The following summary of the treaty between Henry VII. and Philip, King of Castile, concerning the intended marriage with the Archduchess Margaret, is interesting:—

The King of Castile binds himself to pay to the King of England 300,000 crowns, each crown of four shillings sterling, as the marriage portion of the Archduchess Margaret; he also promises punctually to pay the 18,850 crowns a year to which she is entitled as her jointure in Spain; he moreover binds himself to pay to Henry 12,000 crowns a year instead of the revenues from the towns, castles, and lands, which have been assigned to the archduchess as her jointure in Savoy. The King and Queen of Castile bind themselves to consent to the marriage, and to permit Henry's proxies to conclude a marriage per verba de præsenti with the Archduchess Margaret. The King of Castile promises to send his sister at his own expense to the town of Greenwich within a month after the first instalment of 100,000 crowns has been paid. King Henry promises to perform the marriage ceremonies within a month of the archduchess's arrival at Greenwich. Provisions are then made in case of the archduchess's or Henry's death with or without children by the marriage. The archduchess is at liberty to dispose by will of her jewels and ornaments. Should there be children by the marriage, they are to succeed to all inheritances in Spain, Flanders, etc., that the archduchess may become entitled to. King Philip promises to request the Pope to confirm this treaty, and both the King of Castile and his father, the emperor, promise to use all their influence with the Archduchess Margaret to persuade her to consent to this marriage.

King Philip signed the treaty at Windsor, March 1st, 1506, and Queen Joanna at Exeter, March 18th, 1506. The ratification of the treaty by Henry VII. follows; it is dated, Palace of Westminster, 15th May 1506.

On the 20th July Maximilian wrote to King Henry from Vienna that 'he had heard with great joy that the marriage between Henry and the Archduchess Margaret is arranged.' He begs him to send ambassadors to Malines, and has already despatched ambassadors to the same place. But on the 30th of July John le Sauvage wrote to Maximilian that 'the Archduchess Margaret decidedly refuses to marry Henry VII., although he, at first by himself, and afterwards conjointly with the Imperial ambassador, had daily pressed her during a whole month to consent.' But John le Sauvage adds, 'The alliance with England is not endangered thereby. For Henry desires the marriage between his second daughter and the Prince of Castile (Margaret's nephew Charles) more than his own with the archduchess.'

On August 6th G. de Croy wrote to the emperor that 'he is afraid that the refusal of the archduchess will cool the friendship of Henry.' On August 8th Ulrich, Count of Montfort, and Claude Carondelet also sent a letter to Maximilian to inform him that 'they have travelled with all haste to Savoy in order to see the Archduchess Margaret, whom they found in company of the President of Flanders. They pressed her very strongly to consent to marry the King of England. Her answer, however, was that 'although an obedient daughter, she will never agree to so unreasonable a marriage.' On the 16th of August Monsieur de Croy and other councillors write to the King of Castile 'that they have written to the King of England ... and have received this very day his answer, and send the letter of the King of England to him; they are much afraid that the King of England has cooled in his friendship in consequence of the answer which the Archduchess Margaret has given to the President of Flanders, and afterwards to the Count Montfort and the Bailly of Amont, ambassadors of the emperor, and again to the President of the King of Castile.' On September 24th Maximilian wrote to King Henry that 'he had not been able to persuade his daughter, the Archduchess Margaret, to marry him; but he would go and see her in order to persuade her.' Whilst these negotiations were taking place, an unexpected event freed Margaret from this distasteful marriage, though it added another sorrow to her lot.

In September of the same year her brother Philip was attacked by a malignant fever at Burgos, brought on, it was said, by indulgence or over-exercise, and for days lay ill in raging delirium, not without strong suspicions of poison. He was assiduously attended by his wife Joanna, who never left his side, but in spite of all her care the disorder rapidly gained ground, and on the sixth day after his attack, on September 25th, he breathed his last. Philip was only twenty-eight years old, and had been King of Castile two months, dating from his recognition by the Cortes. After his death Queen Joanna still stayed by his side, deaf to all condolence or remonstrance, to all appearance unmoved. She calmly gave orders that her husband's body should be carried in state to the great hall of the Constable's palace upon a splendid catafalque of cloth of gold, the body clad in ermine-lined robes of rich brocade, the head covered by a jewelled cap, and a magnificent diamond cross upon the breast. A throne had been erected at the end of the hall, and upon this the corpse was arranged, seated as if in life. During the whole of the night the vigils for the dead were intoned by friars before the throne, and when the sunlight crept through the windows the body, stripped of its incongruous finery, was opened and embalmed and placed in a lead coffin, from which, for the rest of her life, Joanna never willingly parted.'[26]

PHILIPPE LE BEL
FROM THE PAINTING IN THE LOUVRE (FLEMISH SCHOOL)
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Philip left six children—Eleanor, Charles (afterwards the Emperor Charles V.), Isabella, Ferdinand, Mary, and a little daughter, Katharine, born five months after his death. Philip was of middle height, and had a fair, florid complexion, regular features, long flowing locks, and a well-made figure. He was so distinguished for his good looks that he is designated on the roll of Spanish sovereigns as Felipe el Hermoso, or the Handsome. His mental endowments were not so extraordinary. The father of Charles V. possessed scarcely a single quality in common with his remarkable son. His poor wife Joanna never recovered his loss, her mind became more and more affected, and though she survived him for nearly half a century, she dragged out her cheerless existence a sort of state-prisoner in the palace of Tordesillas, a queen only in name.

Margaret herself composed her brother's Latin epitaph, which ended with a cry of anguish from the Lamentations of Jeremiah:—