Did you know it took 9 months to organise the funeral of Albert, co-Sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlandsas his widow Isabella wanted to achieve perfection. The actual event in Brussels in March 1622 was therefore pretty extraordinary.

#OTD in 1715, King Louis XIV of France died after a reign 72 years and 110 days (the longest reign ever in Europe). He was known for his grand lifestyle, the Castle of Versailles and his many wars. Belgians should remember him for poaching land from the Habsburg Netherlands.

Dirck van Oss was a refugee from Antwerp who settled in the Dutch Republic in the late 1580s and would become one of the key financiers there. He was one of the largest investors into the East India Company and founded one of the 1st public banks (Bank of Amsterdam)

1 Sept 1529: Eustache Chapuys arrives in #London as Imperial ambassador #otd Without his letters we’d know far less, & we’d have less #Tudor court gossip

#OTD in 1606, Flemish born art historian Karel van Mander died in Amsterdam. He is known for his 'Schilder-Boeck' (1604) on the history of art in the Low Countries.

Did you know when the grand Coudenberg Palace in Brussels went up in flames in 1731 countless precious works of art went lost, including a curious tabletop covered with valuable gems commissioned by Emperor Rudolf II in the 1580s.

#OTD in 1609, Jean Richardot, President of the Privy Council of the Habsburg Netherlands died in Arras. Here he is (2nd on the left) as a member of the Habsburg delegation negotiating peace with England on behalf of his sovereigns, Albert and Isabella.

This is Celestinus Thys, last Sovereign Abbot of Stavelot-Malmedy (in present day Belgium). He was deposed by the invading French in 1794. He was the last abbot in a line of abbots that started in 637 with Remaclus ! The man represented more than a 1000 years of history.

0ne of the most iconic crowns in history was made by a man from Antwerp.

#OTD in 1588, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester died. Probably Queen Elizabeth I's love of her life. He also served as Governor-General of the United Provinces, but his stint in the Low Countries was an absolute failure.

Can I just say that the new Swedish Ambassador to Finland looks like someone who could have wandered around the court of Emperor Charles V and I find that pretty cool.

Constantijns moeder was de Antwerpse Susanna Hoefnagel, zus van de bekende schilder Joris Hoefnagel.

Cool signature of Philip the Fair, ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands, on a document from 1505. Shared by Ad van der Zee 📖

#OTD in 1187, King Louis VIII of France was born. He also led an invasion - that for some reason has been forgotten - into England, managed to seize half the land and was proclaimed King of England in London in 1216.

The grand cloth hall in Ypres. When finalised in the early 14th c it was the largest civic building in Europe.

Who wore it better ? Philip the Good, aka the Grand Duke of the West, or King Henry V of England.

Listened to the great The Rest Is History podcast on Agincourt. Imagine young Philip the Good did participate. He could have perished. The world would have never known one the most extravagant, wealthiest & fascinating rulers in 15th c. Europe. Tom Holland Dominic Sandbrook

True love? Albert and Isabella, Sovereigns of the Habsburg Netherlands holding hands during a ball at the Coudenberg Palace in Brussels. Frans Francken the Younger and Paul Vredeman de Vries.

More than a 1000 years ago the daughter of a Frankish Emperor became the first Countess of Flanders. A book on her life will be published soon.

Surely Emperor Charles V's beard will be mentioned? A beard he grew to cover his infamous chin.