Before Flanders. Correspondence between Isabel Clara Eugenia and Philip III from the Descalzas Reales in the fall of 1598

Abstract

After philip ii’s death, in september 1598, infanta isabel clara eugenia moved to the royal foundation of descalzas reales; she joined empress maría, her aunt, and sor margarita de la cruz, her cousin. She remained there until her departure from madrid to valencia where she got married to her cousin, archduke albert. During these months, and despite the short distance that separated them, infanta isabel exchanged several letters with her brother. This brief epistolary allows us to make an approach to the first months of the new reign, but also it is a chronicle of the last mo- ments of infanta isabel in madrid  before her departure to the low  countries  where she became sovereign of these territories.