| December |
While the King was at Brussels, the Emperor, his father, who had long since decided to retire and rid himself of his great affairs, having satisfied himself of the King's maturity and judgment, and being daily more afflicted by maladies and pains, acting with the considered approval of his Council, wholly and freely renounced all his realms, provinces, countries and lordships in favour of his son, the King, without holding back anything in Spain, Italy or the Low Countries, together with all his sovereign authority, except the Empire, which he intended to hand over (remectre) and did (later) hand over, to the King of the Romans, his brother, thus divesting himself, and investing his son with all authority, pre-eminence and rights. Thereupon the seals were renewed, and offices confirmed anew, everything being changed, no more and no less than if the Emperor had died, and the King, as his rightful heir, had succeeded. This done, his Imperial Majesty began to set his affairs in order, as also did the Queens Dowager of France and Hungary, his sisters, for their departure for Spain, whither they had decided to withdraw; and they left Brussels on 8 August, 1556, travelling by way of Ghent. |
