Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands

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Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Carlos I of Spain, Felipe I of Castile and Spain, Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, King François I of France, Pope Julius II, The Holy League

By 1504, however, Margaret’s husband, Philiberto II of Savoy, died of pleurisy. Grief-stricken, Margaret became suicidal and she threw herself out of a window, but was saved. After being persuaded to bury her husband, she had his heart embalmed so she could keep it with her forever. Her court historian and poet Jean Lemaire de Belges gave her the title “Dame de deuil” (Lady of Mourning).

Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands

Queen Isabella I of Castile died in late 1504, and Archduke Philipp and Infanta Juana went to Castile to claim the crown. Archduke Philipp of Austria is considered Felipe I of Castile (Spain).

At the death of Philipp (Felipe) in 1506, Charles was recognized Lord of the Netherlands with the title of Charles II of Burgundy. During his childhood and teen years, Charles lived in Mechelen together with his sisters Mary, Eleanor, and Isabella at the court of his aunt Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy. Despite being at his aunt’s court Charles was young and alone. Juana could not return to act as regent because her unstable mental state and her Castilian subjects would not allow their ruler to abandon the kingdom.

Fernando II of Aragon took control of all the Spanish kingdoms, under the pretext of protecting Charles’s rights, which in reality he wanted to elude, but his new marriage with Germaine de Foix failed to produce a surviving Trastámara heir to the throne. With his father dead and his mother confined, Charles became Duke of Burgundy and was recognized as Prince of Asturias (heir presumptive of Spain) and honorific Archduke (heir apparent of Austria).

Preoccupied with German affairs, Margaret’s father, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire Maximillian I, named Margaret governor of the Low Countries and guardian of Charles in 1507, along with her nieces Eleanor, Isabella and Mary. She became the only woman elected as its ruler by the representative assembly of Franche-Comté, with her title confirmed in 1509.

Some report that Margaret was considered a foreigner because of her childhood at the French court. According to Blockmans and others though, Margaret, Philip as well as Charles were considered autochthonous; only Maximilian was always a foreigner. The Governess served as an intermediary between her father and her nephew’s subjects in the Netherlands from her newly built palace at Mechelen. During a remarkably successful career, she broke new ground for women rulers.

Margaret soon found herself at war with France over the question of Charles’s requirement to pay homage to the French king for the County of Flanders (which was outside the Empire; and while a long-standing portion of the inherited Burgundian titles & provinces, legally still within France).

In response, she persuaded Emperor Maximilian to end the war with King Louis XII. On November 1508, she journeyed to Cambrai to assist in the formation of the League of Cambrai, which ended (for a time) the possibility of a French invasion of the Low Countries, redirecting French attention to Northern Italy.

By 1512, she told her father that the Netherlands existed on peace and trade, and thus she would declare neutrality while using foreign armies and funds to wage wars. She played the key role in bringing together the participants of Holy League: Pope Julius II, the Swiss, Henry VIII of England, Fernando II of Aragon and her father Maximilian (he joined the League only as Emperor, as not as guardian of his grandson Charles and thus, the Low Countries’ neutrality was maintained). The league targeted France. The treaty also would not prevent the more adventurous Netherlands seigneurs from serving under Maximilian and Henry when they attacked the French later.

The Spanish inheritance, resulting from a dynastic union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon, included Spain as well as the Castilian West Indies and the Aragonese kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. Joanna inherited these territories in 1516 in a condition of mental illness.

Charles, therefore, claimed the crowns for himself jure matris, thus becoming co-monarch of Joanna with the title of Carlos I of Castile and Aragon or Carlos I of Spain. Castile and Aragon together formed the largest of Charles’s personal possessions, and they also provided a great number of generals and tercios (the formidable Spanish infantry of the time). However, at his accession to the throne, Charles was viewed as a foreign prince.

In 1519, Margaret’s father, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died and his grandson, Charles II of Burgundy (Carlos I of Spain) inherited the Austrian hereditary lands in 1519, as Charles I of Austria, and obtained the election as Holy Roman Emperor against the candidacy of the French King François I. Since the Imperial election, he was known as Emperor Charles V even outside of the Empire and the Habsburg motto A.E.I.O.U. (“Austria Est Imperare Orbi Universo”; “it is Austria’s destiny to rule the world”) acquired political significance.

