Charles the Bold’s great-grandson

Heir to Charles the Bold from 1477 and titular Duchess of Burgundy. Her marriage to Maximilian of Habsburg linked his house to the Burgundian Netherlands. Disputes with France over the duchy, Franche-Comté and Artois mean that the entire inheritance cannot be presented as territory she governed continuously.

Habsburg emperor whose marriage policy laid the foundations of his house’s extraordinary dynastic expansion across Europe.

The son of Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian of Habsburg, he inherited the Low Countries and, after Senlis in 1493, Franche-Comté and Artois. He retained the ducal title of Burgundy although the duchy was under the French crown. His marriage to Joanna I brought him to Castile and transmitted distinct inheritances to Charles V.

Holy Roman Emperor and sovereign of a composite monarchy extending across the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, the Low Countries and the Americas. From Philip I he inherited Franche-Comté, Artois, Namur, Luxembourg and other Netherlandish territories. He subsequently acquired Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, Drenthe, Groningen and Guelders in stages between 1524 and 1543. He retained the title of Duke of Burgundy but did not govern the duchy incorporated into France. From 1535 he kept Milan under imperial control; Philip II’s later investiture and possession must be distinguished from that government.