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Archduchess Margaret of Austria (German: Margarete; French: Marguerite; Dutch: Margaretha; Spanish: Margarita; 10 January 1480 – 1 December 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. Childhood and life in France Margaret was born on 10 January 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) and Mary of Burgundy, co-sovereigns of the Low Countries. In 1482, her mother died and her four-year-old brother Philip 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. She 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' 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. 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. Marriages Princess of Asturias To achieve an alliance with Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Maximilian started negotiating the marriage of their only son and heir, John, Prince of Asturias, to Margaret, as well as the marriage of their daughter Juana to Philip. 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: However, Margaret survived the storm, and according to the Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 1, 1485–1509, in February 1497 her entire fleet still waited in Southampton in England for weather to clear up. Margaret actually married Prince John on 3 April 1497 in Burgos Cathedral. Tragically, John died of a fever after only six months, on 4 October. Margaret was left pregnant but gave birth to a premature stillborn daughter on 2 April 1498. Margaret stayed in Spain until September 1499 before returning home. In meantime it was suggested that she should teach Catherine of Aragon French. When she was on her way back, her nephew, the future Emperor Charles V was born. Her brother, Philip, sent an express messenger to his sister, "begging her to hasten back so that she could hold the child in her hands at the font during the baptism." When she arrived, she pressured Philip to name the baby Maximilian, after their father, but Philip chose to name him Charles, after their maternal grandfather Charles the Bold. Thereafter she served as Charles's godmother. Duchess of Savoy In 1501, Margaret married Philibert 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, Philibert'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 Francis I. 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 Philip visited, she discussed and approved his plan regarding a continued rapprochement with France. By 1504, however, Philibert died of pleurisy. Grief-stricken, Margaret 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 died in late 1504, and Philip and Juana went to Castile to claim the crown. After Philip's death, Charles was the new sovereign of the Low Countries, but he 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. Preoccupied with German affairs, her father, Emperor Maximilian 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 V were considered indigenous; 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. In 1520, Charles 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. Tupu Ylä-Anttila opines that Margaret acted as defacto queen consort in a political sense, first to her father and then Charles V, "absent rulers" who needed a representative dynastic presence that also complemented their characteristics. 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 Charles than with her father Maximilian, who treated her cordially but .... Discover the Carole Schepper popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Carole Schepper books.