In 1520, Emperor Charles V made Margaret his governor-general in gratitude for her services. She was the only regent he ever re-appointed indefinitely from 1519 until her death in on 1 December 1530.

Her queenly virtues helped her to play the role of diplomat and peace-maker, as well as guardian and educator of future rulers, whom Maximilian called “our children” or “our common children” in letters to Margaret. This was a model that developed as part of the solution for the emerging Habsburg composite monarchy and would continue to serve later generations. As an older relative and former guardian, she had more power with Emperor Charles V than with her father Maximilian, who treated her cordially but occasionally acted in a threatening manner.

On November 15, 1530, Margaret stepped on a piece of broken glass. She initially thought little of the injury but gangrene set in and the leg had to be amputated. She decided to arrange all her affairs first, designating Charles V as her sole heir and writing him a letter in which she asked him to maintain peace with France and England. On the night of November 30, the doctors came to operate on her. They gave her a dose of opium to lessen the pain, but the dosage was reportedly so strong that she did not wake up again. She passed away between midnight and one o’clock. So basically her doctors accidentally overdosed her.

She was buried alongside her second husband at Bourg-en-Bresse, in the mausoleum of the Royal Monastery of Brou that she previously commissioned

January 10, 1530: Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. Part I.

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Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Archduke Philipp of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, Governor of the Hapsburg Netherlands, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, King Charles VIII of France, King Louis XI of France, Philiberto II of Savoy

Archduchess Margaret of Austria (January 10, 1480 – December 1, 1530) was Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1507 to 1515 and again from 1519 to 1530. She was the first of many female regents in the Netherlands.

Archduchess Margaret was born on January 10, 1480 and named after her stepgrandmother, Margaret of York. She was the second child and only daughter of Maximilian of Austria (future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I) and Mary of Burgundy, co-sovereigns of the Low Countries. In 1482, her mother died and her three-year-old brother Archduke Philipp the Handsome succeeded her as sovereign of the Low Countries, with her father as his regent.

The same year her mother died, King Louis XI of France signed the Treaty of Arras, whereby her father promised to give her hand in marriage to Louis’ son, Dauphin Charles. The engagement took place in 1483. With Franche-Comté and Artois as her dowry, Margaret was transferred to the guardianship of Louis XI, who died soon after. The Dauphin became King Charles VIII and Margaret was raised as a fille de France and prepared for her future role as Queen of France.

Under the supervision of her governess Madame de Segré, and Charles VIII’s sister, regent of France Anne de Beaujeu, Margaret received a fine education alongside several noble children, amongst whom was Louise of Savoy.

Although their union was political, the young Margaret developed a genuine affection for Charles VIII. However, he renounced the treaty in the autumn of 1491 and forcibly married Margaret’s former stepmother Anne, Duchess of Brittany, for political reasons.

The French court had ceased treating Margaret as their future queen but she could not return to her ex-stepmother’s (Anne of Brittany) court until June 1493 after the Treaty of Senlis had been signed in May that year. She was hurt by Charles’ actions and was left with a feeling of enduring resentment towards the House of Valois.

In order to achieve an alliance with Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Fernando II of Aragon, Maximilian started negotiating the marriage of their only son and heir, Juan, Prince of Asturias, to Margaret, as well as the marriage of their daughter Juana to Archduke Philipp. Margaret left the Netherlands for Spain late in 1496. Her engagement to the Prince of Asturias seemed doomed when the ship carrying her to Spain hit a storm in the Bay of Biscay. In haste, she wrote her own epitaph should she not reach Spain:

“Here lies Margaret, the willing bride,
Twice married – but a virgin when she died.”

However, Margaret actually married Prince Juan on April 3, 1497 in Burgos Cathedral. Tragically, John died of a fever after only six months, on October 4. Margaret was left pregnant but gave birth to a premature stillborn daughter on April 2, 1498.

Duchess of Savoy

In 1501, Margaret married Philiberto II, Duke of Savoy (1480–1504), whose realm played a decisive role in the rivalry between France and the Habsburgs in Italy on account of its strategic position in the Western Alps. They had a very stable relationship for those 3 years. When Margaret came to Savoy, the government was in the hands of René, Philiberto’s bastard brother.

