Philip Married His Fourteen-Year-Old Niece

In 1615, ten-year-old future Spanish king Philip IV married 13-year-old Elisabeth of France. They had ten children, but their only son, Balthasar Charles, died at age 16 in 1646, leaving Philip without a male heir. In 1649, the 44-year-old king married his 14-year-old niece, Mariana of Austria, in a political match that produced five children, although only two reached adulthood. Their surviving son became Charles II of Spain, while Philip is known to have fathered at least 30 children with mistresses.

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