On 5 March 1526, Margaret returned to Mechelen with John, Dorothea and Christina. Margaret wrote to Charles, “Henceforth, Monseigneur, you will have to be both father and mother to these poor children, and must treat them as your own.”1 For the next four and half years, Margaret made sure that the children lacked nothing. They lived under her roof in Mechelen; she arranged for their education, and she hardly went a day without seeing them. Her death on 1 December 1530 was greatly mourned by the three children. John was the chief mourner at her funeral and he rode at the head of the procession.
Margaret was replaced as governor of the Habsburg Netherlands by her niece and Emperor Charles’s sister, Mary of Austria. Mary arrived in Mechelen with Charles in March 1531 and met her nieces and nephew for the first time. Dorothea and Christina, who were nine and ten years old, were left at court while John joined their aunt and uncle on a progress through the provinces.
The family gathered in Brussels to celebrate Christmas in December 1531 with Emperor Charles. Dorothea was sat next to her illustrious uncle during the festivities. Two weeks later, Emperor Charles left Brussels and took John with him on his trip to Regensburg, where the Imperial Diet was set to open in May. The weather proved to be quite terrible, and many fell ill, including the Emperor and Prince John. Charles left town to take the waters and returned to find John delirious with a fever. The doctors soon gave up all hope, and Charles left again, saying he could not bear to see him die.2 John fell into unconsciousness and died in the early hours of 11 August 1532. He was only 14 years old.
Charles wrote Mary to inform her of John’s death and added, “I am writing to my little nieces, as you see, to comfort them. I am sure that you will try and do the same. The best remedy will be to find them two husbands.”3 Dorothea and Christina were still young, but their future marriages had already been under discussion for some time.
For Dorothea, a marriage with her second cousin, James V, King of Scots, had been discussed for some years, but he ended up in a French alliance. King Henry VIII of England’s illegitimate son, the Duke of Richmond, had been offered to either Dorothea or Christina, but this was rebuffed due to his being illegitimate. Dorothea had inherited her brother’s claim to Denmark, and King Frederick of Denmark offered the hand of his second son, also named Prince John, and promised to name him heir to Denmark. However, Charles and Mary were reluctant to deal with someone whom they considered a usurper.
In 1532, Dorothea received an offer from Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, but Emperor Charles declined, saying she had already been promised to the King of Scots. Christina was considered to be too young, but when Francesco renewed his request the following year, it was granted. Nevertheless, Mary had grown close to the two girls, and she was mortified that the 12-year-old Christina was given in marriage to the 39-year-old Duke of Milan, and she tried to delay Christina’s departure as long as possible. Once married and settled, Christina wrote to Dorothea, “We are as happy and contented as possible.”4 Christina was widowed on 2 November 1535, just two years after the proxy wedding.
By then, Dorothea had also been married. A few months after Christina’s wedding, another suitor came forward. He was Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine, and later Elector Palatine. He had once also asked for the hand of Emperor Charles’s sister, Eleanor. He also requested the hand of one of King Ferdinand’s (later Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, brother of Emperor Charles) daughters, but he claimed they were too young. However, he was unwilling to lose a valuable ally and suddenly proposed the hand of the 12-year-old Dorothea. He believed Frederick could be most useful in recovering Dorothea’s lost inheritance. Frederick suddenly hesitated because of his age (he was 50 in 1533) and the daunting task of trying to recover the Nordic kingdoms. But in the end, he agreed after Charles promised a dowry of 50,000 crowns. The messenger who brought Frederik the news exclaimed, “I bring my lord a royal bride, a most gracious Kaiser, and a sufficient dowry.”5
- Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.28
- Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.36-37
- Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.37
- Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.52
- Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.55
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