Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Margaret of Austria, Princess of Asturias, Duchess of Savoy and daughter of Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy, on 10th January 1480.
You may be wondering why I’m mentioning Margaret here on The Anne Boleyn Files. Well, while Margaret was Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands the young Anne Boleyn resided at her court at the Palace of Mechelen, in present day Belgium. Anne was only there from 1513 to 1514 but it must have been an amazing experience for her because Margaret was a powerful woman and her court was known for its culture, its courtly love tradition, education, vast library and Margaret’s collections of paintings, illuminated manuscripts and music books. What an impact it must have made on the 12 year-old.
You can read more about Margaret of Austria and her link to Anne Boleyn in the following articles:
- Anne Boleyn, Margaret of Austria and Queen Claude
- The Birth of Margaret of Austria – 10 January 1480
- The Early Life of Anne Boleyn Part Two – The Court of Margaret of Austria
- Courtly Love, Flirtation and the Fall of Anne Boleyn – Part One
I love her palace at Mechelen. I went to visit it last week, amazing!
Did you take lots of photos? I’d love to see them.
Since Anne was placed at Margaret’s court at such a young age I’m sure she was very influenced by Margaret herself and also what went on there.It sounds like it would have been an excellent place for Anne to learn and I’m quite sure Thomas Boleyn was probably quite pleased with the outcome.Now, I’d like to find out more about Margaret.
Hi Claire!
I was pleased to learn that Anne Boleyn stayed in Belgium for some time, because I
am Belgian myself 🙂
I have been interested in the Tudor period for a few years now, especially in Anne Boleyn.
Therefore I was so happy I could visit the Tower of London in November last year and I finally had the chance to visit the grave of Anne Boleyn, which I’ve always wanted to do.
Greetings
Veerle
I love that Margaret of Austria has so many connections to English and French and Spanish royalty. Her step grandmother was Margaret of York, sister of Edward iv and Richard iii third wife of Charles Duke of Burgundy. She is a descendant of Philippa of Lancaster and of course related to Emperor Maximillian and Charles V. Like Anne of Brittany, another remarkable European woman who could rule and achieve stuff, despite being a woman told who to marry and so on. These ladies were sassy.