ABSTRACT
Amid the turmoil and trepidation that engulfed the Habsburgs after the Defenestration of Prague, Albert remained - at least outwardly - stoical in the Lipsian mould. The French envoy could not help admiring 'his constancy and resolution in the face of the accidents of this world'. Pride of place was given to Christ and the Blessed Virgin, the latter ranking as the generalissima of the Habsburg armies since the Battle of Lepanto. Philip III visited the church of the Descalzas reales to offer his thanks to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. For the past few years the Bohemian Revolt had been the most pressing challenge. It threatened to fatally weaken the Austrian Habsburgs as the Dutch Revolt had weakened the Spanish branch. While the alliances supporting the Bohemian Confederates and the Habsburgs were taking shape, it remained unclear if France or England could be persuaded to take a more active part in the crisis.
