In the month of October 1513 the king and emperor still appeared to be willing to fulfil the contract, and signed a treaty arranging that Maximilian and Margaret should accompany the Archduke Charles to Calais before the 15th of May following for the celebration of the marriage. But six months later Ferdinand and Louis signed another treaty agreeing to marry the archduke to Renée, Louis XII.'s daughter, who was barely four years old. Ferdinand, as Charles's maternal grandfather, claimed the right to control the marriage of his grandson and heir. He informed Maximilian of the contents of the treaty, but begged him to keep it secret from Margaret, as he intended to keep it secret from the English king. Margaret, left in ignorance, continued to beg her father to celebrate the archduke's marriage with Princess Mary, but the emperor always evaded her requests with fresh excuses. She reproached him for his negligence in a letter written in March 1514 in which she showed how necessary it was that he should hasten the marriage to secure peace to the Austrian dominions, and especially to the Netherlands.
Anne of Brittany had been in failing health for some years, and as far back as 1511 had had a serious illness which placed her life in danger. De Burgo, Margaret's ambassador at the French Court, in one of his letters to his mistress's secretary says: 'The queen, as I lately informed Madame, was nearly well again, but last night she was suddenly attacked with fever and other symptoms so violently that her life was in danger.' Later on he wrote that the patient had had such a bad night, she had lost all power of speech, but after having received the last sacraments she gradually became better. Anne recovered, and on the 4th of April De Burgo wrote the news of her convalescence.
But on the 23rd of January of the following year Jean Leveau informed Margaret that 'the day before yesterday, which was the 21st of this month, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the queen was delivered of a still-born son, much to the king's grief, though others take it calmly since God wills it thus.' This was Anne's last child. In the following March she again had fever, and did not leave her bed until May. De Burgo gave Margaret an account of an audience he had with Anne on the 19th of May. 'Madame, although the queen is not yet quite well and speaks to no stranger, she was pleased to wish to see me, to hear what the emperor had written to me about some days ago, and that I might take leave of her; I found her in bed, but looking well, and much improved in health.'
Anne, however, never really recovered, and on January the 9th, 1514, passed away at Blois, leaving the king with only two daughters, Claude and Renée. Ferdinand soon tried to find Louis another wife, and proposed that he should marry Margaret, who was now thirty-four years old, or her niece Eleanor, who was only seventeen. Louis chose the latter, and had the marriage articles drawn up.
In a long despatch to Juan de Lanuza, his ambassador in Flanders, written in March, King Ferdinand says that he hears that Madame Margaret does not approve of the mission on which Quintana (his secretary) was sent to the emperor. Quintana was sent to find out the emperor's wishes about concluding a truce with France for one year between Austria, England, and Spain.... Had he believed that Madame Margaret entertained a different opinion from that of the emperor, he would have consulted her first. Not knowing that she would disapprove of the treaty, and considering delay dangerous, he had sent Quintana to the emperor, and ordered that as soon as he arrived, Luis de Gilaberte should go to Madame Margaret, and inform her of what was going on. As the truce is now signed according to the orders of the emperor, it must be observed....'
'In addition to the commission to conclude a truce with France ... the emperor ordered Quintana to propose in his name to the King of France a marriage with Madame Eleanor of Austria.... King Ferdinand says that he is astonished to hear that Madame Margaret opposes his plans, as he is only following her father's counsel, and thinks she must be imperfectly informed of the true nature of this affair.... Madame Margaret, he says, dwells on the great difference of age between the King of France and Madame Eleanor. Lanuza is to tell her that in marriages of great kings difference of age is never taken into account. The King of France has no son and no heir. A son of Madame Eleanor's would, therefore, be the heir to the throne of France. It would be of incalculable advantage to Prince Charles if his sister's son were King of France. Madame Margaret is mistaken if she thinks it a disadvantage that Madame Eleanor is so thin. Thin women generally ... bear more children than stout ones. If the King of France were to marry Madame Eleanor, Austria, France, England, and Spain would form but one family, of which the emperor would be the head....'
'Ferdinand hopes that Margaret will not dissuade the emperor and the King of England from ratifying the truce with France, and wishes that the marriages (Prince Charles's and his sister Eleanor's) might be concluded in her presence and under her guidance. He goes on to say that Madame Margaret is a very pious and virtuous lady, and he expects that she will act like a good Christian, and prefer peace rather than war and bloodshed.... Should it be necessary, he must speak with Madame Margaret's confessor in secret, and ask him to use his influence with her....' Ferdinand ends the despatch by saying that 'he hopes Margaret will help him to secure incalculably great advantages to the emperor, himself, and to Prince Charles.'
In the same month King Ferdinand wrote a most affectionate letter to Margaret evidently in the hopes of winning her consent to his wishes by flattering speeches. The letter is addressed to his 'beloved daughter,' and begins by thanking her for all the great services she has rendered to himself as well as to 'his brothers, the emperor and the King of England, and to his son, the Prince (Charles).' 'She is,' he says, 'the most important person in Christendom, since she acts as mediator in almost all the negotiations between the princes of Christendom.'
In another letter to Lanuza a few days later, Ferdinand is still anxious lest Margaret should oppose the truce with France, and observes that 'Madame Margaret is the person on whom, more than any one else on earth, peace or war depends, and beseeches that she may use her influence in favour of peace.'
King Ferdinand tells Lanuza in confidence that he believes Margaret wishes to marry the French king herself, and that if this is the case, Ferdinand would not oppose it; but the King of France is anxious to marry again because he hopes for a son and heir, and he does not wish to marry Margaret because he fears that she would not bear him children....[46]