Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria (1566–1633)
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria (1566–1633)
Spanish ruler of the Netherlands and archduchess of Austria. Name variations: Infanta Isabella, Archduchess Isabella, Isabella d'Autriche; Isabella Clara of Spain. Born Isabella Clara Eugenia in 1566; died in Brussels in 1633; daughter of Philip II (1527–1598), king of Spain (r. 1544–1598), and Elizabeth of Valois (1545–1568); married Albrecht also known as Albert the Pious, archduke of Austria (governor of the Spanish Netherlands), in 1599.
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was born in 1566, the daughter of Philip II, king of Spain, and Elizabeth of Valois . When Philip received the low countries in 1598, he passed them along to his daughter Isabella for her dowry. With her husband Albert, she was coruler of the Spanish Netherlands from 1598 to 1621; after his death in 1621, she was sole governor. Isabella remained ruler of the Netherlands, as regent for her nephew Philip IV, until
her death. Her skill in archery was celebrated in paintings and poems.