The art of marrying well

We'll be hearing a lot about the Habsburg family throughout our cruise, as we'll be on their old stomping grounds.  This is a family that knew a thing or two about marrying for money and power.

The dynasty got started with Rudolf I (1218-1291), who conquered Austria, but things really stepped up when several generations later Maximilian I (1459-1519) married Mary of Burgundy and picked up The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Burgundy in the deal.

Maximilian I and family

Since the strategy worked so well the first time (aside from some sticky inheritance issues they faced when Mary died in a riding accident), Maximilian arranged an even better deal for his son Philip (also known as "Philip the Handsome").  Philip married Joanna of Castile, bringing Castile, Aragon, the Spanish New World possessions, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia into the Habsburg fold.  That's quite a wedding gift!

Philip I

Maybe it's me, or maybe it's place and time, or perhaps just this portrait, but I'm not getting the "handsome" here.

The high point of the Habsburg empire came under Philip and Joanna's son, Charles I.  He was the King of Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor when only 19 years old (in 1519).

Charles V painted by Titian

Things get more confusing after this, as the family splits into two lines.

The Austrian line, which becomes the House of Habsburg-Lorraine after yet another power marriage, flourished under Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II.  The Napoleonic wars were costly for the dynasty and resulted in the loss of the Austrian Netherlands and the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

Ultimately, it was the rise of nationalist aspirations that led to the disintegration of the empire during World War I.  Emperor Charles I of Austria (also known as Charles IV of Hungary) was the end of the line, renouncing his title in 1918.

Charles I of Austria