Margaret fought hard to strip away his powers and possessions, even involving Maximilian (as Holy Roman Emperor, he was overlord of Savoy) to nullify the letters that gave René legitimacy. René, being declared a traitor, took refuge in France and was welcomed by his half-sister Louise of Savoy, mother of King François I of France. She then took hold of the government, while her husband focused on private hobbies like hunting (which she did share with him). She summoned councils, appointed officers, and when her brother Philipp visited, she discussed and approved his plan regarding a continued reapproachement with France.

May 16, 1696: Death of Maria-Anna, Queen Consort of Spain and Portugal, Regent of Spain. Part I.

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Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, Carlos II of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, Infante Balthasar Carlos of Spain, Prince of Asturias

Archduchess Maria-Anna (December 24, 1634 – May 16, 1696) was Queen of Spain from 1649 until her husband and uncle, Felipe IV, died in 1665. She was then appointed regent for their three-year-old son Carlos II, and due to his ill health remained an influential figure until her own death in 1696.

Archduchess Maria-Anna of Austria

Her regency was overshadowed by the need to manage Spain’s post-1648 decline as the dominant global power, internal political divisions and the European economic crisis of the second half of the 17th century. The inability of her son Charles to produce an heir led to constant manoeuvring by other European powers, which ultimately ended in the 1701 to 1714 War of the Spanish

Family

Archduchess Maria-Anna was born on December 24, 1634 in Wiener Neustadt, second child of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1608-1657), who became Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor in 1637, and Infanta Maria-Anna of Spain, daughter of King Felipe III of Spain and Archduchess Margaret of Austria.

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, father of Maria-Anna

Infanta Maria-Anna of Spain, mother of Maria-Anna

Maria-Anna’s grandmother, Archduchess Margaret of Austria, was the daughter of Archduke Charles II of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria and thus the paternal granddaughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. Her elder brother was the Archduke Ferdinand, who succeeded as Emperor Ferdinand II in 1619. Also, prior to her Imperial marriage, Archduchess Margaret of Austria was considered a possible wife for Charles, Prince of Wales (future King Charles I) the event, later known in history as the “Spanish Match”, provoked a domestic and political crisis in the Kingdoms of England and Scotland.

Archduchess Maria Anna’s parents, Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and Infanta Maria-Anna of Spain, had six children, of whom only Maria-Anna and two brothers survived to adulthood; Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans (1633-1654), and Leopold (1640-1705), elected Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, in 1658.

Marriage

The Habsburgs often married within the family to retain their lands and properties, and in 1646 Maria-Anna was betrothed to her cousin and heir to the Spanish throne, Infante Balthasar-Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1629-1646) The only son of King Felipe IV of Spain (1605-1665) and his first wife, Elisabeth of France (1602–1644). Princess Elisabeth of France was the eldest daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second spouse Marie de’ Medici.

Infante Balthasar-Carlos, Prince of Asturias

On October 5, the eve of second anniversary of the death of Queen Elisabeth, Felipe IV and Infante Balthasar-Carlos attended Vespers that night in her memory. That evening, the prince was ill and the next day, Saturday October 6, he had to stay in bed while the king went to the funeral. The disease, smallpox, spread rapidly, and on Tuesday, October 9, at 8 in the morning, the Archbishop of Saragossa gave him the Last Sacraments. At 9 pm that same day, October 9, Infante Balthasar-Carlos died.

The death of Infante Balthasar-Carlos, Prince of Asturias, three months later left her without a prospective husband and her widowed uncle Felipe IV without an heir.

Felipe IV, King of Spain and Portugal

Two years later, on October 7, 1649, the 44 year old King Felipe IV married his fourteen-year-old niece Archduchess Maria-Anna in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid. Her exclusion from political life meant she focused on religion and education, which society viewed as fitting women’s ‘role’ as nurturers and providers of moral guidance.

Only two of their five children survived to adulthood; in 1666, Margaret-Theresa (1651-1673) married her maternal uncle Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Maria-Anna’s second daughter, Maria-Ambrosia, lived only fifteen days, followed by two sons, Felipe-Prospero (1657-1661) and Ferdinand-Thomas (1658-1659).

On November 6, 1661, Maria-Anna gave birth to her last child, Infante Carlos, later known as El Hechizado or “The Bewitched”, in the belief his disabilities were caused by “sorcery.” In his case, the so-called Habsburg jaw was so pronounced he spoke and ate with difficulty all his life.

