Mary

Mary (born Feb. 13, 1457, Brussels—died March 27, 1482, Brugge [Bruges], Flanders) was the duchess of Burgundy (1477–82), daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy. Her crucial marriage to the archduke Maximilian (later Maximilian I), son of the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand III, resulted in Habsburg control of the Netherlands. Betrothed to Maximilian in 1476, Mary found herself faced with French invasion when she became duchess of Burgundy on her father’s death at...