LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| TO FACE PAGE | |
|---|---|
| Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan | [Frontispiece] |
| By Holbein (National Gallery). | |
| Charles V. | [4] |
| By B. van Orley (Cardon Collection, Brussels). | |
| Eleanor of Austria | [6] |
| By B. van Orley (Cardon Collection, Brussels). | |
| Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark | [12] |
| By B. van Orley. | |
| Christian II., King of Denmark | [30] |
| London Library. | |
| The Children of Christian II., King of Denmark | [54] |
| By Jean Mabuse (Hampton Court Palace). | |
| Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan | [92] |
| British Museum. | |
| Christina, Duchess of Milan | [92] |
| Oppenheimer Collection, London. | |
| Frederic, Count Palatine | [106] |
| Ascribed to A. Dürer (Darmstadt). | |
| Mary, Queen of Hungary | [188] |
| By B. van Orley (Cardon Collection, Brussels). | |
| Grande Porterie, Palais Ducal, Nancy | [260] |
| Charles V. | [322] |
| By Titian (Munich). | |
| Hôtel-de-Ville, Brussels | [332] |
| S. Gudule, Brussels | [332] |
| Palais Ducal, Nancy | [364] |
| Philip II. and Mary | [412] |
| By Jacopo da Trezzo (British Museum). | |
| Antoine Perrenot, Cardinal Granvelle | [412] |
| By Leone Leoni (British Museum). | |
| Margaret, Duchess of Parma | [412] |
| By Pastorino (British Museum). | |
| William, Prince of Orange | [456] |
| By Adriaan Key (Darmstadt). | |
| Mary, Queen of Scots | [466] |
| By François Clouet (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). | |
| Charles III., Duke of Lorraine | [472] |
| British Museum. | |
| The Three Duchesses | [508] |
| Prado, Madrid. |
CHRISTINA OF DENMARK
BOOK I
ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK, THE MOTHER OF CHRISTINA
1507-1514
I.
The 19th of July, 1507, was a memorable day in the history of Malines. A solemn requiem Mass was sung that morning in the ancient church of S. Rombaut for the soul of Philip, King of Castille and Archduke of Austria, and, by right of his mother, Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders and Brabant. The news of this young monarch's sudden death at Burgos had spread consternation throughout the Netherlands, where the handsome, free-handed Prince was very popular with the subjects who enjoyed peace and prosperity under his rule. "Never," wrote a contemporary chronicler, "was there such lamentation made for any King, Duke, or Count, as for our good King Philip. There was no church or monastery in the whole land where solemn Masses were not said for the repose of his soul, and the mourning was greatest in the city of Antwerp, where all the people assembled for the yearly Fair wept over this noble young Prince who had died at the age of twenty-eight."[1] The King's corpse was laid in the dark vaults of Miraflores, where his widow, the unhappy Queen Juana, kept watch by her husband's grave night and day; while, in obedience to his last wishes, his heart was brought to the Netherlands and buried in his mother's tomb at Bruges. Now the States-General and nobles were summoned by Margaret of Austria, the newly-proclaimed Governess of the Netherlands, to attend her brother's funeral at Malines.
July, 1507] MARGARET OF AUSTRIA