In July he summoned the Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece--destined to be the last that was ever held--to Ghent in order to announce his intended departure.

A little later the States-General were called together, also at Ghent, for a solemn leave-taking.

On August 26, Philip embarked at Flushing, and quitted the Netherlands, never again to return.
Philip's choice of Margaret as governess-general was a happy one.

She was a natural daughter of Charles V.Her mother was a Fleming, and she had been brought up under the care of her aunts, Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary.

She resembled those able rulers in being a woman of strong character and statesmanlike qualities, and no doubt she would have been as successful in her administration had she had the same opportunities and the same freedom of action as her predecessors.
Philip, however, though henceforth he passed the whole of his life in Spain, had no intention of loosening in any way his grasp of the reins of power or of delegating any share of his sovereign authority.