born 1522, Oudenaarde, Spanish Netherlands
died Jan. 18, 1586, Ortona, Kingdom of Naples
Duchess of Parma, Habsburg regent, and governor-general of the Netherlands (1559–67).
The illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V , she was married first (1536) to Alessandro de' Medici , who was murdered in 1537, and then (1538) to Ottavio Farnese, duke of Parma. Appointed to govern the Netherlands by her half brother, Philip II of Spain, Margaret tried to appease the nobility with more moderate treatment of Protestants, but she brought in an army in 1567 after Calvinist extremists attacked Catholic churches. Philip then sent the duke of Alba , who assembled a Spanish army and enforced stern measures against dissident Protestants, precipitating open revolt. Margaret resigned when Alba assumed power.