Bourbon claim to the Spanish throne Bourbon claim to the Spanish throne After the death of the last Habsburg monarch of Spain in 1700, the childless Charles II, the Spanish throne was up for grabs between the various dynasties of Europe despite Charles having left a will naming his heir. In this will, Charles left Philip, Duke of Anjou, grandson of the French king, the possessions of the Spanish Crown. The Austrian Habsburgs, who considered themselves the rightful heirs of Charles II, fearing that the vast domain of the Spanish Crown would be taken over by the French monarchy, formed a European coalition against the Bourbon
Jeanne de Bourbon, Duchess of Bourbon eldest son of Robert, Count of Clermont and Beatrix of Bourbon. Beatrix was the heiress of the Bourbon family and the matriarch of the new Bourbon line of the Capetian dynasty. Robert was the youngest son of Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence. She married first John II, Duke of Bourbon in 1487. The groom was about sixty-one years old and the bride only twenty-two. John had survived two previous wives and his only son. He was in a need of an heir; however, they had only one son: John II died the same year as his second