Queen Maria-Anna, Queen of Spain and Portugal

He did not learn to walk until he was eight and never attended school, but foreign observers noted his mental capacities remained intact; others speculated the Regents overstated his defects to retain political control.

It has been suggested Carlos suffered from the endocrine disease acromegaly and a combination of rare genetic disorders often transmitted through recessive genes, including combined pituitary hormone deficiency and distal renal tubular acidosis.

However, his elder sister did not appear to suffer the same issues and the authors of the most significant study state it has not been demonstrated (his) disabilities…were caused by…recessive alleles inherited from common ancestors.

Regardless of the cause, Carlos suffered ill health throughout his life, and the Spanish court was split by the struggle between his co-heirs, Louis XIV of France and Emperor Leopold. His death was expected almost from birth; he was “short, lame, epileptic, senile and completely bald before 35,…repeatedly baffling Christendom by continuing to live.”

February 22, 1511: Death of Prince Henry, Duke of Cornwall.

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Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Catherine of Aragon, Duke of Cornwall, Ferdinand II of Aragon, Henry IX of England, Henry of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, House of Tudor, Janes Seymour, King Edward VI of England, King Henry VIII of England, Margaret of York

Henry, Duke of Cornwall (January 1, 1511 – February 22, 1511) was the first child of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and though his birth was celebrated as that of the heir apparent, he died within weeks. His death and Henry VIII’s failure to produce another surviving male heir with Catherine led to succession and marriage crises that affected the relationship between the English church and Roman Catholicism, giving rise to the English Reformation.

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of England used from 1504 to 1554 for the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.

Birth and christening

Henry was born on January 1, 1511 at Richmond Palace, the first live-born child of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, born eighteen months after their wedding and coronation. Catherine had previously given birth to a stillborn daughter, on January 31, 1510. He was christened on January 5 in a lavish ceremony where beacons were lit in his honour. The christening gifts included a fine gold salt holder and cup weighing a total 99 ounces, given by Louis XII of France, his godfather. His other godparents were William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy * At the christening, the baby prince’s great-aunt Lady Anne Howard stood proxy for Margaret, and Richard Foxe, Bishop of Winchester, stood proxy for the French king.

Young King Henry VIII of England

Celebrations and death

Henry VIII and his queen planned extravagant celebrations rivalling that of their joint coronation for the birth of his son, who automatically became Duke of Cornwall and heir apparent to the English throne, and was expected to become Prince of Wales, King of England, and third king of the House of Tudor, as King Henry IX. The tournament at Westminster was the most lavish of Henry’s reign, and is recorded via a long illuminated vellum roll, known as The Westminster Tournament Roll to be found in the College of Arms collection. Known as “Little Prince Hal” and “the New Year’s Boy”, the prince was fondly regarded by Henry’s court.

However, on February 22, 1511, the young prince died suddenly. The cause of his death was not recorded. He received a state funeral at Westminster Abbey. It was another two years until the Queen again became pregnant. There is no known portrait of Prince Henry. Contemporary reports state that both parents were distraught at the loss of their child. The deeply religious Catherine spent many hours kneeling on cold stone floors praying, to the worry of courtiers. Henry distracted himself from his grief by waging war against Louis XII of France with his father-in-law, Fernando II of Aragon.

Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England

Impact of Henry, Duke of Cornwall’s death on history

Historians have speculated what course English history might have taken had Henry, Duke of Cornwall, or any other legitimate son by Catherine survived. With the couple’s failure to provide a live son, Henry VIII’s desire for a male heir was the cited reason that led him to have their marriage annulled. A living son by Catherine might have forestalled or even prevented the marriage to Anne Boleyn and placed England in a different relationship with Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation, thereby affecting, and perhaps even preventing, the English Reformation that grew out of the succession crisis prior to the birth of the future Edward VI to Henry VIII and Jane Seymour in 1537. This theme has also been explored in some alternative history fiction.

* Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, (January 10, 1480 – December 1, 1530), the second child and only daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I of Austria and Mary of Burgundy, co-sovereigns of the Low Countries. She was named after her stepgrandmother, Margaret of York, (May 3, 1446 – November 23, 1503) the third wife of Charles the Bold Duke of Burgundy a daughter of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville.