Margaret of Austria

Philip II (1443-1497) succeeded Blanche of Montferrat’s son. Pressure from the French threatened the Duchy of Savoy’s autonomy, so his son and successor, Philibert II, sought a matrimonial alliance with the Holy Roman-Germanic Empire. In 1501, Philibert married Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I of Austria (1459-1519), Prince of the House of Habsburg and Holy Roman Emperor. Margaret helped align the duchy’s politics with her family’s best interests. She was widowed for the second time upon the death of Philibert II and left childless. She refused to remarry. Later in life, she assumed the regency for her nephew, Emperor Charles V (1550-1558), and became governor-general of what is now the Netherlands.