Category Archives: Holy Roman Empire Royals

Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Archduke of Further Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Holy Roman Emperor Matthias; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

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Matthias and his wife Anna of Tyrol are the founders of the Capuchin Church (German: Kapuzinerkirche) in Vienna, Austria, where the Imperial Crypt (German: Kaisergruft), the traditional burial site of the Habsburgs, is located. Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1612 – 1619) was also King of Bohemia (reigned 1611 – 1617), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1608 – 1619), Archduke of Further Austria, (1608 – 1619), King of Hungary and Croatia (reigned 1608 – 1618). Born on February 24, 1557, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Matthias was the seventh of the sixteen children and the fourth but the third surviving son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and his first cousin Maria, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria. Rudolf’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. His maternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also Carlos I, King of Spain; Karl I, Archduke of Austria; Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles) and Isabella of Portugal.

Matthias’ parents with his three eldest surviving siblings Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Matthias had fourteen siblings:

Archduchess Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain (1549 – 1580), married her maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain (his fourth wife), had five children but only one survived childhood
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1551 – 1552), died in infancy
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552 – 1612), unmarried
Archduke Ernst of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1553 – 1595), unmarried
Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (1554 – 1592), married King Charles IX of France, had one daughter who did not survive childhood
Archduchess Marie of Austria (1555 – 1556), died in infancy
Archduke Maximilian of Austria (1558 – 1618), unmarried
Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1559 – 1621), married his first cousin Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, no surviving children
Archduke Wenceslaus of Austria (1561 – 1578), unmarried, died in his teens
Archduke Friedrich of Austria (1562 – 1563), died in infancy
Archduchess Marie of Austria (born and died 1564), died a month after her birth
Archduke Charles of Austria (1565 – 1566), died in infancy
Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1567 – 1633), refused to marry her uncle King Felipe II of Spain whose fourth wife (Margaret’s eldest sister Anna) had died, became a nun under the name of Sister Margaret of the Cross at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (1568 – 1580), died in childhood

Matthias, age 22, as Archduke in armor holding a general’s staff; Credit – Wikipedia

Very little is known about Matthias’ childhood. One of his teachers was Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, a Flemish writer, herbalist, and diplomat in the employ of three generations of Holy Roman Emperors. In 1572, Matthias’ father Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his eldest son Rudolf, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crown of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576. Matthias’ brother Rudolf was considered an ineffective ruler. Rudolf’s conflict with the Islamic Ottoman Empire was his undoing. He was unwilling to compromise with the Ottomans and was determined to unify all of Christendom with a new crusade, so he started a long and indecisive war against the Ottomans, the Long Turkish War (1593 – 1606).

Rudolf’s Hungarian subjects were tired of the Long Turkish War and revolted in 1604. In 1605, Habsburg family members forced Rudolf to give control of Hungary to his brother Archduke Matthias. By 1606, Matthias had negotiated peace with the Hungarian rebels (1606 Treaty of Vienna) and the Ottomans (1606 Peace of Zsitvatorok). However, Rudolf was angry with Matthias’s concessions and his hold on power and he prepared to start a new war against the Ottoman Empire. With support from the Hungarians, Matthias forced Rudolf to cede the crowns of Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to him. Meanwhile, the Bohemian Protestants demanded greater religious liberty, which Rudolf granted in the Letter of Majesty in 1609. However, when the Bohemian Protestants asked for further freedom, Rudolf used his army against them. The Bohemian Protestants then appealed to Matthias for help. Matthias’ army held Rudolf prisoner at his usual residence, Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, until 1611 when Rudolf ceded the crown of Bohemia to Matthias. Rudolf lost what was left of his power and lived in isolation at Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic.

Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 4, 1611, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna, Austria, Matthias married his first cousin Anna of Tyrol, daughter of his paternal uncle Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria and his second wife and niece Anna Caterina Gonzaga. Although Matthias was 54 years old, he hoped to have children with his 26-year-old wife but their marriage was childless.

Matthias as Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

When Matthias’ unmarried brother Rudolf died on January 20, 1612, nine months after he had been stripped of all effective power by his younger brother, Matthias was elected to succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor and also succeeded to all Rudolf’s hereditary titles. During Matthias’ reign, the court and the government offices moved from Prague to Vienna. Matthias had allegedly found a spring in the area of today’s magnificent Schönbrunn Palace, outside of Vienna, which became the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers. It is said that the name of the area and the palace came from Matthias’ remark: “Look, what a beautiful spring!” (beautiful: schön, spring: Brunn[en]).

During his seven-year reign, Matthias was seriously ill with gout and preferred the distractions of court life to the boring affairs of state. Cardinal Melchior Klesl, Matthias’ chief minister and favorite determined the policies. Klesl wanted to arrange a compromise between Catholic and Protestant states within the Holy Roman Empire to strengthen the empire. These policies were opposed by the more conservative Catholic Habsburgs, especially Matthias’s brother Archduke Maximilian, who hoped to secure the succession for their ardent Catholic cousin Archduke Ferdinand, who later became Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.

Concerned with their religious freedom, the Protestant Bohemians opposed all Catholic officials appointed by Matthias. This led to the 1618 Defenestration of Prague, a Bohemian Protestant revolt, and one of the three incidents in the history of Bohemia in which people were defenestrated – thrown out of a window. The 1618 Defenestration of Prague led to the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, with an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians dying as a result of battle, famine, and disease.

Matthias was old, ill, and unable to prevent the faction of his brother Archduke Maximilian from gaining power. He died on March 20, 1619, aged 62, in Vienna, Austria. His wife Anna had died just three months before, on December 15, 1618, aged 33. Archduke Ferdinand had already been crowned King of Bohemia in 1617 and King of Hungary in 1618. He was elected Holy Roman Emperor on August 28, 1619.

Interior of the Capuchin Church; Credit – Wikipedia

Although Matthias and his wife Anna did not leave any children, they left the future Habsburgs a burial site. Matthias and Anna founded the Capuchin Church (German: Kapuzinerkirche) in Vienna, Austria, where the Imperial Crypt (German: Kaisergruft), the traditional burial site of the Habsburgs, is located. Anna had come up with the idea of a Capuchin monastery and burial place for her and her husband and wanted to build it near Hofburg Palace in Vienna. In her will, Anna left funds to provide for the church’s construction. Construction began on November 10, 1618, but sadly, Anna died a month later and Matthias died three months after Anna. Because the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church had not yet been completed, Matthias and Anna were temporarily buried at the Poor Clares Convent of St. Maria, Queen of the Angels in Vienna.

Tombs of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias and Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Von Welleschik Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6619836

The Capuchin Church was not completed and dedicated until 1632 because of the Thirty Years’ War. On Easter 1633, the two sarcophagi containing the remains of Matthias and Anna were transferred to the Capuchin Church and placed in what is now called the Founders Vault. Located under the Imperial Chapel, a side chapel in the main church, the Founders Crypt is the oldest part of the Imperial Crypt, dating from the original construction of the Capuchin Church. The Founders Crypt cannot be entered by visitors and is visible through a gate from the Leopold Crypt. Through the years, other vaults have been added and Capuchin friars still look after the tombs.

Capuchin Church in Vienna (Cloister on left, Church in middle, Imperial Crypt on right); Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This writer has visited the Capuchin Church. The burial place of the Habsburgs is so unlike the soaring cathedrals containing the other royal burial sites I have visited and certainly not as grandiose. The Capuchin Church is small and is on a street with traffic, shops, stores, restaurants, and cafes. One cafe is directly across from it. Walking past the church, one would never think the burial place of emperors is there.

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Works Cited

Anna of Tyrol (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_of_Tyrol (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/capuchin-church-in-vienna-austria/ (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/rudolf-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria-margrave-of-moravia/ (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
Matthias (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_(HRR) (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 12 June 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Margrave of Moravia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, circa 1576-1580; Credit – Wikipedia

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Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1576 – 1612), King of Bohemia (reigned 1576 – 1611), King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Margrave of Moravia (reigned 1576 – 1608) was born on July 18, 1552, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria. He was third of the fifteen children and the second but the eldest surviving of the ten sons of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and his first cousin Maria, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria. Rudolf’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. His maternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also Carlos I, King of Spain; Karl I, Archduke of Austria; Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles) and Isabella of Portugal.

