Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VI became Holy Roman Emperor in 1711 after his brother Joseph I's death, having already failed to claim the Spanish throne despite years of war over it. He married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1708, and when their only surviving son died in infancy, he faced a problem: no male heir. In 1713, four years before Maria Theresa's birth, he issued the Pragmatic Sanction to allow female succession, sidelining his elder brother's daughters and breaking an earlier pact. He spent the rest of his reign extracting recognition from every major power in Europe—Britain, France, Sp…