Maria Anna of Spain (18 August 160613 May 1646) was a Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage to Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor. She acted as regent on several occasions during the absences of her spouse, notably during his absence in Bohemia in 1645. Daughter of King Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria, prior to her Imperial marriage she was considered a possible wife for Charles, Prince of Wales; the event, later known in history as the "Spanish match", provoked a domestic and political crisis in the Kingdoms of England and Scotland. In the imperial court in Vienna she continued to be strongly influenced by her native Spanish culture (from clothes to music) and also to promote the strengthening of relations between the Imperial and Spanish branches of the House of Habsburg. Life Early years Infanta Maria Anna of Spain was born in the Palace of El Escorial, near Madrid, on 18 August 1606 as the fourth child and third (but second surviving) daughter of King Philip III of Spain and his wife Margaret of Austria, Archduchess of the Inner Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg. Of her seven siblings, only four survived infancy: Anna (later wife of King Louis XIII of France), Philip IV of Spain, Charles (who died young in 1632) and Ferdinand (the later known Cardinal-Infante and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands). Maria Anna's parents had a close kinship: her father was her mother's first cousin once-removed and they were related through multiple lines of descent. On her father's side she was the granddaughter of King Philip II of Spain, and his fourth wife and niece Archduchess Anna of Austria, and on her mother's side she was the granddaughter of Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria and his wife and niece Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria. Betrothal From early childhood, Maria Anna played an important role in the matrimonial projects of her father. In adolescence she was betrothed to Archduke John-Charles, eldest son and heir of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. Her fiancé was her first cousin, being the son of her mother's brother. The marriage never took place due to Archduke John-Charles' early death in 1618. In 1622, King James I of England received an offer from the Spanish King Philip IV to strengthen the relations of their countries through