Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands

After the death of Mary of Burgundy, the Burgundian Netherlands passed into Habsburg hands through her son Philip the Handsome and grandson Charles V. The territories included prosperous commercial cities and courts that connected France, England, Germany and Spain.

Margaret of Austria governed the Netherlands from Mechelen during much of the early sixteenth century. Her household became an important diplomatic and educational centre for noble children and young courtiers.

This context supports fiction about Margaret of Austria, the education of Anne Boleyn, Habsburg diplomacy, Renaissance court culture and the political world of the Low Countries.