Rudolf’s parents with their three eldest surviving children Anna (in the red), Rudolf (in the middle), and Ernst (in the cradle); Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf had fourteen siblings:

Archduchess Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain (1549 – 1580), married her maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain (his fourth wife), had five children but only one survived childhood
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1551 – 1552), died in infancy
Archduke Ernst of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1553 – 1595), unmarried
Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (1554 – 1592), married King Charles IX of France, had one daughter who did not survive childhood
Archduchess Marie of Austria (1555 – 1556), died in infancy
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (1557 – 1619), married Anna of Tyrol, no children
Archduke Maximilian of Austria (1558 – 1618), unmarried
Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1559 – 1621), married his first cousin Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, no surviving children
Archduke Wenceslaus of Austria (1561 – 1578), unmarried, died in his teens
Archduke Friedrich of Austria (1562 – 1563), died in infancy
Archduchess Marie of Austria (born and died 1564), died a month after her birth
Archduke Charles of Austria (1565 – 1566), died in infancy
Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1567 – 1633), refused to marry her uncle King Felipe II of Spain whose fourth wife (Margaret’s eldest sister Anna) had died, became a nun under the name of Sister Margaret of the Cross at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (1568 – 1580), died in childhood

Rudolf at age fifteen, while at the court of his uncle King Felipe II of Spain, by Alonso Sánchez Coello, 1567; Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf spent his early years at the courts of his grandfather Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and father Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at Maximilian II’s court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant writings, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. To protect Rudolf and Ernst, Maximilian II’s two eldest sons, from Protestant influences, King Felipe II of Spain, the boys’ maternal uncle, urged that they leave their father’s court. From 1563 – 1571, Rudolf and Ernst lived in Spain at the Roman Catholic court of their maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain.

Rudolf never married. In 1568, as part of the Habsburg marriage policy, sixteen-year-old Rudolf had been betrothed to his first cousin, two-year-old Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, the daughter of Rudolf’s maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain. Isabella Clara Eugenia had to wait for more than twenty years before Rudolf declared that he had no intention of marrying anybody. In 1599, 31-year-old Isabella Clara Eugenia married Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries, one of Rudolf’s younger brothers.

Rudolf’s father Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1572, Rudolf’s father Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crown of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576.

Rudolf is considered an ineffective ruler whose mistakes directly led to the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, with an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians dying as a result of battle, famine, and disease. However, Rudolf was a major patron of the arts and sciences, and his support helped foster the Scientific Revolution. Although raised in his uncle’s Catholic court in Spain, Rudolf was tolerant of Protestantism and other religions including Judaism. His tolerance toward the Jews resulted in the flourishing of Jewish cultural life and an increase in the Jewish population during Rudolf’s reign. Rudolf’s conflict with the Islamic Ottoman Empire was his undoing. He was unwilling to compromise with the Ottomans and was determined to unify all of Christendom with a new crusade, so he started a long and indecisive war against the Ottomans, the Long Turkish War (1593 – 1606).

Rudolf’s brother, the future Holy Roman Emperor Matthias; Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf’s Hungarian subjects were tired of the Long Turkish War and revolted in 1604. In 1605, Habsburg family members forced Rudolf to give control of Hungary to his brother Archduke Matthias. By 1606, Matthias had negotiated peace with the Hungarian rebels (1606 Treaty of Vienna) and the Ottomans (1606 Peace of Zsitvatorok). However, Rudolf was angry with Matthias’s concessions and his hold on power and he prepared to start a new war against the Ottoman Empire. With support from the Hungarians, Matthias forced Rudolf to cede the crowns of Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to him. Meanwhile, the Bohemian Protestants demanded greater religious liberty, which Rudolf granted in the Letter of Majesty in 1609. However, when the Bohemians Protestants asked for further freedom, Rudolf used his army against them. The Bohemian Protestants then appealed to Matthias for help. Matthias’ army held Rudolf prisoner at his usual residence, Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, until 1611 when Rudolf ceded the crown of Bohemia to Matthias. Rudolf lost what was left of his power and lived in isolation at Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic.

Rudolf, Holy Roman Emperor, 1590s; Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf, aged fifty-nine, died at Prague Castle on January 20, 1612, nine months after he had been stripped of all effective power by his younger brother, except the empty title of Holy Roman Emperor, to which Matthias was elected five months later. Toward the end of his life, Rudolf showed signs of schizophrenia, refused to bathe, and lived in squalor. Rudolf was buried in the royal vault at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic.

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, where Rudolf is buried; Credit – By Alvesgaspar – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52660920

Works Cited

Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
Rudolf II. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II._(HRR) (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Maria of Spain and Austria, Holy Roman Empress

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria of Spain and Austria, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Maria’s powerful father Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among other titles; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria was the wife of her first cousin Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. Born on June 21, 1528, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, Kingdom of Spain, Maria was the second of the five children and the elder of the two daughters of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also Carlos I, King of Spain; Karl I, Archduke of Austria; Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles) and Isabella of Portugal. Maria’s father was Charles was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms from his parents, Maria’s paternal grandparents, Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State, and Juana, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon The Kingdoms of Castile, León, and Aragon were combined into the Kingdom of Spain under Maria’s father. Maria’s maternal grandparents were Manuel I, King of Portugal and his second of three wives Maria of Aragon, her namesake.

Maria had four siblings but only two survived childhood:

Felipe II, King of Spain (1527 – 1598), married (1) his double first cousin Maria Manuela, Infanta of Portugal who died giving birth to a son who predeceased his father (2) his first cousin once removed Queen Mary I of England, no children (3) Elisabeth of Valois, had five pregnancies but only two surviving daughters, Elisabeth died a few hours after the loss of her last child (4) his niece Anna of Austria had five children but only one son Felipe III, King of Spain survived childhood, Anna died of heart failure eight months after giving birth to her last child
Ferdinand of Austria (1529 – 1530), died in infancy
Juana of Austria (1535 – 1573), married her first cousin João Manuel, Hereditary Prince of Portugal, had one son Sebastian, King of Portugal
Juan of Austria (1537 – 1538), died in infancy

Maria’s mother Isabella of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

The main residence of Maria’s parents Charles and Isabella was in Spain as the Spanish nobles had insisted that their children be raised in Spain. Charles was often away from his family to lead military campaigns and administer his other realms, and Isabella was appointed Regent of Spain in his absence. Isabella supervised her children’s education and taught them Portuguese. In 1539, when Maria was 11 years old, her mother Isabella developed a fever causing her to miscarry during the third month of her seventh pregnancy. The fever caused her condition to worsen and Isabella died two weeks later on May 1, 1539, aged thirty-five. Maria’s father Charles was so grief-stricken that he shut himself up in a monastery for two months where he prayed and mourned for Isabella in solitude. He never recovered from her death, dressed in black for the rest of his life, and despite being only thirty-nine, never remarried.

Maria’s husband Maximilian, circa 1544; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 13, 1548, Maria married her first cousin Archduke Maximilian of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II), the son of her paternal uncle Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I) and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. With this marriage, Maria’s father intended to strengthen the ties between the Austrian Habsburgs and the Spanish Habsburgs. While Maria’s father Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was occupied with the affairs of his other realms, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551, during the absence of Maria’s brother, the future King Felipe II of Spain. In 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria.

Maria and her husband Maximilian with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian and Maria had fifteen children:

Archduchess Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain (1549 – 1580), married her maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain (his fourth wife), had five children but only one survived childhood
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1551 – 1552), died in infancy
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552 – 1612), unmarried
Archduke Ernst of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1553 – 1595), unmarried
Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (1554 – 1592), married King Charles IX of France, had one daughter who did not survive childhood
Archduchess Marie of Austria (1555 – 1556), died in infancy
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (1557 – 1619), married Anna of Tyrol, no children
Archduke Maximilian of Austria (1558 – 1618), unmarried
Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1559 – 1621), married his first cousin Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, no surviving children
Archduke Wenceslaus of Austria (1561 – 1578), unmarried, died in his teens
Archduke Friedrich of Austria (1562 – 1563), died in infancy
Archduchess Marie of Austria (born and died 1564), died a month after her birth
Archduke Charles of Austria (1565 – 1566), died in infancy
Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1567 – 1633), refused to marry her uncle King Felipe II of Spain whose fourth wife (Margaret’s eldest sister Anna) had died, became a nun under the name of Sister Margaret of the Cross at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (1568 – 1580), died in childhood

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Maria’s father Charles abdicated in 1555 and retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Upon Charles’s abdication, his younger brother, Ferdinand, the father of Maria’s husband, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son and Maria’s brother who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son and Maria’s husband Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563. Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61. Maria’s husband Maximilian was now Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Archduke of Austria.

