| Archduchess Margaret | |
|---|---|
 Margaret as a Poor Clare nun | |
| Born | 25 January 1567 Wiener Neustadt,Archduchy of Austria,Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 5 July 1633(1633-07-05) (aged 66) Madrid,Crown of Castile |
| House | Habsburg |
| Father | Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Maria of Spain |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Archduchess Margaret of Austria (25 January 1567 – 5 July 1633), was an Austrian archduchess of theHouse of Habsburg.
She was the daughter ofMaximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor by his wifeMaria of Spain, daughter ofCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor by his wifeIsabella of Portugal.
Born inWiener Neustadt, Margaret was the fifteenth child and fifth daughter of her parents' sixteen children, of whom eight survived infancy.[citation needed] From early childhood, she was deeply influenced by her mother's strictCatholicism.In 1582, Empress Maria returned to her homeland Spain permanently, taking her youngest surviving child Margaret with her, promised to marryPhilip II of Spain, who had lost his fourth wife, her sister,Anna of Austria, in 1580.[citation needed]Margaret was about to become the fifth wife of her uncle, King Philip II of Spain, whom she rejected saying: "How can I marry a king of the earth if I have already been asked for by a greater lord, the king of Heaven."
Margaret refused marriage to Philip II and took the veil under the name ofSor Margaret of the Cross as aPoor Clare nun in theMonastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales inMadrid.[citation needed]
Margaret asked her nephew, Philip III, to bring her first cousin-twice-removed, Catherine of East, to the convent to ensure her education and a certain dynastic continuity in the convent, although she died prematurely in 1628, before taking her vows. Margaret also asked the king to bring another niece, Anne Dorotea, daughter of Rudolf II, with the same intention, the girl arriving at the convent in 1621. Later she professed under the name of Sor Anne Dorotea of the Conception and managed to ensure the presence of the House of Austria in the convent through the education and subsequent profession of her great-grandniece Mariana and her great-great-grandniece Margaret of Austria, the latter choosing the name Sor Margaret in memory of her aunt.
Her mother was also resident in the convent until her death in 1603. Margaret was the dedicatee of the first published edition of therequiem which was composed for her mother's funeral by the composer and priestTomás Luis de Victoria. Margaret died, aged 66, and was buried in her convent.[1]
| Ancestors of Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1567–1633) |
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