From an eagle’s perspective, today marks a significant loss in Habsburg political history. Two princesses — Archduchess Margaret of Austria and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain — passed away on 1 December 1530 and 1633, respectively.
These politically gifted ladies governed the Netherlands on behalf of the Austrian and Spanish branches of the dynasty — again, respectively. Margaret, widowed from both her marriages, ruled the province first for the benefit of her grandfather Emperor Maximilian I and later for her nephew Emperor Charles V. Isabella Clara Eugenia was entrusted with authority by her father, King Philip II of Spain, and shared the government with her husband Archduke Albert until his death. Both governesses pursued similar aims: peace, neighbourliness, and political stability. They were not closely related, as Margaret had no children of her own. Isabella Clara Eugenia likewise remained childless.
Their deaths, although more than a century apart, left a considerable gap in Habsburg administration.
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