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1569; Credit – Wikipedia

During his reign, Maria’s husband Maximilian II had to deal with the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.

During her life in Austria as Holy Roman Empress, Maria, a devout Catholic, was ill at ease with the Lutheran religion and surrounded herself with a circle of devout Catholic courtiers, many of whom she had brought with her from Spain. Her court was organized by her Spanish chief lady-in-waiting Margarita Folc de Cardona i Requesens in a Spanish manner.

There has been much debate about the nature of the religious beliefs of Maria’s husband Maximilian. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at the court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant literature, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. He once told his father that worshiping saints was meaningless and idolatrous. Maria frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband about his religious tolerance. However, Maximilian remained Roman Catholic and never converted to Lutheranism.

In 1572, Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son Rudolf, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crowns of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576. On his deathbed, Maximilian refused to receive the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

Maria in retirement at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, 1600; Credit – Wikipedia

After Maximilian’s death, Maria remained in Vienna for six years and had great influence over her sons Rudolf and Matthias who were both Holy Roman Emperors. She returned to Spain in 1582, rejoicing to live in “a country without heretics.” Maria retired to the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, founded in 1559 by her younger sister Juana when she was left a young widow and where she lived until her death in 1573. This was the same convent where Maria’s daughter Margaret became a nun after refusing to marry her uncle King Felipe II of Spain after his fourth wife, Maria’s eldest daughter Anna, died. At the convent, Maria lived half as a nun in devout prayer, and half as a princess, still exerting influence on the Spanish court.

The Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain where Maria lived the last years of her life, died, and was buried; Credit – By Luis García, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7770261

In 1587, Maria’s brother King Felipe II of Spain sent Father Tomás Luis de Victoria, a Catholic priest and the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance, to the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales as his sister’s chaplain. Father de Victoria remained at the convent for 24 years, serving as Maria’s chaplain until her death, and then as the convent organist. One of his most famous works is his Officium Defunctorum, a requiem mass composed for Maria’s funeral. On February 26, 1603, Maria died and was buried at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, aged seventy-four, having survived her husband by twenty-seven years.

Works Cited

Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Flantzer, S. (2022) Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-of-portugal-queen-of-spain-holy-roman-empress/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_of_Austria,_Holy_Roman_Empress (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Maria von Spanien (1528–1603) (2021) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_von_Spanien_%281528%E2%80%931603%29 (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1564 – 1576) was also King of Bohemia (reigned 1562 – 1576), King of Hungary and Croatia (reigned 1563 – 1576), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1564 – 1576), among many other titles. Born on July 31, 1527, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, Maximilian was the second of the fifteen children and the eldest of the four sons of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. His paternal grandparents were Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León. His maternal grandparents were King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale.

Maximilian with his younger brothers Ferdinand and Johann; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian had fourteen siblings, and all but two reached adulthood:

Elizabeth of Austria, Queen of Poland (1526 – 1545), married King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, no children
Anna of Austria, Duchess of Bavaria (1528 – 1590), married Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria, had seven children
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (1529 – 1595), married (1) Philippine Welser, had four children (2) his niece Anna Caterina Gonzaga, had three daughters
Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1531 – 1581), married to Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, had seven children
Magdalena of Austria (1532 – 1590), a nun
Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland (1533 – 1572), married (1) Francesco III Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Marquess of Montferrat, no children (2) King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, no children
Eleanor of Austria, Duchess of Mantua (1534 – 1594), married Guglielmo Gonzaga I, Duke of Mantua, had three children
Margarethe of Austria (1536 – 1567), a nun
Johann of Austria (1538 – 1539), died in infancy
Barbara of Austria, Duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio (1539 – 1572), married Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, no children
Karl II, Archduke of Austria (1540 – 1590), his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, had fifteen children
Ursula of Austria (1541 – 1543), died in early childhood
Helena of Austria (1543 – 1574), a nun
Johanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1547 – 1578), married Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had eight children, only two daughters survived childhood including Marie de’ Medici, 2nd wife of King Henri IV of France

Maximilian’s powerful uncle Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among other titles; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of Maximilian’s birth, his paternal uncle Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor and King (Carlos I) of Spain, among many other titles. Charles was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms from his parents Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Archduke of Austria, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State and the Austrian Habsburg realms, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon which were combined into the Kingdom of Spain under Charles.

Archduke Maximilian, circa 1544; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian II spent his early childhood at his father’s court in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Italy. Among his teachers were humanist scholars Kaspar Ursinus Velius and Georg Tannstetter. While Maximilian and his family were Roman Catholic, some rulers of the constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire had converted to Lutheranism during the Reformation. He developed a relationship with the Lutheran Augustus, Elector of Saxony who spent some time at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna. Maximilian learned about Lutheranism and then corresponded with Augustus, Elector of Saxony after he left Vienna. At the age of seventeen, Maximilian began to gain some military experience during the Italian War of 1542 – 1546 which pitted Maximilian’s uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Henry VIII of England against King François I of France and Sultan Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire.

Maximilian’s wife and first cousin Maria of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 13, 1548, Maximilian married his first cousin Infanta Maria of Spain, the daughter of his uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also King Carlos I of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. Maria and her siblings were raised in Spain and with this marriage, Charles V intended to strengthen the ties between the Austrian Habsburgs and the Spanish Habsburgs. While Maria’s father Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was occupied with the affairs of his other realms, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551, during the absence of Maria’s brother, the future King Felipe II of Spain. In 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria.

Maximilian and his wife Maria with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian and Maria had fifteen children:

Archduchess Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain (1549 – 1580), married her maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain (his fourth wife), had five children but only one survived childhood
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1551 – 1552), died in infancy
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552 – 1612), unmarried
Archduke Ernst of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1553 – 1595), unmarried
Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (1554 – 1592), married King Charles IX of France, had one daughter who did not survive childhood
Archduchess Marie of Austria (1555 – 1556), died in infancy
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (1557 – 1619), married Anna of Tyrol, no children
Archduke Maximilian of Austria (1558 – 1618), unmarried
Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (1559 – 1621), married his first cousin Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, no surviving children
Archduke Wenceslaus of Austria (1561 – 1578), unmarried, died in his teens
Archduke Friedrich of Austria (1562 – 1563), died in infancy
Archduchess Marie of Austria (born and died 1564), died a month after her birth
Archduke Charles of Austria (1565 – 1566), died in infancy
Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1567 – 1633), refused to marry her uncle King Felipe II of Spain whose fourth wife (Margaret’s eldest sister Anna) had died, became a nun under the name of Sister Margaret of the Cross at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (1568 – 1580), died in childhood

Maximilian’s first cousin Felipe II, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Maximilian’s paternal uncle Charles abdicated in 1555 and retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Charles’ younger brother, Maximilian’s father Ferdinand, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son and Maximilian’s first cousin who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563. Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61. Maximilian was now Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Archduke of Austria.

During his reign, Maximilian II had to deal with the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars, conflicts with his Spanish Habsburg cousins, and the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.

There has been much debate about the nature of Maximilian’s religious beliefs. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at the court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant writings, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. He once told his father that worshiping saints was meaningless and idolatrous. Maximilian’s wife Maria was a devout Catholic and frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband about his religious tolerance. However, Maximilian remained Roman Catholic and never converted to Lutheranism.

Maximilian’s son and successor Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1572, Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son Rudolf, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crown of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor.

Tomb of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, his wife Anna, and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 27, 1576, after a family outing, Maximilian suffered a severe relapse of an illness that had been bothering him for a long time, with attacks of sharp gastrointestinal pain. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576, while planning an invasion of Poland. On his deathbed, Maximilian refused to receive the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church. He was interred with his parents in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. After Maximilian’s death, his wife Maria of Spain remained in Vienna for six years and had great influence over her sons, Rudolf and Matthias who were both Holy Roman Emperors. Maria returned to Spain in 1582, where she died, aged seventy-four, on February 26, 1603, having survived her husband by twenty-seven years.

