I.
May, 1559] THE NETHERLANDS REGENCY
During the last year the Duke of Savoy had repeatedly begged to be relieved of his post as the King's Lieutenant in the Low Countries. By the Treaty of Câteau-Cambrésis he recovered his dominions, and set out on the 15th of June for Paris with a great train of gentlemen and servants, to celebrate his marriage with King Henry's sister. At the same time, the death of the Emperor made Philip's return to Spain necessary. The appointment of a new Regent of the Netherlands became imperative, and everyone expected the Duchess of Lorraine would be chosen to fill the vacant office. A Habsburg by birth, she inherited the capacity for governing which distinguished the women of her house, and had proved her fitness for the post by the wisdom with which she administered her son's State during seven years. Her popularity with all classes of people in the Netherlands was an additional advantage, and when, in the summer of 1558, it had been doubtful if Mary of Hungary would consent to return, the Duchess was the first person whose name was suggested. The Venetian Suriano remarked that the only doubt as to her fitness for the office was that she hardly possessed her aunt's extraordinary vigour and energy.[572] But these doubts had been dispelled by the admirable manner in which she had conducted the negotiations at the recent Conference and the immense credit which she had acquired on all sides. Unfortunately, she had made an enemy of the Bishop of Arras, and excited his jealousy by her private consultations with the Cardinal and Constable, and still more by her friendship with the Prince of Orange. Both Orange and Egmont disliked the Bishop almost as much as they hated the King's Spanish favourites, and lost no opportunity of showing their contempt for the "meddling priest," as they called Philip's confidential counsellor. And both of these proud nobles, seeing no hope of themselves obtaining the Regency, supported the Duchess's claims strongly.[573] But the very popularity which Christina enjoyed, the acclamations which greeted her return from Câteau-Cambrésis, had the effect of arousing Philip's jealousy. He lent a willing ear to Arras and Alva when they spoke scornfully of the Duchess's French connection and of the influence which the Prince of Orange would gain by his marriage with her daughter. Then, in an evil hour both for himself and the Netherlands, the Bishop suggested the name of the Duchess of Parma. Margaret was closely related to the King, and would be far more pliable and ready to follow his counsels than Christina. Philip liked his sister, and shared the Spaniards' jealousy of the great Flemish nobles, more especially of the Prince of Orange, whose intimacy with Christina he regarded with growing suspicion. His mind was soon made up, and when the French Commissioners came to Brussels in May, the appointment of the Duchess of Parma to be Governess of the Low Countries was publicly proclaimed.[574]
The announcement was the signal for an outburst of popular discontent. Orange and Egmont protested loudly at this affront to the Duchess of Lorraine, and complained of the indignity offered to the nation by giving them a ruler of illegitimate birth, whose interests and connections were all foreign, and whose husband had actually borne arms against the late Emperor.
"There is great discontent here," wrote Tiepolo, "at the Duchess of Parma's appointment. The common folk use very insolent language, and say that if a woman is to reign over them they would far rather have the Duchess of Lorraine, whom they know and love and hold to be one of themselves. Every one, indeed, would have greatly preferred this Princess, who is of royal lineage on both sides, and has long dwelt in these provinces, besides being far more gracious and affable to the nobles."[575]
To Christina herself the blow was heavy. She had suffered many trials and disappointments at her enemies' hands, but had never expected to be treated with such ingratitude by the King, who had always professed so much affection for his cousin, and was so deeply indebted to her.
June, 1559] CHRISTINA'S DISAPPOINTMENT
"The Duchess of Lorraine," wrote Tiepolo, "feels the injustice of the King's decision more deeply than any of her past adversities, and naturally thinks that, after her long and indefatigable exertions in negotiating this peace, taking part in every Conference and adjusting every dispute, she deserved to be treated with greater regard. Everyone here admits that peace was concluded chiefly owing to her wisdom and efforts, and this is all the reward which she has received."[576]
It is scarcely to be wondered at if Christina never wholly forgave Philip for the cruel wrong which he had done her, and if in all her future correspondence with him we trace a strain of reproachful bitterness. Her resolve to leave the Netherlands was now fixed. She could not bear to see another Regent at Brussels, and was not even sure if she cared to live as a subject at her son's Court. Her thoughts turned once more to Italy, and, since the Castles of Tortona and Vigevano were not available, she addressed a petition to Philip through her Italian secretary, asking him to give her the duchy of Bari in Calabria. This principality, once the property of Lodovico Sforza, had been lately bequeathed to Philip by the late Queen Bona of Poland, on condition that he would discharge a considerable debt owing to her son, King Sigismund. The beauty and salubrity of the spot, as well as its association with the Sforzas, probably prompted Christina's request, which ran as follows:
"The Duchess of Lorraine in all humility begs Your Majesty, in consideration of her close relationship and of the great affection which she bore the late Emperor, and of the services which she has rendered both to His Majesty of blessed memory and to yourself, to do her the favour of granting her and her children the duchy of Bari, with the same revenues and independent liberties as were enjoyed by the Queen of Poland. She will undertake to pay the King of Poland the sum of 100,000 crowns due to him, and humbly begs Your Majesty to grant her half of this amount in ready money, the other half in bills on merchants' houses, in order that she may be able to pay the creditors who annoy her daily. Her revenues for the next year are already mortgaged, owing to the necessity laid upon her of supporting her daughters, during the last seven years, and the repeated journeys which she has undertaken to England, and across the French frontier to treat of peace, all of which have involved her in great and heavy expenses...."
