Velázquez was then the Spanish crown painter, having been "Aposentador mayor del Palacio" (officer in charge of palace lodging) since 1652. He operated in a pressurised court under threat from the anti-Catholic Oliver Cromwell, the Catalan revolt, and the withdrawal of Austrian support. He admitted to being drained by his workload, and that his official duties limited the time he could devote to painting; he produced fewer than twenty works during the last eight and a half years of his life. Of these some fourteen survive, mostly of the royal family. The run of portraits began with Philip and Mariana's marriage in 1649, and include canvases of Maria Theresa of Spain and Felipe Prospero, their first two children to live beyond infancy. Felipe died aged 3years, but portraits of Maria Theresa became in demand among potential suitors when she reached marriageable age.