Works Cited

Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 17 May 2023).
Flantzer, S. (2023) Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-i-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
Maximilian II. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II._(HRR) (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, Queen of the Romans, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Anne of Bohemia and Hungary; Credit – Wikipedia

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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The wife of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Anna of Bohemia and Hungary was born in Buda, Kingdom of Hungary, now Budapest, Hungary, on July 23, 1503. Anna died before her husband became Holy Roman Emperor so she never held the title Holy Roman Empress. She was the oldest of the two children and the only daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale. Anna’s paternal grandparents were King Casimir IV of Poland and Elisabeth of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale and Catherine de Foix.

Anna had one younger brother:

Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia (1506 – 1526), married Mary of Austria, sister of Anna’s future husband Ferdinand, no children

King Casimir IV of Poland wearing a crown with his son King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his grandchildren Anna and Ludovicus. This is an idealized painting because Casimir’s grandchildren were born more than ten years after his death; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna’s 22-year-old mother died on July 26, 1506, a little more than three weeks after the birth of her son due to birth complications from delivery. Anna’s father Vladislaus never remarried and died ten years after his wife’s death, on March 13, 1516, two weeks after his 60th birthday. His son Ludovicus was previously crowned as King of Hungary in 1508 and as King of Bohemia in 1509, before his father died, a common practice in some monarchies, and so his succession was assured. The death of King Vladislaus II in 1516 left Anna and her brother under the guardianship of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and the ruler of the Archduchy of Austria, and the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. It was arranged for Anna to marry his grandson, then Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. The marriage contract stipulated that Ferdinand should succeed Anna’s brother Ludovicus as King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in case Ludovicus died without legitimate male heirs.

Anna’s husband Ferdinand, the future Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 26, 1521, in Linz, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, 18-year-old Anna married 18-year-old Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the son of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State from the House of Habsburg, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. At the time of his marriage in 1521, Ferdinand was governing the Habsburg hereditary lands on behalf of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. After her marriage, Anna was titled Archduchess of Austria.

Three sons of Anna and Ferdinand: Maximilian and his younger brothers Ferdinand and Johann; Credit – Wikipedia

Similar to the situation with King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, Ferdinand and Anna at first seemed to suffer from a lack of sexual instruction, but eventually, the marriage proved extremely successful both personally and politically. Anna and Ferdinand had fifteen children and all but two reached adulthood. Unusual for that time, Anna and Ferdinand personally looked after their children, who grew up simply and modestly. They were not taught exclusively taught by private tutors but attended a public school together with other children where particular attention was paid to learning languages.

Elizabeth of Austria, Queen of Poland (1526 – 1545), married King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, no children
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia (1527 – 1576), married his first cousin Maria of Spain, had sixteen children
Anna of Austria, Duchess of Bavaria (1528 – 1590), married Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria, had seven children
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (1529 – 1595), married (1) Philippine Welser, had four children (2) his niece Anna Caterina Gonzaga, had three daughters
Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1531 – 1581), married to Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, had seven children
Magdalena of Austria (1532 – 1590), a nun
Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland (1533 – 1572), married (1) Francesco III Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Marquess of Montferrat, no children (2) King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, no children
Eleanor of Austria, Duchess of Mantua (1534 – 1594), married Guglielmo Gonzaga I, Duke of Mantua, had three children
Margarethe of Austria (1536 – 1567), a nun
Johann of Austria (1538 – 1539), died in infancy
Barbara of Austria, Duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio (1539 – 1572), married Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, no children
Karl II, Archduke of Austria (1540 – 1590), his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, had fifteen children
Ursula of Austria (1541 – 1543), died in early childhood
Helena of Austria (1543 – 1574), a nun
Johanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1547 – 1578), married Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had eight children, only two daughters survived childhood including Marie de’ Medici, 2nd wife of King Henri IV of France

Anna’s brother Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia died without a legitimate male heir after he was thrown from his horse at the Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Empire in 1526. Anna’s husband Ferdinand claimed both kingdoms and was elected King of Bohemia later in 1526. Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Hungary by a group of nobles, but another group of Hungarian nobles refused to allow a foreign ruler to hold that title and elected Hungarian John Zápolya as an alternative king. Although this conflict lasted until 1570, Ferdinand had the support of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and was generally recognized as King of Hungary. Additionally, in 1531, Charles V recognized his brother Ferdinand as his successor as Holy Roman Emperor, and Ferdinand was elevated to the title King of the Romans, the title of the successor to the Holy Roman Elector elected during the lifetime of a sitting Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna was then Queen of the Romans.

Anna and Ferdinand were rarely separated, and she accompanied him on most trips. Anna was trusted by her husband with many important responsibilities. Shortly after their marriage, Ferdinand appointed Anna, together with Bernardo Clesio, Bishop of Trento, as Co-Chairs of his Hofrat (Court Council). There were times when Anna served as Regent and presided over the Diet, the legislative assembly, in Ferdinand’s name.

Tomb of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, his wife Anna, and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Sadly, Anna died, aged forty-four, due to childbirth complications on January 27, 1547, in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, three days after giving birth to her fifteenth child. She was buried in a tomb at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. Her husband Ferdinand and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor were also buried with Anna. Despite being encouraged to remarry, Ferdinand could not forget his wife and never remarried. He did not become Holy Roman Emperor until nine years later, in 1556, following the abdication of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand survived Anna by seventeen years, dying in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61.

Works Cited

Anne Jagellon (2022) Wikipedia (French). Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Jagellon (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Bohemia_and_Hungary (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-i-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (2018) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislaus_II_of_Bohemia_and_Hungary (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1556 – 1564), King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia (reigned 1526 – 1564), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1521 – 1564) was born at the Archiepiscopal Palace of Alcalá de Henares in Alcalá de Henares, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain, on March 10, 1503. He was the fourth of the six children and the second of the two sons of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State from the House of Habsburg, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. Ferdinand’s paternal grandparents were Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and the ruler of the Archduchy of Austria, and the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and the first of his three wives, Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, the ruler of the Burgundian State in her own right. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León.

A portrait of the extended Habsburg family: standing (left to right) Maximilian I. Holy Roman Emperor; Maximilian I’s son Philip of Austria; Maximilian I’s first wife Mary of Burgundy; sitting (left to right) Maximilian I and Mary’s grandsons Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; and Louis II, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, the husband of Maximilian and Mary’s granddaughter Mary of Austria; (Note: This portrait is anachronistic. Mary of Burgundy died in 1482 when her son Philip of Austria was 4 years old and her son Philip died in 1506 when his son Ferdinand was 4 years old); by Bernhard Strigel painted after 1515; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinand had five siblings. His brother was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, among many other titles, and his sisters were all queen consorts.

Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France (1498 – 1558), married (1) Manuel I, King of Portugal (his third wife), had two children (2) François I, King of France (his second wife), no children
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, also Carlos I, King of Spain (1500 – 1558), married Isabella of Portugal, had five children including Felipe II, King of Spain
Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (1501 – 1526), married Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, had five children, only two daughters survived childhood
Mary of Austria, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (1505 – 1558), married Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, the brother of Ferdinand’s wife, no children
Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal (1507 – 1578), married João III, King of Portugal, had nine children

Ferdinand’s parents Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León; Credit – Wikipedia

Before Ferdinand was seven years old, his father had died and his mother had been declared too mentally ill to reign as Queen of Castile and León and was confined in a convent for the rest of her life. Ferdinand’s father Philip of Habsburg (also known as Philip the Handsome) was the heir to both his father’s and mother’s dominions. His mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy was the only child of Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy, ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State (parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany), and succeeded him after his death at the Battle of Nancy during the Burgundian Wars in 1477. In March 1482, Philip’s mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy died from internal injuries received in a horse-riding accident. Philip, who was not quite four years old, succeeded his mother as ruler of the Burgundian State under the guardianship of his father Maximilian.

Philip’s father Maximilian was the son of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, today part of Austria and Slovenia. Maximilian was elected King of the Romans in 1486. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could, and often did, have a male relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent bore the title King of the Romans. Maximilian became Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola when his father Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola died in 1493. However, Philip predeceased his father Maximilian, and never succeeded to his father’s dominions but his eldest son, Ferdinand’s elder brother, did. Best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Carlos I, King of Spain, he was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms.

