Read part three here. Eleanor and Francis had no children together but she became a stepmother to the children from his first marriage to Claude of France. She was particularly close to his eldest son, also named Francis, and was heartbroken when he died in 1536. While she was kept informed of her daughter’s health [read more]
Read part two here. Rumours soon arose that Eleanor was having a love affair with her stepson, now King John III of Portugal. These rumours travelled as far as Poland and included that she was pregnant with John’s child. If there was any truth in the rumours, there was no way she would be allowed [read more]
Read part one here. The Polish match never materialised as Maximilian realised his matchmaking skills were lacking. Especially in the case of Isabella, where he recognised Isabella had married a man who led an “unpleasant and shameful life” with a mistress. And so he decided “to postpone that [match] of Poland until I can recognise [read more]
Eleanor of Austria was born on 15 November 1498 in Brussels as the eldest child of the future Joanna, Queen of Castile and Philip I, King of Castile. Joanna had been visited by her parents’ ambassador in August 1498, and he wrote to Queen Isabella, “She is so gentle and so beautiful and fat and [read more]
Read part one here. After being installed as governor on 5 July 1531, Mary moved her court to Brussels and sold her aunt’s palace to the city of Mechelen. Perhaps one of her biggest challenges was her personal sympathy for Protestantism, but she had to remain opposed to it publicly. Charles could be cruel to [read more]
Mary of Austria was born on 15 September 1505 at the Coudenberg Palace in Brussels as the daughter of Queen Joanna and King Philip I of Castile. She was their third daughter and fifth child and the first to be born after Joanna’s accession as Queen regnant of Castile. Her siblings were Eleanor (later Queen [read more]
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