Margarete of Austria
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- For other persons named Margaret of Austria, see Margaret of Austria (disambiguation).
The Archduchess Margaret (Margaretha) of Austria (10 January 1480 – 1 December 1530) was a Habsburg princess, the daughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy.
In 1483, she was betrothed to the Dauphin of France, later King Charles VIII of France, and was transferred to the guardianship of King Louis XI of France (see Treaty of Arras (1482)). After Charles renounced the treaty and married Anne of Brittany, Margaret was returned to her father (1493).
In 1497, she was married to Juan, Prince of Asturias, Infante of Spain (1478–1497), the son and heir of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, but he died after only six months.
In 1501, she married Philibert II, Duke of Savoy (1480–1504), who died three years later. She was made regent of the Netherlands (1507–1515) and guardian of her young nephew Charles (the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor).
Margaret acted as intermediary between her father and his subjects in the Netherlands, negotiated a treaty of commerce with England favorable to the Flemish cloth interests, and she played a role in the formation of the League of Cambrai (1508).
After his majority in 1515, Charles rebelled against her influence, but he soon recognized her as one of his wisest advisers, and she was again regent of the Netherlands (1519–30) intermittently until her death. In 1529, together with Louise of Savoy, she negotiated the Treaty of Cambrai, the so-called Ladies' Peace.
Both her marriages were childless.
She died at Mechelen (Malines), between Antwerp and Brussels, her main place of residence in the Netherlands, after appointing her nephew, Charles V, as her universal and sole heir. She is buried at Bourg-en-Bresse, Franche-Comté.
| Preceded by Guillaume de Croÿ |
Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands 1507-1530 |
Succeeded by Maria of Austria |
