The Prince and the Infanta: The Cultural Politics of the Spanish Match

Described by historian Tom Cogswell as""one of the most mysterious episodes in early modern English history,"" Prince Charles Stuart's failed attempt to claim a Spanish Infanta for his bride in 1623 has been a neglected topic in 20th-century historiography--a situation Redworth, a history professor at the Univ. of Manchester, seeks to rectify. Using epistolary evidence, Redworth examines the diplomatic disaster in detail, arguing that the Spanish Match was less about the political acumen of the British Royals and their concern about the Palatinate lands (as revisionist historians argued in the 1970s) than it was a""portentous game"" of missed signals and miscalculations between 17th century rulers and their upstart parliaments. Conjured up by Charles' father, King James I, and Lord Gondomar, the Spanish Ambassador, the Spanish Match was originally intended to ease the centuries-old tension between Protestant England and Catholic Spain. Embroiled in the Thirty Years War, both countries hoped that a strategic alliance would lead to peace, but each side's inability to make religious concessions doomed the match from the start. Chronicling this tale of court intrigue and double-crosses, Redworth is at his best when describing the political dance performed by the European politicians, as well as the strategic maneuvering of royal progeny as chess pieces across Europe's divided lands. Towards the end of his study, Redworth also begins an intriguing thread about the relationship between diplomacy and art (his book contains several color reproductions of famous portraits), but fails to follow through with the comprehensiveness he allows the rest of his volume. Ultimately, though the Prince of Wales may have failed in his mission, Redworth succeeds in his, having penned a succinct yet insightful analysis of a seemingly modest event. 20 pages of b&w and 16 pages of color illustrations.