Spanish Match Failure (1623)

Timeline

1. 1623Madrid · MadridIn March 1623 Prince Charles and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, arrived in Madrid under assumed names to personally seek the hand of Infanta Maria Anna, breaking with normal diplomatic procedure and causing a sensation across Europe.
2. 1623Royal Palace of Madrid · MadridThe core dispute: Spain demanded the princess retain her Catholic faith and religious freedom, and that England return Palatinate to the Catholic elector; England demanded Spain abandon support for the Dutch Republic. Neither side yielded, and Olivares and English envoy Gawen Digby held repeated fruitless meetings.
3. 1623London · LondonIn September–October 1623 Charles and Buckingham returned to London empty-handed, and the match was formally declared a failure. Parliament and Protestant opinion cheered the avoidance of a Catholic threat, James I's pro-Spanish diplomacy collapsed, and Anglo-Spanish relations rapidly deteriorated.