Conclusions. Growing Up: A Queen Before The Fact

Abstract

This is the conclusory chapter of the book titled Queen's Apprentice, which highlights a number of themes associated with the histories of central Europe in the 1550's and 1560's through a detailed examination of the experiences of the Habsburg archduchess Elizabeth at the court of her mother Empress Maria. The ways by which the women's court in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt functioned as a site of amalgamation for the Habsburgs in central Europe and the ways by which the women's familiar and political connections helped shape the dynasty's relations with the wider Holy Roman Empire as well as the rest of Europe have also been discussed. The book also highlights a number of themes associated with the experiences of a young noblewoman destined to become a queen, touching along the way issues relating to the education of her siblings.Keywords: Archduchess Elizabeth; Empress Maria; Habsburgs; Holy Roman empire; Vienna