Tadea von Österreich

Taddea d’Austria, also known as Thadea d’Asburgo or Tadea de la Peña, was an Italian noblewoman and probably one of the four illegitimate daughters of Emperor Charles V. She was born in Bologna at the beginning of 1523. Her mother was Orsolina della Penna, a noblewoman from Perugia described as very beautiful, who was also known as “Pennina da Perugia.” She belonged to the Arcipreti della Penna family, which had been among the influential families in Perugia’s civic life since the Middle Ages. The year before Taddea’s birth, Orsolina had travelled to the Netherlands, accompanying her husband, Valentino dei Cancellieri. Her relationship with Charles V. began when the future emperor was twenty-two years old. Taddea spent the first thirteen years of her life in a monastery near Perugia. Her origins were not publicly acknowledged. Responsibility for her education was entrusted to Giovanna di Borgogna, who remained with her throughout her life. During Charles V.’s journey to Italy, when he travelled there in 1529 and 1530 to receive the crown of King of Italy and the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire from Pope Clement VII, Taddea was brought to Bologna. There she met her father for the first time. The two met again in Bologna between December 1532 and February 1533. In 1536, at only thirteen years of age, Taddea married, on the initiative of her maternal uncles, the nobleman Sinibaldo dei Coppeschi from Montefalco, who was also known as de’ Cuppis or de’ Cupis. Charles V. had not been informed of the marriage. When he learned of it, he disapproved of the union and expressed his displeasure in letters to Taddea’s mother, whom he referred to as “Pennina de Perosa.” The emperor had probably intended a marriage of higher social standing for his daughter. In the same year, he arranged the marriage of his other illegitimate daughter Margherita, born from his relationship with Giovanna van der Gheynst, to Alessandro de’ Medici. After her marriage, Taddea lived between Montefalco and Rome. The de’ Cupis family had strengthened its position in Rome through Bernardino and Giovanni Domenico de Cupis. Taddea’s imperial descent remained secret, or at least was not publicly acknowledged. After the deaths of her husband and her mother, she increasingly turned her attention to the question of her origins. Even after Charles V. died in 1558 at the monastery of Yuste, she continued trying to obtain official confirmation of her family connection. In 1562, Taddea appealed to her half-brother Philip II, who had been King of Spain since 1556. She presented documents and witness statements intended to support her descent from Charles V. In her petition, she declared that she would submit to the king’s judgment. If her origins were proven true, she asked that their recognition be regarded as an obligation before God and humanity. At the same time, she expressed her happiness at the possibility that her descent might be confirmed. No recognition by Philip II is recorded, however. Taddea died a few years later, probably around 1562, in Rome. For a long time, biographers of Charles V. treated her existence with scepticism. The first known documents concerning Taddea were not published until the second half of the nineteenth century. They were held in the Archivo General de Simancas and formed part of a dossier concerning “doña Tadea de la Peña,” described as the natural daughter of Charles V. and Orsolina della Peña. As early as 1844, Miguel Salvá and Pedro Sainz de Baranda had examined the dossier and produced partial copies, but these transcripts were not initially published. In 1853, the historian Modesto Lafuente drew attention to the documents. The earlier transcripts were published in 1887, but they contained numerous errors and were incomplete. A more comprehensive historical study was published by Antonio Margaritelli in 2017. It examined key documents from the dossier, including previously unpublished material, and presented them as evidence of Charles V.’s paternity.