Master of the Magdalen Legend: King Philip the Fair, c. 1500

Philip I, 'the Fair'

Archduke of Austria; sovereign ruler of the Netherlandish-Burgundian Lands (from 1493/94); as consort at the side of his wife Joan, joint ruler of Castile (from 1506)

Born in Bruges (Belgium) on 22 June 1478
Died in Burgos (Spain) on 26 September 1506

Philip was the son of Emperor Maximilian I. He was married to the Spanish infanta Juana (Joan) in a double wedding in order to seal the alliance against France. Thanks to a series of strokes of Habsburg luck, Philip, who was given the epithet of ‘the Fair’, became King of Castile. Spain and its associated territories passed to the Habsburgs, and his son Charles V became the ruler of a worldwide empire.

Master of the Magdalen Legend: King Philip the Fair, c. 1500