Here the petition breaks off abruptly, the rest of the page being torn off; but we see by Philip's reply that it contained a bitter complaint of the injustice which he had done Christina by refusing to make her Regent. He wrote to Arras, desiring him to see that the Duchess ceased to repeat these perpetual recriminations on the subject of the Regency, which were as derogatory to her dignity as they were injurious to his interests. He regretted that his own pressing needs made it impossible for him to do as much as he should wish to help her. At the same time he said that, besides the revenue of 4,000 crowns which he had already offered her, and which she had neither refused nor accepted, he was ready to give her another yearly allowance of 10,000 crowns, to be charged on Naples and Milan, pointing out that she could raise money on this income to satisfy her creditors.
June, 1559] WILLIAM OF ORANGE
"The sincere affection which the King has always felt for the Duchess, and the closeness of their relationship," added the writer, "impels him to advise her to retire to her dower lands of Lorraine and live near her son, in order that she may foster the loyalty and devotion which this young Prince owes her, and give him advice and help that may conduce to his welfare and that of the House of Lorraine. Any other action on her part, the King is convinced, will only excite public suspicion and slander. If, however, the Duchess prefers to live in the kingdom of Naples, the King is ready to offer her the town of Lecce, the most important next to the capital, where she can enjoy all the comforts and amenities of Italian life, together with the respect due to her exalted birth and rank."[577]
This offer, however, did not commend itself to Christina. In spite of its ancient castle and beautiful situation, Lecce was not an independent principality, and had no connection with her family. She replied curtly that she would follow His Majesty's advice and return to Lorraine, as soon as her creditors were satisfied and her affairs sufficiently arranged for her to leave the Netherlands with honour. Upon this, Philip sent the Duchess a sum of 21,000 crowns to defray the expenses of her journeys, and a further substantial advance on the additional revenues which he had assigned her.[578]
But while he was outwardly endeavouring to atone for one act of injustice, he was secretly doing the Duchess another and a more serious injury. The marriage of the Prince of Orange with her daughter Renée had been practically arranged at Câteau-Cambrésis, but some difficulties had arisen regarding the settlements already made by the Prince on his two children by his first marriage, and the heavy debts which he had incurred by his extravagance, amounting, it was said, to 900,000 crowns. Up to this time Philip had openly encouraged the Prince's suit, but both he and Arras looked with alarm on a marriage that would make Orange more powerful and more dangerous than he was already, and were secretly plotting against its conclusion. One day, when Philip was walking in the park at Brussels with the Prince, he told him how much he regretted to find that Madame de Lorraine was strongly opposed to his marriage with her daughter, and had begged him to inform the Prince that she must decline to proceed further with the matter. The King added, in a friendly way, that he had told him this in order that he might look about for another wife while he was still young. The Prince was naturally much annoyed at this unexpected communication, and replied proudly that, if this were the case, he would promptly seek another alliance in Germany, where he had already received several offers of marriage. He was deeply wounded, not without reason, and went off to Paris a few days later, with Egmont and Alva, to remain there as hostages until the conditions of the treaty had been fulfilled. It was not until many months afterwards that he discovered how he had been duped. Christina meanwhile remained in her convent retreat, unconscious of what was happening in her absence, and heard with some surprise that the Prince of Orange had left Court without informing her of his departure.
July, 1559] MARGARET OF PARMA REGENT
All eyes were now turned to the Palais des Tournelles in Paris, where the Catholic King's marriage to Elizabeth of France, and that of the Duke of Savoy to Margaret, were about to be celebrated. Alva represented his master at the wedding, which was solemnized at Notre Dame on the 22nd of June, and his old enemy Guise proclaimed the new Queen's titles at the church doors, and flung handfuls of gold to the applauding crowds. But their joy was soon changed into mourning. King Henry was mortally wounded by a splintered lance in the tournament that followed, and, after lingering for ten days, breathed his last on the 10th of July, two days after the marriage of his sister and the Duke of Savoy had been quietly solemnized in the neighbouring church of St. Paul.
