and a younger sister ( Catherine ). As an Infanta of Spain, her hand in marriage was very important in European politics. Her parents entertained the idea of marrying her off to King James IV of Scotland (this happened at the same time when her younger sister Catherine's marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales, was being planned). Ferdinand and Isabella thought that if Maria was Queen of Scotland, then the two sisters could keep the peace between their husbands. These plans, however, came to nothing. Her elder sister Isabella, Princess of Asturias, was the first wife of King Manuel I of Portugal, but her death in 1498 created a necessity for Manuel to remarry. Maria was set to become the next bride of the Portuguese King, reaffirming the dynastic links with the Spanish royal hous...

Catherine (Portuguese: Catarina) was born on 14 January 1507, in Torquemada, Spain. She was the last child of Queen Joanna of Castile and her husband, Philip I of Castile. She was named after her aunt, Catherine of Aragon . When Catherine was born, her father had already died. Catherine spent her childhood with her mentally unstable mother until her eldest siblings, Eleanor and Charles, arrived at Spain, coming from Flanders. All of her siblings (except Ferdinand) were born in the Low Countries and had been put into the care of their aunt, Margaret of Austria . However, Joanna kept hold of young Catherine. Catherine stayed with her mother at Tordesillas during Joanna's imprisonment. When the time came for her to marry, Catherine was released from the custody that her mother would endure until her death. On 10 February 1525, Catherine married her first cousin, King João III of Portugal, becoming Queen of Portugal. Their marriage was marked by the consecutive deaths of ...

Maria Manuela was born in Coimbra, Portugal, on 15 October 1527. She was the second child of King João III and his wife, Catherine of Austria . Maria Manuela married Philip, Prince of Asturias (the future Philip II of Spain and I of Portugal) at the age of 16, in 1543. This union added to the dynastic relations of both houses of Avis and Austria, which would result in the union of the crowns of Portugal and Spain in 1580. Two years later, Maria Manuela was pregnant. She gave birth to Infante Carlos on 8 July 1545, her only child. The baby was born with problems due to the inbreeding of the family (he had only four great-grandparents instead of the usual eight!). The birth was very complicated and Maria died only four days later. Maria Manuela's short life came to an end on 12 July 1545, at the age of 17. Maria Manuela of Portugal Antonis Mor (16th century)

Doña María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina (French: Eugénie) was born on 5 May 1826, in Spain. She was the daughter of Don Cipriano de Palafox y Portocarrero and his wife, María Manuela Enriqueta Kirkpatrick of Closbourn y de Grevigné. Eugénie grew up and was formally educated in Paris and briefly attended a boarding school in Bristol to learn English. In 1839, after the death of her father, she returned to Madrid. In Spain, Eugénie grew up into a headstrong and physically daring young woman, devoted to horseback riding and a range of other sports. She was very interested in politics, and became devoted to the Bonapartist cause, under the influence of Eleanore Gordon, a former mistress of Louis Napoléon. S he met Louis Napoléon after he became president during the Second Republic. Her beauty attracted him and he tried to seduce her. What is the road to your heart? , he asked. She simply answered Through the chapel, Sire . After he became Emperor, he announced their engagement and, o...