Marie Louise d'Orléans was Queen of Spain as the wife of King Charles II. She was born petite-fille de France as the daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Princess Henrietta of England. Marie became the Queen of Spain on 19 November 1679, and remained in her post until her death in 1689 from the presumed cause of appendicitis.
Portrait in the Palace of Versailles, c. 1679
Portrait of Marie Louise wearing a fleur-de-lis dress to signify her relations to France and a Spanish crown to signify her new country.
Portrait by José García Hidalgo, c. 1679
Marie Louise, Charles and his mother, Mariana of Austria, attend together an ”auto da fe” from a balcony in Madrid's Plaza Mayor on 30 June 1680. Detail from Auto da fe (1683), painting by Francisco Rizi. Prado Museum, Madrid.
Charles II of Spain was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, neither of his marriages produced children, and he died without a direct heir. He is now best remembered for his physical disabilities, and the War of the Spanish Succession that followed his death.
Portrait of Charles II by Juan Carreño de Miranda, c. 1685
Charles as a child, c. 1673
Mariana of Austria by Diego Velázquez, c. 1656, Regent for Charles during his minority
Charles's illegitimate half-brother, Don Juan José de Austria, whose political feud with his mother undermined the stability of his regime
