The pretext for the war was Maria Theresa's right to inherit her father Emperor Charles VI's crown in the Habsburg Monarchy, but France, Prussia and Bavaria really saw it as an opportunity to challenge the Habsburg power. Maria Theresa was backed by Britain, the Dutch Republic and Hanover, which were collectively known as the Pragmatic Allies. As the conflict widened, it drew in other participants, among them Spain, Sardinia, Saxony, Sweden and Russia.