and Cosimo III, Gian Gastone and Francesco Maria died without any male heirs, Tuscany would be annexed by Portugal. Ferdinando rejected it outright with the fullest support of Louis XIV, his great-uncle. Cosimo's eyes now fell upon Violente of Bavaria. Choosing her would strengthen ties between France—where Violente's sister was the dauphine—and Bavaria. There was only one obstacle in the way, Ferdinando II, Cosimo's father, impartially advised Violente's father, Ferdinand Maria, to invest a huge sum into a bank. Soon after the Elector deposited the sum, the bank collapsed. Ferdinand Maria still had sore feelings; Cosimo consented to the reduction of her dowry accordingly to reimburse the Elector. Ferdinando was unimpressed with his wife. Violente, however, electrified the Grand Duke. He wrote, "I have never known, nor do I think the world can produce, a disposition so perfect..." Royal Highness Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy procured the style Royal Highness from Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in June 1689, infuriating Grand Duke Cosimo, who complained to Vienna that a duke was inferior status to a grand duke, and proclaimed it "unjustly exalted...since the House of Savoy had not increased to the point of vying with kings, nor had the House of Medici diminished in splendour and possessions, so there was no reason for promoting one and degrading the other." Cosimo also played upon all the times Tuscany provided financial and military assistance to the Empire. The Emperor, anxious to avoid friction, suggested that Anna Maria Luisa should marry the Elector Palatine to compensate for the affront. The Elector Palatine, two years later, several months before his marriage to Anna Maria Luisa, went about acquiring the aforesaid style for Cosimo and his family, despite the fact that they had no claim to any kingdom. Henceforth, Cosimo was His Royal Highness The Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany. 1691–1694 Louis XIV was angered by Anna Maria Luisa's marriage to his sworn foe. Cosimo, after much coaxing, persuaded him otherwise. On 9 October 1691, France, England, Spain, and the United Provinces guaranteed the neutrality of the Tuscan port of Livorno. The Empire, meanwhile, was attempting to extract feudal dues from Cosimo, and ordering him to ally with Austria. The Grand Duke replied that if he did so France would send a naval fleet from Toulon to occupy his state; the Emperor reluctantly accepted this excuse. Tuscany was not alone in its