A year after his birth, Ferdinand’s maternal grandmother Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León died. Ferdinand’s mother Juana became Queen of Castile and León but her father Ferdinand II, King of Aragon proclaimed himself Governor and Administrator of Castile and León. In 1506, Ferdinand’s father Philip became King of Castile and León jure uxoris (by the right of his wife) as Philip I, initiating the rule of the Habsburgs in the Spanish kingdoms which would last until 1700 when the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg became extinct. However, Philip’s rule lasted only from July 12, 1506 to September 25, 1506, when he died, aged 28, apparently of typhoid fever, although an assassination by poisoning was rumored at the time.

Ferdinand’s father Philip had spread rumors about Juana’s supposed mental illness and her misunderstood behavior after his death may have reinforced these rumors. In 1509, Juana’s father Ferdinand II, King of Aragon convinced the parliament that Juana was too mentally ill to govern, and was appointed her guardian and the regent of Castile and León. Juana was confined in the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, Castile, now in Spain, under the orders of her father. In 1516, Ferdinand II, King of Aragon died. In his will, Ferdinand named his daughter Juana and her eldest son Charles the co-heirs of the Kingdom of Aragon. However, Juana would never reign as her son Charles would continue keeping her confined. Juana would not be released from her confinement until she died in 1555. Many historians feel that Juana was not mentally ill but had been manipulated by her father, husband, and her son. Juana’s father Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and her son Charles had a lot to gain from Juana being declared unfit to rule and confined.

Ferdinand’s wife Anne of Hungary and Bohemia; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 26, 1521, in Linz, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, Ferdinand married Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale. Anna’s mother died due to birth complications shortly after giving birth to her second child, the future Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The death of Anna’s father King Vladislaus II in 1516 left Anna and her brother under the guardianship of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. It was arranged for Anna to marry his grandson, then Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. At the time of his marriage in 1521, Ferdinand was governing the Habsburg hereditary lands on behalf of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage contract stipulated that Ferdinand should succeed Anna’s brother Ludovicus as King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in case Ludovicus died without legitimate male heirs.

Three sons of Ferdinand and Anna: Maximilian and his younger brothers Ferdinand and Johann; Credit – Wikipedia

Similar to the situation with King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, Ferdinand and Anna at first seemed to suffer from a lack of sexual instruction, but eventually, the marriage proved extremely successful both personally and politically. Ferdinand and Anna had fifteen children and all but two reached adulthood. Sadly, Anna died due to childbirth complications on January 27, 1547, at the age of forty-four, three days after giving birth to her fifteenth child. Despite being encouraged to remarry, Ferdinand could not forget his wife and never remarried.

Elizabeth of Austria, Queen of Poland (1526 – 1545), married King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, no children
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia (1527 – 1576), married his first cousin Maria of Spain, had sixteen children
Anna of Austria, Duchess of Bavaria (1528 – 1590), married Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria, had seven children
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (1529 – 1595), married (1) Philippine Welser, had four children (2) his niece Anna Caterina Gonzaga, had three daughters
Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1531 – 1581), married to Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, had seven children
Magdalena of Austria (1532 – 1590), a nun
Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland (1533 – 1572), married (1) Francesco III Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Marquess of Montferrat, no children (2) King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, no children
Eleanor of Austria, Duchess of Mantua (1534 – 1594), married Guglielmo Gonzaga I, Duke of Mantua, had three children
Margarethe of Austria (1536 – 1567), a nun
Johann of Austria (1538 – 1539), died in infancy
Barbara of Austria, Duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio (1539 – 1572), married Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, no children
Karl II, Archduke of Austria (1540 – 1590), his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, had fifteen children
Ursula of Austria (1541 – 1543), died in early childhood
Helena of Austria (1543 – 1574), a nun
Johanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1547 – 1578), married Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, had eight children, only two daughters survived childhood including Marie de’ Medici, 2nd wife of King Henri IV of France

Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia died without a legitimate male heir after he was thrown from his horse at the Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Empire in 1526. Ferdinand claimed both kingdoms and was elected King of Bohemia later in 1526. Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Hungary by a group of nobles, but another group of Hungarian nobles refused to allow a foreign ruler to hold that title and elected Hungarian John Zápolya as an alternative king. Although this conflict lasted until 1570, Ferdinand had the support of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and was generally recognized as King of Hungary. Additionally, in 1531, Charles V recognized Ferdinand as his successor as Holy Roman Emperor, and Ferdinand was elevated to the title King of the Romans.

Ferdinand’s brother Charles several years before his abdication; Credit – Wikipedia

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Ferdinand’s older brother Charles abdicated in 1555, the same year his 75-year-old mother Juana, confined in a convent for forty-six years, died. Charles retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Upon Charles’s abdication, his younger brother Ferdinand, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain.

Division of the Habsburg lands after the death of Charles V, Holy Roman Empeor; Credit – By Barjimoa – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93587376

Unlike his father Maximilian I and his brother Charles V, Ferdinand I did not travel between his domains. In 1533, he had moved his residence to Vienna and spent most of his time there. After Ferdinand became Holy Roman Emperor, Vienna became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. During his reign as Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand pursued a policy aimed at strengthening peace between the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire, worked on reaching compromises between Catholics and Protestants, and consolidated imperial forces to fight the Ottoman Empire’s invasion in Central Europe. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563.

Funeral of Ferdinand I, Holy Romand Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61, and was buried next to his wife Anna in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. Their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor was buried with his parents.

Tomb of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, his wife Anna, and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Works Cited

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 17 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 17 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/juana-i-queen-of-castile-and-leon-and-queen-of-aragon/> [Accessed 17 May 2023].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, King of Castile and León. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/philip-of-austria-duke-of-burgundy-king-of-castile/> [Accessed 17 May 2023].
Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Bianca Maria Sforza, Holy Roman Empress, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Bianca Sforza; Credit – Wikipedia

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Bianca Maria Sforza was the third wife of the three wives of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria. Born in Pavia, Duchy of Milan, now in Italy, on April 5, 1472, she was the third of the four children and the elder of the two daughters of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 5th Duke of Milan and his second wife Bona of Savoy. Bianca Maria’s paternal grandparents were Francesco Sforza, 4th Duke of Milan, and her namesake Bianca Maria Visconti. Her maternal grandparents were Ludovico I, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus.

Bianca Maria had three siblings:

Gian Galeazzo Sforza, 6th Duke of Milan (1469 – 1494), married his first cousin Isabella of Naples, had four children
Hermes Maria Sforza, Marquis of Tortona (1470 – 1503), unmarried
Anna Maria Sforza (1476 – 1497), married Alfonso I d’Este, later Duke of Ferrara, died in childbirth

Bianca Maria’s father was notorious for being cruel, tyrannical, and vengeful. On December 26, 1476, when Bianca Maria was four-years-old, her 32-year-old father was stabbed to death while attending Mass at the Church of Santo Stefano in Milan by three high-ranking officials of the Milanese court. Bianca Maria’s father was succeeded by his 7-year-old son Gian Galeazzo Sforza, 6th Duke of Milan with his mother Bona serving as Regent of Milan. However, in 1481, in a power play, the young Duke’s paternal uncle Ludovico Sforza forced Bona to resign her position as Regent. Ludovico quickly gained power and became the de facto ruler of the Duchy of Milan. Ludovico imprisoned his nephew Gian Galeazzo and later became 7th Duke of Milan after Gian Galeazzo’s death, which was widely viewed as suspicious.

In 1476, at the age of four, Bianca Maria married her 11-year-old first cousin Philibert I, Duke of Savoy, who died from tuberculosis at the age of 17. After the death of Philbert, 10-year-old Bianca Maria returned to Milan, where she was placed under the care of her paternal uncle Ludovico Sforza. Ludovico placed little value on Bianca Maria’s education, so she was ill-educated and free to do whatever she wanted.

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria

After the death of his beloved first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right and a second very short annulled marriage in name only to Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria decided to marry for a third time to Bianca Maria Sforza. The marriage was arranged by Bianca Maria’s uncle Ludovico Sforza, who wanted recognition and the title of Duke of Milan to be confirmed by Maximilian. To make the marriage more desirable to Maximilian, Ludovico offered a dowry of 400,000 ducats in cash and a further 40,000 ducats in jewels. Twenty-one-year-old Bianca Maria and thirty-four-year-old Maximilian were married by proxy on November 30, 1493, in the Duchy of Milan. Bianca Maria then traveled with her large dowry and large escort to Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. However, because Maximilian was dealing with a Turkish invasion of his Duchy of Styria, Bianca had to wait until March 16, 1494, to marry Maximilian in person.

