Duke Phillip I "the Clean"
Philip the Clean was born the 22nd of June 1478 in Bruges as the only of Maximilian I of Austria and of Maria of Burgundy. He was from 1482 up to 1506 monarch of the Burgundian-Netherlands., which included at that time Flanders, Artesi, Henegouwen, the Netherlands, Zeeland, Namen, Brabant, Limburg and Luxembourg. From 1504 onwards he was also king of Castile.
When his mother died in 1482, he inherited The Netherlands, but his father, Emperor Maximilian, practised the regency concerning these areas untill Philips would reach the age of 21. During his education in Mechelen the young duke was under strong influence of the domestic nobility. This became clear when in 1494 he took over the government personally. During his period of government he could Count on the support of the regional states and Staten-Generaal. Moreover he was loved by the people in The Netherlands. Initially his policy stood especially in function of the interests of The Netherlands, what meant a strictly neutral attitude in the conflicts between France and United Kingdom. On domestic politics area he continued the centralisation politics of his predecessors, by, amongst others, establishing the High Council in Mechelen.
In 1496 Philip got married to Johanna of Castile, who later became known as 'the mad'.
She was daughter of Ferdinand V of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. From this marriage Charles V, the later emperor, was born in 1500. When as a result of several deaths Philip's spouse inherited the Spanish monarchies Aragon and Castile, Johanna and Philip were accepted as heirs to the throne in 1502. As from that moment Philip made the interests of The Netherlands subordinate to these of his dynasty, so that his policy knew sudden reversal. A clear Francophile attitude substituted the earlier neutrality politics.
When Isabella of Castile died in 1504 died, Philip let himself be proclaimed in Brussels king of Castile, in spite of resistance his father-in-law the Ferdinand V of Aragon. Hardly three months after his arrival in Spain Philip died on the 25th September 1506 in a mysterious manner. Due to his unexpected dead in 1506 the Burgundian provinces came in the hands of his son Charles V, and therefore for the second time in the hands of an underage (21) King. Regency was handed to his daughter Margaretha and his grandson (Charles V), then fifteen years of age was inaugurated as Lord of the Netherlands.