In 1514, Isabella married Christian II, king of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The marriage was arranged by her grandfather, Emperor Maximilian I.
Isabella was only 14 years when she had to leave to Denmark. The marriage would mean many problems for her and her family from the very beginning.
Christian was twenty years older than Isabella was, and was vain and brute man, who also had a mistress, Duveke. The mother of Duveke, Siegbrit Willems, had a lot of influence on Christian. His family-in-law asked him to put Duveke aside, but he refused to do so, mainly because they could not pay him the dowry of Isabella. He desperately needed this money, because he none pay and army to suppress the revolt in Sweden. Everntually, the Dutch cities paid him a part of the dowry, after he had embargoed all the Dutch ships in his territory. After his crowning in Sweden, he arrested the main clergymen and noblemen and beheaded them as traitors and heretics. Nevertheless, he could not suppress the revolt definitely.
In 1521, he came to the Netherlands with his family. Isabella was very glad to see her family again and her aunt, Margaret, who did not like and trust Christian for a second, warmly welcomed her.
In 1522, Christian lost the crown of Sweden to Gustav I Vasa, and in 1523, the same happened with Denmark, where the new leader was his uncle Frederick. Christian panicked and escaped to the Netherlands.
All this time, Isabella stayed incredibly loyal to her husband. They both went begging for charity at the European courts. Charles was too busy with his war against France, that he let his brother Ferdinand occupy with his Danish family. An attempt by a few German monarchs to gather an army to defend Christian failed, and now Christian and Isabella were also haunted by German creditors.
In Wittenberg, Christian and Isabella joined Lutheranism, and this made Ferdinand furious. He refused to recognise her as his sister any longer. But Isabella had made big impression at the Reichstag, where she pleated her husband's case.
Isabella wrote to her husband:
"I wish to be with you again very soon, for I'd rather endure everything at your side, then to live far from you. I am sad and afraid something is going to happen to you. I fear I'll lose my mind if I'm not rejoined with you soon."
The family eventually went living in the Netherlands, where Isabella's aunt, Margaret, felt obliged to occupy her with this side of the family. She gave Isabella 8.000 Gulden every year, which was less then most of Charles' servants earned. Isabella's health also declined. She had given Christian five children, of which only three survived: Johan (1518-1532), Dorothea (1520-1562) and Christina (1522-1590).
Margaret was mostly concerned about Isabella's mental health, for she much desired to see her return to the Roman Church. Weather this happened or not is not known.
In 1526, only 25 years old, Isabella died. Christian built her a beautiful grave, but it was destroyed during the Iconoclasm in the second half of the 16th century.
