 The cause of the War of the Austrian Succession was Maria Theresa's alleged ineligibility to succeed to the hereditary lands of her father, Emperor Charles VI, because Salic law precluded royal inheritance by a woman.This became the key justification for the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Prussia, joined by the Electorate of Bavaria, to challenge Habsburg power.Maria Theresa was supported by the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Electorate of Saxony.