Archduchess Margaret of Austria (10 January 1480-1 December 1530) was Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1507 to 1530, succeeding William de Croy and preceding Mary of Austria.
Biography[]
Margaret was the daughter of Emperor Maximilian I of Germany and Mary of Burgundy, and she belonged to the House of Habsburg. She was raised in France, as she was betrothed to marry the future King Charles VIII of France at the age of two. In 1491, Charles broke the engagement to marry Anne, Duchess of Brittany instead, and Margaret was no longer treated as a queen. She married John, Prince of Asturias in 1497, but she was widowed after just six months. From 1501 to 1504, she was married to Philibert II of Savoy, and he died after three years in another childless marriage. When her brother Philip I of Castile died in 1506, she became Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, and she also served as guardian to her nephew, the future Emperor Charles V. She served as governor until her death in 1530.