The marriage was not a happy one. Maximilian complained that Bianca Maria may have been more beautiful than his first wife Mary of Burgundy, but she was not as intelligent. He considered Bianca Maria uneducated, talkative, naive, careless, and wasteful with money. Bianca Maria had a miscarriage shortly after her marriage and it seems that she was never able to conceive again. She was a stepmother to the two surviving children of Maximilian and his first wife Mary of Burgundy. They were relatively close in age to Bianca Maria and she very much liked them.

Bianca Maria’s stepchildren:

Philip IV, Duke of Burgundy (1478 – 1506), also called Philip of Habsburg and Philip the Handsome, married Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon, had six children, all were kings or queen consorts
Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (1480 – 1530), married (1) Juan of Aragon, Prince of Asturias, the only son and heir of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, no children, died from tuberculosis (2) Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, no children

After 1500, Maximilian lost all interest in Bianca Maria. She lived with her own court of 150 – 200 people from Milan, traveling to various castles. Maximilian did not allow Bianca Maria to control her own finances and so she seemed to be living in luxury one day and in poverty the next day. Bianca Maria’s court was arranged around the Roman Catholic church feasts with lavish celebrations at Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, and Corpus Christi. Carnivals, dances, tournaments, music, theater, hunting, and fishing were integral parts of Bianca Maria’s court life.

The Abbey Church at Stams Abbey where Bianca Maria is buried; Credit – Di Zairon – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50155281

In the last years of her life, Bianca Maria suffered from a debilitating illness, and died on December 31, 1510, aged 38, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. Maximilian was not in Innsbruck at the time of her death and did not return to attend her funeral. Bianca Maria was buried at the Abbey Church in the Crypt of the Princes of Tyrol at Stams Abbey (link in Italian) in Stams, County of Tyrol, one of Maximilian’s lands, now in Austria. Traditionally, a gilded statue of those interred in the Crypt of the Princes of Tyrol was placed in the crypt but no gilded statue or any type of memorial was ever made for Bianca Maria. She is only memorialized in the Hofkirche (Court Church) in Innsbruck where her bronze statue is one of twenty-eight statues on Maximilian’s cenotaph that depicts twenty-four events in Maximilian’s life. The Hofkirche and the cenotaph were built by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I as a memorial to his grandfather Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. One has to doubt that Bianca Maria would have been included if Maximilian had designed his own cenotaph.

Works Cited

Abbazia di Stams (2021) Wikipedia (Italian). Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbazia_di_Stams (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
Bianca Maria Sforza (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bianca_Maria_Sforza (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
Bianca Maria Sforza (2022) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bianca_Maria_Sforza (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-i-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, Archduchess of Austria

Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right was the only child of Charles I the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and the second of his three wives Isabella of Bourbon. She was born on February 13, 1457, at the Palace of Coudenberg in Brussels, Duchy of Brabant in the Burgundian State, now in Belgium. Mary’s paternal grandparents were Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy and the third of his three wives Isabella of Portugal. Her maternal grandparents were Charles I, Duke of Bourbon and Agnes of Burgundy, also Mary’s paternal great-aunt. At the time of Mary’s birth, her paternal grandfather Philip III the Good was Duke of Burgundy.

Mary was baptized Marie-Blanche (in French) on February 17, 1457, in the chapel at the Palace of Coudenberg by Jean of Burgundy, Bishop of Cambrai, who was the illegitimate son of Mary’s great-grandfather Jean I the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. Mary’s grandfather Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy chose not to attend the baptism as it was only for a girl.

Mary’s godparents were:

Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, her paternal grandmother
Louis, Dauphin of France, the future Louis XI, King of France

Mary’s aunt Anne of Burgundy, the illegitimate daughter of Mary’s grandfather Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was put in charge of her niece and appointed Jeanne de Clito as Mary’s governess. Jeanne was Mary’s most constant companion for the rest of her life. Mary received an excellent education befitting a future reigning Duchess of Burgundy. She enjoyed music, art, and chess but physical exercise was her greatest love. Mary especially enjoyed hunting, riding, falconry, and skating on the frozen ponds of the Palace of Coudenberg.

Mary’s father Charles I the Bold, Duke of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

When Mary was eight-years-old, in 1465, her mother Isabella of Bourbon died from tuberculosis. In 1467, Mary’s grandfather Philip III the Good, Duke of Burgundy died and her father succeeded as Charles I, Duke of Burgundy. Charles had three marriages but ten-year-old Mary was his only child and became his heir presumptive.

Margaret of York, Mary’s stepmother; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1468, Mary’s widowed father married his third wife, the English Margaret of York, the daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the leader of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses until his death in battle in 1460, and the sister of King Edward IV of England and King Richard III of England. Margaret and Charles were half-second cousins. They were both great-grandchildren of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the third surviving son of King Edward III, but from different wives of John. The first meeting of Margaret of York with Charles’s mother Isabella of Portugal and 11-year-old Mary was a resounding success, and the three of them would remain close for the rest of their lives.

The Burgundian State during the reign of Charles the Bold; Credit – By Marco Zanoli, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3977827

The vast and rich Burgundian State consisted of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. Because of this, Mary had many suitors for her hand in marriage including the future King Charles VIII of France, Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine, and George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, supported by his sister and Mary’s stepmother Margaret of York. As early as 1463, when Mary was just six-year-old, Pope Pius II first suggested a marriage between Mary and four-year-old Archduke Maximilian of Austria, son of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria and Infanta Eleanor of Portugal. In the fall of 1473, the two fathers, Friedrich III and Charles the Bold, met to discuss a possible marriage. However, the negotiations failed and ended after two months.

Mary’s husband Maximilian; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s father’s main objective was to become a king by acquiring territories bordering and in between the territories of the Burgundian State. This caused the Burgundian Wars (1474 – 1477). On January 5, 1477, Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy was killed at the Battle of Nancy, and twenty-year-old Mary of Burgundy became the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. Mary feared that King Louis XI of France would try to force her to marry his eldest son, and resumed the marriage negotiations with Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III to marry his son Maximilian. King Louis XI of France tried to prevent the marriage by declaring that he was Mary’s overlord and refusing to consent to the marriage. However, Friedrich III agreed to the marriage of his son Maximilian and Mary. A proxy marriage was held on April 21, 1477, at Mary’s home, the Priesendorf in Bruges, County of Flanders, one of Mary’s lands, now in Belgium. On August 18, 1477, Maximilian arrived in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, and on the next day, Maximilian and Mary were married in person.

Mary and Maximilian had three children:

Philip IV, Duke of Burgundy (1478 – 1506), also called Philip of Habsburg and Philip the Handsome, married Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon, had six children, all were kings or queen consorts
Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (1480 – 1530), married (1) Juan of Aragon, Prince of Asturias, the only son and heir of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, no children, died from tuberculosis (2) Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, no children
Franz of Austria (born and died 1481)

Mary and Maximilian’s grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

It was through the marriage of Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon that the Habsburg lands would be joined with the Spanish lands. Philip and Juana’s son Carlos, best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms. Carlos I was not only the first King of a united Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but he was also Charles I, Archduke of Austria, and Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, among many other titles.

Mary’s reign as Duchess of Burgundy and her marriage to Maximilian lasted only five years. In March 1482, despite being pregnant, Mary participated in a hunt in the woods near Wijnendale Castle in Flanders along with her husband. She was an experienced rider and she held her falcon in one hand and the reins in the other hand. However, Mary’s horse stumbled over a tree stump while jumping over a newly dug canal. The saddle belt under the horse’s belly broke causing Mary to fall out of the saddle and into the canal with the horse on top of her. Mary died from internal injuries, aged twenty-five, several weeks later, on March 27, 1482, at Wijnendale Castle, Flanders, Burgundian Netherlands, now Wijnendale, West Flanders in Belgium. She was buried in a beautiful tomb next to her father in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges in the County of Flanders, now in Belgium. Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip, who was not quite four years old, succeeded his mother as ruler of the Burgundian State under the guardianship of his father Maximilian.

After Mary’s death, Maximilian’s father Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria died in 1493, and Maximilian succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands, becoming the reigning Archduke of Austria. He also became the de facto ruler of the Holy Roman Empire via his election as King of the Romans, heir to the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1486. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself the elected Holy Roman Emperor with the approval of Pope Julius II, ending the long tradition of requiring a papal coronation for the adoption of the Holy Roman Emperor title.

