Maximilian was born in Vienna on 31 July 1527 as the eldest son of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anne of Bohemia. Maximilian's cousin Philip was ahead of him in the succession in Germany, but an agreement signed in 1553 between his father and his uncle, the Emperor Charles V, saw Maximilian become the heir of the Imperial throne. On 13 September 1548 Maximilian married Charles' daughter and his cousin, Maria.