Fall 1616-1620

With her heart beating so strong to almost break her chest and her hands cold, Princess Blanche de Croy stepped into her husband.Only a couple of days ago this moment seemed so far ... And now, after only exchanging a couple of short and formal phrases the two of them were getting married.

Not that she was displeased with her husband's persona.He was actually a very young and handsome gentleman, but she simply felt like they needed to spend more time together before getting married to each other.But that wasn't exactly her choice, so Blanche bit her lower lip and accepted her destiny.

After the wedlock, the the two newlyweds along with their guests headed to their new residence, the castle which represented the King's gift for the new pair.

Intoxicated with the sweet French whine, strong perfumes and staggering dancing, Blanche and Maximilian barely managed to see each other the whole evening.

Only before the sunrise, after the bacchanals seemed to temper, Blanche took refuge on the balcony, letting the autumn wind cool her and dry her sweaty forehead.Her husband followed her and, for the first time in that night, the two of them shared a dance and then retreated in their bedchamber.

With their families' constant visits the couple's first two years of marriage flew quickly, without major events.

In 1617 Blanche gave birth to twin girls, whom they named Isabelle, after Blanche's mother, the Queen, and Marie.Although Blanche was relieved that after such an exhausting birth her daughters were healthy, Maximilian couldn't guise his disappointment that his wife didn't manage to give him a son.

The whole pregnancy and especially the birth of her daughters left Blanche very reluctant about her husband's plans for a heir.They already had two beautiful daughters, so there was no reason to rush.Even months after she gave birth, she refused Maximilian's pashes, making a good hand in enraging her husband and tickling up the servants' inquisitiveness.

Unfortunately, in 1619, Marie and Isabelle fell ill with smallpox and one of the sisters died after a week of high fever.Blanche spent all of her nights beside her daughters' beds, not caring that she might fell ill too and ignoring all the servant's warnings.When Marie died, the poor young mother got off into a dead faint and woke up only two weeks later.