After a very short marriage in name only to Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, which the French forced Anne to annul, Maximilian married again, in 1494, to Bianca Maria Sforza. The marriage was not a happy one. Maximilian complained that Bianca Maria may have been more beautiful than his first wife Mary of Burgundy, but she was not as intelligent. Maximilian survived his first wife Mary by thirty-seven years, dying on January 12, 1519, aged 59 at the Castle of Wels in Wels, Upper Austria, now in Austria. He was buried at St. George’s Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria, now in Austria. However, as per his will, Maximilian’s heart was placed in the tomb of his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, County of Flanders, now in Belgium.

Works Cited

Abernethy, Susan. (2013) Mary of Burgundy, The Freelance History Writer. Available at: https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2013/03/23/mary-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/margaret-of-york-duchess-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-i-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
Marie de Bourgogne (2023) Wikipedia (French). Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_de_Bourgogne (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
Maria von Burgund (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_von_Burgund (Accessed: 03 May 2023).
Mary of Burgundy (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Burgundy (Accessed: 03 May 2023).

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria by Bernhard Strigel; Credit – Wikipedia

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Maximilian’s parents Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal

Maximilian I reigned as King of the Romans, the de facto leader of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 – 1508, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 – 1519, and ruled his family lands as Archduke of Austria from 1493 – 1519. Maximilian was born on March 22, 1459, at Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt, Archduchy of Austria now in the state of Lower Austria in Austria. He was the second of the five children and the second but the eldest surviving son of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria and Infanta Eleanor of Portugal. As his father was sovereign of the Austrian hereditary lands, Maximilian and his siblings received the title of Archduke/Archduchess of Austria at birth. Maximilian’s paternal grandparents were Ernst II, Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and his second wife Cymburgis of Masovia, a member of the Polish Piast dynasty. His maternal grandparents were King Duarte of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon.

Maximilian had four siblings but only one survived childhood:

Archduke Christoph of Austria (1455 – 1456), died in infancy
Archduchess Helene of Austria (1460 – 1462), died in early childhood
Archduchess Kunigunde of Austria (1465 – 1520), married Albrecht IV, Duke of Bavaria, had seven children
Archduke Johannes of Austria (1466 – 1467), died in early childhood

Since his elder brother died in infancy, Maximilian was prepared to be his father’s heir from an early age. When Maximilian was eight-years-old, his mother Eleanor, aged 32, died on September 3, 1467, from dysentery. In 1486, Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor ensured that his son Maximilian would succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor when the prince-electors unanimously elected Maximilian King of the Romans. The title King of the Romans was used to designate the successor to a Holy Roman Emperor elected during the lifetime of a sitting Emperor.

As early as 1463, when Maximilian was just four years old, Pope Pius II, who had previously been an advisor to Maximilian’s father as Enea Silvio Piccolomini, suggested a marriage between Maximilian and six-year-old Mary of Burgundy, the only child of Charles the Bold of Burgundy and the second of his three wives Isabella of Portugal. In 1467, Charles succeeded his father Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, and became Charles I, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and rich Burgundian State that consisted of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. If Charles the Bold did not have a son, his daughter Mary would become the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. In the fall of 1473, the two fathers, Friedrich III and Charles the Bold, met to discuss a possible marriage. However, the negotiations failed and ended after two months.

Maximilian’s first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 5, 1477, during the Burgundian Wars, Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy was killed at the Battle of Nancy. Twenty-year-old Mary of Burgundy, the only child of Charles I, became the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. Mary feared that King Louis XI of France would try to force her to marry his eldest son, and resumed the marriage negotiations with Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III to marry his son Maximilian. King Louis XI of France tried to prevent the marriage by declaring that he was Mary’s overlord and refusing to consent to the marriage. However, Friedrich III agreed to the marriage of his son Maximilian and Mary. A proxy marriage was held on April 21, 1477, at Mary’s home, the Priesendorf in Bruges, County of Flanders, one of Mary’s lands, now in Belgium. On August 18, 1477, Maximilian arrived in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, and on the next day, Maximilian and Mary were married in person.

Maximilian and Mary had three children:

Philip IV, Duke of Burgundy (1478 – 1506), also called Philip of Habsburg and Philip the Handsome, married Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon, had six children, all were kings or queen consorts
Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (1480 – 1530), married (1) Juan of Aragon, Prince of Asturias, the only son and heir of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, who died from tuberculosis, no children (2) Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, no children
Franz of Austria (born and died 1481)

Sadly, Maximilian and Mary’s marriage lasted only five years. In March 1482, despite being pregnant, Mary participated in a hunt in the woods near Wijnendale Castle in Flanders along with her husband. She was an experienced rider and she held her falcon in one hand and the reins in the other hand. However, Mary’s horse stumbled over a tree stump while jumping over a newly dug canal. The saddle belt under the horse’s belly broke causing Mary to fall out of the saddle and into the canal with the horse on top of her. Mary was seriously injured and was transported to Prinsenhof, her palace in Bruges, where she died, aged twenty-five, several weeks later from internal injuries. Mary was buried next to her father in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges in Flanders, now in Belgium. Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip, who was not quite four years old, succeeded his mother as ruler of the Burgundian State under the guardianship of his father Maximilian.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Maximilian’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian had a short second marriage to Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. On September 9, 1488, Anne’s father François II, Duke of Brittany died as a result of a fall from his horse, and Anne became the Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Anne feared for the independence of her duchy against the might of France and so she arranged a marriage for herself with Maximilian. Maximilian and Anne were married by proxy in 1490, which turned out to be a marriage in name only. King Charles VIII succeeded his father as King of France in 1483. However, he was a minor, and his elder sister Anne of France and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, served as regents. They refused to allow an in-person marriage between Anne and Maximilian because it would put the Habsburgs, Maximilian’s family, on two French borders. A month before Anne of Brittany’s father died, he had been forced to sign the Treaty of Verger and thereby becoming a vassal of King Charles VIII of France and agreeing to seek Charles’ consent before arranging the marriage of his daughters. The Treaty of Verger was used to force Anne of Brittany to annul her proxy marriage to Maximilian and marry King Charles VIII of France.

On August 19, 1493, Maximilian’s father died and he succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands, becoming the reigning Archduke of Austria. He also became the de facto ruler of the Holy Roman Empire via his election as King of the Romans in 1486. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself the elected Holy Roman Emperor with the approval of Pope Julius II, ending the long tradition of requiring a papal coronation for the adoption of the Holy Roman Emperor title.

Bianca Maria Sforza, Maximilian’s third wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian married again to twenty-one-year-old Bianca Maria Sforza, the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 5th Duke of Milan and his second wife Bona of Savoy. In 1476, at the age of 4, Bianca Maria had been married to her 11-year-old first cousin Philibert I, Duke of Savoy, who died from tuberculosis at the age of 17. Maximilian and Bianca Maria were married by proxy on November 30, 1493, in the Duchy of Milan. Bianca Maria then traveled with her large dowry and large escort to Innsbruck. However, because Maximilian was dealing with a Turkish invasion of his Duchy of Styria, Bianca had to wait until March 16, 1494, to marry Maximilian in person.

The marriage was not a happy one. Maximilian complained that Bianca Maria may have been more beautiful than his first wife Mary of Burgundy, but she was not as intelligent. He considered Bianca Maria uneducated, talkative, naive, wasteful with money, and careless. Bianca Maria had a miscarriage shortly after her marriage and it seems that she was never able to conceive again. After 1500, Maximilian lost all interest in Bianca Maria. She lived with her own court of people from Milan in various castles. Bianca Maria, aged 38, died on December 31, 1510, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. Maximilian was not in Innsbruck at the time of her death and did not return to attend her funeral.

Maximilian’s grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, also King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, and Duke of Burgundy by Bernard van Orley, 1519; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian’s reign was marked by the military and political restoration of the House of Habsburg and by the modernization of the administration of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war, through his own marriage to Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, and the marriage of his son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon. His grandson, the son of Philip and Juana, was Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, (reigned 1519 – 1556), King of Spain (reigned 1516 – 1556), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1519 – 1521), Lord of the Netherlands, and Duke of Burgundy (reigned 1506 – 1555). Charles, one of the most powerful ever monarchs, inherited and reigned over the dominions of his mother Juana (Castile and León, and Aragon) which would be united under Charles as the Kingdom of Spain, the dominions of his father Philip (the Burgundian State Philip had inherited from his mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, consisting of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany), and also the Habsburg dominions of his paternal grandfather Maximilian (Archduchy of Austria, Duchy of Styria, Duchy of Carinthia, and Duchy of Carniola, today parts of Austria and Slovenia). Charles would be elected Holy Roman Emperor after the death of his grandfather Maximilian in 1519.

