LIST OF SPANISH MONARCHS

Kingdom of Spain (1479–1873)

House of Trastamara (1516–1555)

Under Isabella and Ferdinand, the kingdoms of Castilla and Aragon were united.

House of Habsburg (1516–1700)

Main article: Habsburg Spain

Under Joanna and Charles I, the two thrones of Castile and Aragon were finally united under one monarch.

House of Bourbon (1700–1808)

In the year 1700 Charles II died. Charles' will named the 16-year old Philip, the grandson of Charles' sister Maria Theresa of Spain, as his successor.[1] Upon any possible refusal the Crown of Spain would be offered next to Philip's younger brother Charles, duc de Berry, or, next, to Archduke Charles of Austria.

Both claimants, Philip and Charles, had a legal right to the Spanish throne due to the fact that Philip's grandfather, King Louis XIV of France and Charles's father, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, were sons of Charles' aunts, Anne of Austria and Maria Anna of Austria. Philip had the better claim because his grandmother and great-grandmother were older than Leopold's. However, the Austrian branch claimed that Philip's grandmother had renounced the Spanish throne for herself and her descendants as part of her marriage contract. This was countered by the French branch's claim that it was on the basis of a dowry that had never been paid.[2]

After a long council meeting where the Dauphin spoke up in favour of his son's rights, it was agreed that Philip would ascend the throne.[3] Following this war broke out andArchduke Charles was also proclaimed king of Spain, as Charles III in opposition to Philip V. He was proclaimed in Vienna,[4] and also in Madrid in the years 1706 and 1710. Charles renounced his claims to the Spanish throne in the Treaty of Rastatt of 1714, but was allowed the continued use of the styles of a Spanish monarch for his lifetime.