nerale_, i., 381 n., v., 728); and the story of
Theophilus and Theodora is familiar (Finlay, ii.,
146-47).]

[Footnote 1027: _L. and P._, XIII., ii., 77;
Kaulek, p. 80.]

[Footnote 1028: _Ibid._, XII., ii., 1125; XIII.,
ii., p. xxxi.]

[Footnote 1029: _Ibid._, XIII., ii., 77.]

While these negotiations for obtaining the hand of a French princess
were in progress, Henry set on foot a similar quest in the Netherlands.
Before the end of 1537 he had instructed Hutton, his agent, to report
on the ladies of the Regent Mary's Court;[1030] and Hutton replied
that Christina of Milan was said to be "a goodly personage and of
excellent beauty". She was daughter of the deposed King of Denmark and
of his wife, Isabella, sister of Charles V.; at the age of thirteen
she had been married to the Duke of Milan, but she was now a (p. 371)
virgin widow of sixteen, "very tall and competent of beauty, of favour
excellent and very gentle in countenance".[1031] On 10th March, 1538,
Holbein arrived at Brussels for the purpose of painting the lady's
portrait, which he finished in a three hours' sitting.[1032]
Christina's fascinations do not seem to have made much impression on
Henry; indeed, his taste in feminine beauty cannot be commended. There
is no good authority for the alleged reply of the young duchess
herself, that, if she had two heads, she would willingly place one of
them at His Majesty's disposal.[1033] Henry had, as yet, beheaded only
one of his wives, and even if the precedent had been more firmly
established, Christina was too wary and too polite to refer to it in
such uncourtly terms. She knew that the disposal of her hand did not
rest with herself, and though the Emperor sent powers for the
conclusion of the match, neither he nor Henry had any desire to see it
concluded. The cementing of his friendship with Francis freed Charles
from the need of Henry's goodwill, and impelled the English King to
seek elsewhere for means to counter-balance the hostile alliance.

[Footnote 1030: _Ibid._, XII., ii., 1172.]

[Footnote 1031: _L. and P._, XII., ii., Pref. p.
xxviii., No. 1187.]

[Footnote 1032: _Ibid._, XIII., i., 380, 507. The
magnificent portrait of Christina belonging to the