Maximilian in the last year of his life, holding his personal emblem, a pomegranate by Albrecht Dürer, 1519; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1501, Maximilian fell from his horse and badly injured his leg, causing him pain for the rest of his life. From 1514, he traveled everywhere with his coffin. In 1518, feeling his death was near after seeing an eclipse, he tried to return to his beloved Innsbruck but made it only to Wels in Upper Austria, where he suffered a stroke on December 15, 1518, that left him bedridden. However, Maximilian continued to read documents and receive foreign envoys. On January 12, 1519, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria died, aged 59 at the Castle of Wels in Wels, Upper Austria.

Tomb of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – By krischnig – Self-photographed, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87779171

Maximilian was buried under the steps of the altar at St. George’s Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria, now in Austria. As per his will, his heart was placed in the tomb of his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, County of Flanders, now in Belgium.

Works Cited

Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-iii-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2021) What was the Holy Roman Empire?, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/what-was-the-holy-roman-empire/ (Accessed: May 2, 2023).
Mary of Burgundy (2023) Encyclopedia.com. Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mary-burgundy-1457-1482 (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
Maximilian I. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I._(HRR) (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023a) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
Максимилиан I (император Священной Римской империи) Maximilian (2023) Wikipedia (Russian). Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BD_I_(%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80_%D0%A1%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A0%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8) (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress

Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Infanta Eleanor of Portugal (Leonor in Portuguese) was the wife of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also the reigning Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola and Duke (Duchy of Austria) and then Archduke of Austria (Archduchy of Austria). Eleanor was born on September 18, 1434, in Torres Vedras, Portugal. She was the sixth of the nine children and the third but the eldest surviving of the five daughters of King Duarte of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were King João I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster. Philippa was the daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III of England, and therefore Eleanor’s father King Duarte was a great-grandson of King Edward III of England, a nephew of King Henry IV of England, and first cousin of King Richard II of England and King Henry V of England. Eleanor’s maternal grandparents were King Fernando I of Aragon and Eleanor, 3rd Countess of Alburquerque.

Eleanor had eight siblings:

Infante João of Portugal (1429 – 1433), died in childhood
Infanta Philippa of Portugal (1430 – 1439), died in childhood
King Afonso V of Portugal (1432 – 1481), married (1) Isabella of Coimbra, had three children including King João II of Portugal (2) Joanna of Castile, his niece, no children
Infanta Maria of Portugal (born and died 1432), died in infancy.
Infante Fernando of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (1433 – 1470), married his cousin Beatriz of Portugal, had nine children including King Manuel I of Portugal
Infante Duarte of Portugal (born and died 1435)
Infanta Catarina of Portugal (1436 – 1463), became a nun
Infanta Joana of Portugal (1439 – 1475), married King Enrique IV of Castile, had one daughter Joanna of Castile who married her uncle Afonso V above

In 1438, when Eleanor was four years old, her father King Duarte died from the plague, causing a political crisis in Portugal. Eleanor’s six-year-old brother became King of Portugal as Afonso V. It was assumed that King Duarte’s brothers would be the regents for the underage Afonso but in his will, Duarte had named his unpopular wife Eleanor of Aragon as regent. Duarte’s brother Infante João, Constable of Portugal gained the backing of the bourgeoisie in the Cortes, an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm – the nobility, clergy, and bourgeoisie – to elect his brother Infante Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, as regent. However, the nobility backed Eleanor of Aragon’s claim to be regent and threatened civil war. The crisis was defused by a complicated and tense power-sharing arrangement between Eleanor’s mother Eleanor of Aragon and her uncle Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. Eleanor and her siblings were placed under the guardianship of their uncle Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. In 1440, Eleanor of Aragon was removed from sharing the regency, and she left Portugal, living in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile where she died in 1445. It was in this tense atmosphere that Eleanor grew up.

Eleanor’s paternal aunt Isabella of Portugal had married Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast Burgundian State. In 1440, 25-year-old Friedrich, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola and then Duke of Austria, later Archduke of Austria, was unanimously elected King of the Romans and although effectively Holy Roman Emperor, he would not officially become Holy Roman Empire until his coronation by the pope in Rome. A marriage with Friedrich was probably suggested by Eleanor’s aunt Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy. Eleanor was also suggested as a bride for the future King Louis XI of France but she preferred Friedrich because a marriage with him would make her an empress instead of a queen.

Eleanor meeting Friedrich for the first time by Pinturicchio, circa 1502-1507; Credit – Wikipedia

Marriage negotiations were conducted by Eleanor’s maternal uncle King Alfonso V of Aragon and Naples and completed in 1451. In November 1451, Eleanor left Portugal for the port city of Livorno, then in the Republic of Florence, now in Italy. After an arduous voyage, with stormy weather, skirmishes with pirates, and rumors that the ship had been lost at sea, Eleanor finally arrived in Livorno in January 1452 after a 104-day voyage. 18-year-old Eleanor met her 37-year-old groom-to-be in Siena on February 24, 1452, and together they traveled to Rome. On March 16, 1452, Eleanor and Friedrich were married by Pope Nicholas V. Finally, on March 19, 1452, Friedrich and Eleanor were anointed in St. Peter’s Basilica by Cardinal Francesco Condulmer, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, and then they were crowned as Holy Roman Emperor and Holy Roman Empress by Pope Nicholas V.

Eleanor and her son Maximilian from Empress Eleanor’s Book of Hours; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich and Eleanor had five children but only two survived childhood:

Archduke Christoph of Austria (1455 – 1456), died in infancy
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459 – 1519), married (1) Mary, Duchess of Burgundy (in her own right), had three children including Philip of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy (2) Anne, Duchess of Brittany (in her own right), no children, proxy marriage annulled (3) Bianca Maria Sforza, no children
Helene of Austria (1460 – 1462), died in early childhood
Kunigunde of Austria (1465 – 1520), married Albrecht IV, Duke of Bavaria, had seven children
Johannes of Austria (1466 – 1467), died in early childhood

Eleanor and Friedrich were very different and their marriage was not a happy one. Eleanor loved dancing, gambling, and hunting while Friedrich was more serious. Friedrich sent Eleanor’s Portuguese entourage back to Portugal because of the cost which caused Eleanor to suffer from homesickness. Friedrich blamed Eleanor for causing the deaths of three of their children by making them eat Portuguese food, so he entirely took on the responsibility of raising their two surviving children.

A depiction of Eleanor’s tomb lid; Credit – Wikipedia

After fifteen years of marriage, Eleanor, aged 32, died on September 3, 1467, from dysentery in Wiener Neustadt, Duchy of Styria, now in Austria. She was buried at the Neukloster Abbey in Wiener Neustadt which was founded by her husband and where her three children who died in childhood were buried. Friedrich survived his wife Eleanor by twenty-six years, dying on August 19, 1493, at the age of 77. He was buried at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria in a magnificent tomb.

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor in old age; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor had laid the foundation that would keep the House of Habsburg in a power play position until its fall after World War I in 1918. Friedrich and Eleanor’s son, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor married the ruler of the Burgundian State, Mary, Duchess of Burgundy. Friedrich’s and Eleanor’s grandson Philip of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy married Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. Friedrich’s and Eleanor’s great-grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also King Carlos I of Spain among other titles) was one of the most powerful ever monarchs who had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Austrian, Burgundian, and Spanish realms.

Works Cited

Edward, King of Portugal (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward,_King_of_Portugal (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Portugal,_Holy_Roman_Empress (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-iii-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2021) What was the Holy Roman Empire?, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/what-was-the-holy-roman-empire/ (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
Friedrich III. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_III._(HRR) (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
Leonor de Portugal, Imperatriz Romano-germânica (2022) Wikipedia (Portuguese). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonor_de_Portugal%2C_Imperatriz_Romano-Germ%C3%A2nica (Accessed: March 4, 2023).
Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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