They were married on 13 January1522 in Buda. Their joint portrait still exists. Both his robes and her alleged wedding dress are on display at the National Museum of Hungary.
It was an arranged marriage, but it became a happy one. After the death of Louis she continuously mourned him till her death. After the battle of Mohács, Nicolaus Olahus, secretary of Louis, attached himself to the party of King Ferdinand I, but retained his position with the queen-dowager. She rejected every marriage proposal and always wore the heart-shaped medallion that was borne by her husband in the fatal battle of Mohács.
The Punishment of Tityus painted by Titian for Maria's château de Binche, 1548-49 (Prado)
Governor in the Netherlands
Maria would not marry again. Her chance at personal rule came four years later. Her paternal aunt Margaret of Austria died on 1 December1530, leaving the position of Governor of the Seventeen Provinces vacant. Her brother Charles established Maria as Margaret's successor in the Netherlands. She remained on the post until 1555. Charles gave her the castle of Binche south of Brussels, as a reward for her devoted service. She rebuilt it in conscious emulation of Fontainebleau; it was destroyed by Henri II's troops in 1554, but two of Titian's four paintings on the theme of punishments of rebels, commissioned in 1548 for Binche, are conserved at the Prado (illustration). She was succeeded as Governor by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy.
She died in Cigales. In her last will she requested that her heart-shaped gold medallion, once worn by her husband, be melted down and distributed among the poor.