WILLIAM, PRINCE OF ORANGE, ÆTAT 26
By Adriaan Key (Darmstadt)
To face p. [456].
The news of his father-in-law's death reached Philip at Ghent, where he was preparing for his departure. Here Christina joined him on the 19th, and was greeted with the liveliest demonstrations of affection from both Court and people. Before leaving Brussels, she saw an English gentleman, who was on his way to Italy, and brought her a pressing invitation from Queen Elizabeth to pay a visit to England.[579] Elizabeth had evidently not forgotten the Duchess's friendly intentions on her behalf when she came to London in Mary's reign, nor her more recent conversation with Lord Howard. After her arrival at Ghent, she received frequent visits from Chaloner, the newly appointed Ambassador, and from the French Envoy, Sébastien de l'Aubespine, who had been one of the delegates to the Conference, and could not speak too highly of Madame de Lorraine's goodness and ability. Through him she sent affectionate messages to the young King Francis II. and his Scottish wife, thanking them in the warmest terms for their kindness to her son. Nor was Philip lacking in his attentions. He met the Duchess on her arrival, paid her daily visits, and seemed to fall once more under the old spell. On the 24th he and Christina were both present at a Requiem for the King of France, and dined together afterwards. The same afternoon Philip rode out to receive the Duchess of Parma.[580] The next day the Duke of Savoy returned from Paris, bringing with him the Prince of Orange and Egmont, who were released on parole, and attended the Chapter of the Fleece held by the King in the Church of St. John. On the 7th of August the States met, and the new Regent was formally presented to them. But many voices were raised to protest against the powers conferred upon her, and the States refused to grant the aids demanded unless the Spanish troops were withdrawn. This act of audacity roused Philip's anger, and in his farewell interview with William of Orange he accused him of being the instigator of the measure.
Before leaving Ghent, the King arranged a meeting between the two Duchesses in the garden of the Prinzenhof, and afterwards invited Christina to visit him at Flushing, where he spent some days before he embarked. They dined together for the last time on the 12th of August, and seem to have parted friends.[581] Then Christina returned to Brussels to prepare for her own departure, and Chaloner wrote home:
"I heare say the Duchess of Lorraine repaireth shortly hence into Lorraine, smally satisfied with the preferment of the other, for old emulations' sake."[582]
Sept., 1559] RIVALRY OF THE DUCHESSES
During the next two months Christina had much to endure. She found a marked change in the Prince of Orange. He treated her with profound respect and courtesy in public, but kept aloof from her in private, and appeared to have transferred his attentions to Margaret of Parma. All idea of his marriage with Renée—"the Duchess of Lorraine's soundlimbed daughter," as she was called by Chaloner—seemed to be abandoned, and in September he left Court to attend the French King's coronation at Reims. There was a general feeling of discontent abroad.
"The new Regent is greatly disliked," wrote John Leigh, an English merchant of Antwerp, "by all estates, who wished to have the Duchess of Lorraine for their ruler, and some of her own ladies have told her that she is a bastard, and not meet for the place."
The States refused to grant the subsidies asked for, and the people clamoured for the removal of the Spaniards. The nobles showed their displeasure by retiring to their country-houses, and the ladies absented themselves from Margaret's receptions to meet in the Duchess of Lorraine's rooms.[583] This naturally provoked quarrels and jealousies, which, as Arras remarked in his letters to Philip, might easily prove serious.
"Then there is rivalry between the Duchess of Lorraine and her of Parma," wrote the Bishop on the 4th of October, at the end of a long tale of troubles. "The best way would be to keep them apart, for all these comings and goings can produce no good result. Fortunately, the former is about to go to Lorraine. We shall see if she leaves her daughters here, or takes them with her. What is certain is that, wherever she and her daughters may be, it will be better for Your Majesty's service they should be anywhere but here, as long as Madame de Parma remains in these parts, and discord prevails between her and the Duchess."[584]
When Arras wrote these words, Christina was already on her way to Lorraine. Philip received a letter from her at Toledo, informing him of her final departure, and wrote to tell Arras that all strife between the Duchesses was now at an end.[585] In the same month a marriage was arranged between William of Orange and Anna of Saxony, the Elector Maurice's daughter. Arras was greatly alarmed when he heard of this alliance with a Protestant Princess, and used all his powers of persuasion to induce the Prince to return to his old suit and marry Mademoiselle de Lorraine. But it was too late. The Prince knew that the Duchess would never forgive the studied neglect with which he had treated her, and, as he told the Bishop, his word was already pledged. A year later he married the Saxon Princess, but lived to repent of this ill-assorted union, and to realize that he had been the dupe of Philip and his astute Minister.[586]